Happy Christ the King of the Universe Sunday. The Church’s liturgical year concludes with this feast of Christ the King, instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925. This feast was established and proclaimed by the Pope to reassert the sovereignty of Christ and the Church over all forms of government and to remind Christians of the fidelity and loyalty they owed to Christ, who by his Incarnation and sacrificial death on the cross had made them both adopted children of God and future citizens and heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven.

At first, it may seem surprising that the Gospel chosen for today is the account of the crucifixion. One might expect a vision of Christ in glory or His return at the end of time. Yet the Church invites us to contemplate Christ’s kingship revealed most clearly on the cross.

Today’s gospel (Lk 23: 35-43), referring to the sign board hung by the order of Pilate on the cross of Jesus, “Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews,” presents it as an imperial admission of the kingship of Christ, although it was intended to serve as a three-fold mockery. First, it prompted the Jewish leaders to call out, “He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God”, second, the soldiers to shout at Jesus, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself” and third, the thief on the left side to challenge Jesus, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us.” 

Pilate probably had his own reasons to write the inscription on the board. It was to protect himself from being charged with bowing to the pressure of the mob; to mock Jesus and thereby to appease the Jewish leaders. But Pilate was unknowingly accepting the person and mission of Jesus as King and Savior. The repentant thief accepts Jesus as his Savior, calling Jesus Jeshuah, or Jesus, meaning “the Lord saves!”. “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus assured the thief that he had the power to promise a share in his everlasting reign. “Today, you will be with me in Paradise”.

Hence, Gospel presents Christ the King as reigning, not from a throne, but from the cross. Like the “suffering servant” of Isaiah (53:3), He is despised and rejected, as the bystanders ridicule the crucified King, challenging Him to prove His Kingship by coming down from the cross. The Gospel also tells of the criminal crucified beside Jesus who recognized Him as a Savior King and asked Jesus to remember him when Jesus entered His kingdom. Jesus promised the ‘good thief’ that he would be with Him that day in Paradise.

Today’s celebration invites us, citizens of God’s Kingdom, to live as faithful and authentic members of Christ’s realm. We express our loyalty to Him through the quality of our Christian commitments.

1) We need to assess our commitment to Christ the King today.  As we celebrate the Kingship of Christ today, let us remember the truth that He is not our King if we do not listen to Him, love Him, serve Him, and follow Him. We belong to his Kingdom only when we try to walk with Him, when we try to live our lives fully in the spirit of the Gospel and when that Gospel spirit penetrates every facet of our living. If Christ is really King of my life, He must be King of every part of my life, and I must let Him reign in all parts of my life.

2) Let Jesus control over our lives. Today’s Feast of Christ the King reminds us of the great truth that Christ must be in charge of our lives, that we must give Him sovereign power over our bodies, our thoughts, our heart and our will. He loves us. Let ourselves be loved. In every moral decision we face, there’s a choice between Christ the King and Barabbas, and the one who seeks to live in Christ's Kingdom is the one who says, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Let us ask ourselves the question, "What does Jesus, my King, want me to do or say in this situation?" Does our home is under the Kingship of Jesus?  

3) We need to follow Christ the King’s lesson of humble service to the truth. Christ has come to serve and to be of service to others.  Hence, we are called to his service - service to the truth. So we are called to be a people who reach out to embrace the enemy and the stranger, a people who are called to glory in diversity, a people who will endlessly forgive, a people who will reach out in compassion, a people who will support one another in prayer, a people who will realize that we are called not to be served, but to serve. This is the sign of true citizens of God’s kingdom: Love reigns.

Dear brothers and Sisters, as citizens of Christ’s kingdom, we are expected to observe only one major law--the law of love.  Jesus expects a higher degree of love from His followers: “Love one another as I have loved you.”  Today’s celebration set our hearts to focus on the Crucified Jesus, the King of the universe. The crucifix placed as the only credible sign of our citizenship of His Kingdom, which is LOVE.  On this great Feast of Christ, the King, let us resolve to give him the central place in our lives and promise to obey his commandment of love by sharing what we have with all his needy children.