B: Christ the King Solemnity (25 Nov 2018) - KING OF ALL - Jn 18:33-37

“Are you the King of the Jews?” (Jn 18:33)

This is the question posed by Pilate to Jesus. The Jewish leaders had just brought Jesus to the Procurator to be judged (v. 28) and to be put to death (v. 31) on account of his blasphemous claim of being God (19:7) and his subservient movement of revolting against the Roman emperor (19:12). To smite the Jewish people on their overreaction to the rising prominence of Jesus, Pilate sarcastically asked him if he is indeed their king.

Apparently, Jesus’ answer is both a Yes and a No. Yes, because Jesus is indeed a king and he was even implying that it was Pilate himself who initially made this declaration, the words coming out from his very lips (v. 37). No, because Jesus’ kingdom is not for the Jews alone. As a matter of fact, it is not for a particular people nor for a specific location on earth, because his kingdom is not of this world (v. 36). Henceforth, Jesus introduced himself to be truly a king, but not of a few, but of the greater world.

Jesus in our gospel teaches us that what lies beyond our present world is more important than what we have now. Kingdom is not to be understood as a kingly reign, a political hegemony, or a territorial state governed by a powerful ruler. Rather, it is reigned by “the Lord God, who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty” (Rev 1:8) and “His sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty which shall never pass away, nor will his empire ever be destroyed” (Dan 7:14b). Accordingly, the Greek word for “king” in our gospel is “basileus” which can refer to either “one who rules as possessor of the highest office in a political realm” or “one who possesses unusual or transcendent power”(see BDAG). In opposing Pilate’s opinion and authority, Jesus was identifying himself not with the former but with the latter. Jesus’ dominion is way beyond the physical world, and it can never be limited to a particular people, land, and time.

Our world today is too anxious about each one’s fixed spaces: territory, boundary, property and location. Take notice how the European migration crisis unfolds with a growing apathy against immigrants. Concepts like xenophobia, Islamophobia, refugees, illegal settlers, etc., are bywords that divide the European Union, and even disturb the harmony of peoples. The UK Brexit is a reflection of this paranoia, and so is Hungary’s hardline referendum on migrants. Many other nations (even reaching America) follow the same line of thought, protecting their lands at all cost, even to the point of denying assistance to the needy, homeless, and suffering. It is because we think according to the human category of kingly physical territories. Yet, Jesus’ kingdom is not bound by any form of demarcation lines and ethnic categories. Conversely, his “basileus” has an open door to anyone who seek refuge and acceptance.

Pope Francis when flying back to the Vatican from Mexico on February 18, 2016 addressed the media saying: “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not of building bridges is not a Christian.” May we then take heed to this call to be true Christians and be inspired by the example of Jesus in becoming more welcoming to others even if they are outsiders to human-made physical territories.

- Rex Fortes, CM