Christ Our King

Usually when we hear ‘King,’ we might imagine a throne, a crown, a sword, perhaps an emperor waiting for everyone to shout, "Hail, O King!" It happens even now. But if that's what we imagine about Christ, we have missed the entire point of this Feast.

When this Feast was established in 1925 by Pope Pius XI, the world was in a terrible crisis. The world was consumed by aggressive nationalism, militarism in different parts of Europe, godless secularism, and rising dictatorships like Nazism and Communism. These movements placed the nation or the state on a throne, demanding absolute loyalty. This was a crisis that crushed individual conscience and setting the stage for the devastation of World War II.

The Church was challenged on every front: secularists tried to keep God out of education and public life, and dictators persecuted anyone who gave their ultimate loyalty to the Pope instead of the State.

Initially​, to protect itself and its members, the Church also adopted the authoritarian mindset of the age. It ​c​entralised power, focusing heavily on strict obedience and hierarchical command. It developed a ‘siege mentality,’ where it saw the world outside as an enemy to be defended against, sometimes leading it to act rigidly and even condemn progress, as seen in the Syllabus of Errors Pope Pius IX in 1864. Thus, In fighting a political dictatorship, the Church sometimes began to look a little too much like a militant, authoritarian structure itself. There were revivalist groups and movements ​t​hat adopted military-like dresses and lifestyle​s and continued a language of defeating and conquering.

Christ’s Kingship is fundamentally unlike any power structure on earth. As the Firstborn of all creation, His authority is cosmic and sustaining. It is lifegiving which is of greatest importance. He is the one ​w​ho holds all things together. He does not rule through force; He rules in Truth, Love, and Life. It was not a nostalgic celebration, reclaiming the lost glory of the church or the return of Christendom.

He doesn’t want ‘Hail, O King’ praises, nor greeting with victory symbols and banners. He wants to be greeted by the simple, embodied acts of tenderness, care, and service. Look at the famous passage from Matthew 25: "I was hungry and you gave me food... naked and you clothed me, I was condemned​, you came near to me.” This Kingship is defined by vulnerable service, seen in the self-emptying love of the Cross. This is the authority of life and sustenance, unlike the dictatorial power that only controls and exploits. The ultimate celebration of Christ’s rule is not a political or religious ceremony. It is the radical act of recognizing and serving the King recognised within the most marginalized person. When we live out and offer the promises of the beatitudes, we are actually saying, ‘Hail, O King,’ to Christ Himself in human form. When we clothe the naked or visit the sick, we are not performing mere charity; we are literally recognizing and serving the King dwelling within the marginalized people. This is the ultimate celebration of Christ’s rule: making His presence visible by identifying Him in each of us. When the good Samaritan cared for the wounded man, his oil and wine and the care was really welcoming to the Son of Man. This style of kingship is the authority of care and nurturing, life and sustenance, unlike dictatorial power, which controls and exploits.  

The relevance of the feast today is the call for every Christian to make Christ's Kingly nature visible in their daily deeds. Christ's Kingship for our Age of Humanity is founded on human action and social structures rather than seeing him as a mythic hero or author of commands. His Kingship applied to our own Self counters our individualism, greed, and indifference. Accusation, condemnation, and cursing are ruling styles, but not of Christ. So, it is an invitation for us to give up attitudes of judgment, condemnation, or separation. In our age of misinformation, where ruling happens through curated narratives or propaganda, Christ’s rule in truth challenges us to guard against siding with these elements.

But, if we truly desire this to be a reality in our lives and in the Church, we must abandon the image of an emperor’s rule and reimagine Christ’s kingship as the author of life and existence.