(1) The liturgy today is truly a triumphant hymn celebrating the Kingship of Christ. From the First Vespers of the Feast, the figure of Jesus is majestically portrayed, seated on a royal throne and dominating the entire world; “His Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and all kings shall serve and obey Him… He shall sit and rule and shall speak peace unto the nations.”
The Mass opens with the apocalyptic vision of this extraordinary King whose majesty is intimately linked to His immolation for the salvation of souls… “The Lamb that was slain is worthy to receive power and divinity and wisdom and strength and honor. To Him belong glory and power forever and ever” (Introit).
In the Epistle (Col 1,12-20) St. Paul enumerates the titles which made Christ King of all kings: He is “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature; for in Him were all things created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.” These titles belong to Jesus Christ inasmuch as He is God, perfect image of the Father, exemplary cause of all earthly and heavenly creatures and, at the same time, Creator, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, of all that exists, for nothing has existence without Him, but “all things were created by Him and in Him… by Him all things consist.”
Then comes His titles to Kingship as Man: “He is the Head of the Mystical Body, the Church… Through Him [God] … reconciled all things unto Himself, making peace through the Blood of His Cross.” He, who is already our King by reason of His divinity, is also King through His Incarnation, which has constituted Him the Head of all humanity, and through His Passion, by which at the price of His Blood He has regained our souls, which already belonged to Him as His creatures.
Jesus is our King in the full sense of the word: He has created us, redeemed us, vivified us by His grace, He nourishes us with His Flesh and Blood, He governs us with love, and by love He draws us to Himself. In the face of such considerations, the cry of St. Paul rises spontaneously from our heart: “Giving thanks to God the Father … who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption … the remission of sins.”
(2) In today’s Gospel (Jn 18,33-37) we have the most authoritative proclamation of the Kingship of Christ, since it comes from his own lips in that most solemn moment during the trial which proceeded His Passion. Pilate explicitly questioned Him on the subject: “Art Thou the King of the Jews?” Jesus did not reply directly to this first question: actually, He is not King of any one determined nation; His Kingdom has nothing to do with the kingdoms of earth. But to Pilate’s second and more precise questions, “Art Thou a King then?” Jesus replied unhesitatingly: “Thou sayest it; I am a King.” He proclaims His Kingship in the most formal manner before the highest civil authority in Palestine; He proclaims it, not in the midst of an enthusiastic crowd, nor in the truumph of His miracles, but bound with chains, before him who is about to condemn Him to death, before a crowd thirsting for His Blood, a few moments before being dragged to Calvary where, from the heights of the Cross, above His thorn-crowned head, will appear for the first time the title of His royalty: “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” (Jn 19,19). He had fled when the enthusiastic crowd wished to make Him their King; now He proclaims Himself King in the midst of the unspeakable humiliations of His Passion, thus affirming in the clearest manner that His Kingdom is not of this world, that His Kingdom is so sublime that no dishonor, no insults can eclipse it. But by this act Jesus also tells us the He prefers to manifest His Kingship far more as a conquest of His Blood than as title belonging to Him in virtue of His divine nature.
We should go to meet this divine King with all the yearning of our soul. He presents Himself to us under an appearance so human, so loving, so welcoming, stretching our His arms on the Cross to invite all to come to Him, showing us the wound in His side as the symbol of His Love. Far from trying to escape His dominion, we should beseech Him to be the sole Ruler or our mind and heart, and the complete master of our will. We should submit ourselves and all that belongs to us to “His most gentle rule” (Collect).