Today the Church celebrates the end of the liturgical year. Fittingly enough, it is the Feast of Christ the King. All of the readings today point to the kingship of Christ. In the Gospel reading from Luke 23, the people are sneering at Jesus as He hangs on the cross. Above him there was an inscription that read, “This is the King of the Jews.”
Here in America, we don’t like kings. We don’t like the whole notion of being subject to a king. That was what the founding of our nation was all about – breaking away from a king. In our minds, kings are despots. They have complete and total power over their subjects. It is kind of wired into our DNA to think badly of kings. But, just like any official, there are good kings and bad kings. Bad kings wield their power wrongly; they are in it only for selfish gain. Good kings look out for their subjects. They make decisions out of love.
Jesus is, of course, the perfect King. Everything that He did was out of love. He had zero selfish motives. With that being the case, why would we NOT want to subject ourselves completely and totally to Him? The reason is, of course, that often times our motives are selfish. We don’t want to have to live under the rule of ANY king, even Jesus Himself. But that, my friend, is a mistake.
Father, teach us to be completely subject to the Kingship of Jesus. May we submit completely to His will, as He leads us with love and compassion. Amen.
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