By Sr Lini Sheeja MSC –
“The biggest must serve the smallest. He who feels the biggest must be the servant. May this gesture that I make help us to be more servant-like with one another, more friendly, brothers in service,” said Pope Francis after washing, drying and kissing the feet of the inmates of a prison: nine Italians, and one each from Brazil, Ivory Coast and Morocco.
Pope Francis, who suffers from sciatica, took help from his aides to stand up and kneel down before each prisoner at the prison in Velletri, outside Rome. In this deed of Pope Francis, I see the fulfilment of the scriptures by God’s anointed and appointed ones.
The readings for the Solemnity of Christ the King describe the enthronement of the victorious Christ as King in Heaven in all His glory. Instituting this Feast of Christ the King in 1925, Pope Pius XI proclaimed: “Pax Christi in regno Christi” (the peace of Christ in the reign of Christ). This means that we live in the peace of Christ when we surrender our lives to him every day, accept him as our God, Saviour and King and allow him to rule our lives. “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18)
The King as Servant
Jesus the great king was a great servant. His kingdom is a kingdom of service. The Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, commonly referred to as the Feast of Christ the King, Christ the King Sunday or Reign of Christ Sunday, is a relatively recent addition to the Western liturgical calendar, having been instituted in 1925 by Pope Pius XI for the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. This date, four weeks after All Saints Day and one week before Advent, was carefully chosen: It reminded the people that Jesus Christ is not only King of this world, reigning among nations today; He is also the eternal King, glorified by the saints in heaven, who will one day come to judge all humankind.
The King’s Humble Origin
When Pilate asked Jesus whether he was a king, He answered in the affirmative. So, what sort of king was Jesus? However, it must be noted that the great King, the King of the Universe, was born in a manger. Our Blessed Mother, the mother of the King, was born in a poor, small and unimportant village. St Joseph, the foster father of the King was a carpenter. Jesus’ childhood home is identified in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew as the town of Nazareth in Galilee, where he lived with his family happily. But one of the Apostles raised his eyebrows on hearing of his origin from Nazareth and asked, “Can anything good thing come out of Nazareth?” (Jn 1:46). The humble origin of Jesus the Nazarene, the great king comes under criticism.
The King’s Heart for the Poor
Jesus felt one with the plight of the poor, the needy, downtrodden and the marginalized. The mission of Jesus was the poor, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18). The great King was anointed for the sake of the poor. Jesus had a compassionate heart for the poor and it is our King who always takes the initiative to reach out to the peripheries. The compassionate heart of the King led Him to feed the poor, heal the sick and comfort the broken.
The King’s Obedience
The universal King stood at the judgment seat of earthly kings awaiting their judgement the kings of the world receives diamond, gold and silver but the universal king was offered two logs of wood and three nails for His three years of selfless service. He was obedient even unto death, “Though He was in the form of God, He emptied Himself” (Phil 2:6-7). The great King allowed Himself to be judged and be crucified by earthly kings. Thorns only became the crown for this King.
The King is Shepherd
The universal King said, I am the Good Shepherd (Jn 10:11). Being a Shepherd, the King lays down His life for the sheep. As a Shepherd, He watches over, protects, carries, walks with us and accompanies us on our journey while guiding us all the time. Our King is the Shepherd who seeks one lost sheep leaving the 99 behind. Our King as Shepherd rejoices at the recovery of the lost sinner. Politicians or rich people did not surround him. However, He was surrounded by sinners, outcasts, rejected, dejected and the lepers. This shepherd looks for the lost, bandages the wounded and makes the weak strong. This is the shepherd and king we are asked to not only follow, but also whose life and example we are asked to imbibe.
Where to Find the King Today?
Our universal King is to be found today in slums, hospitals, orphanages, old age homes, HIV AIDS centres, and prisons, in children who lost their parents during the COVID 19 pandemic, the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the homeless, the poor and the rejected. We are to turn our attention to each other if we are to find Jesus. The gospel of this great feast asks us to draw on the presence of Christ who dwells within each of us so that we can reach out to Christ in others, especially those who are poor and those in any kind of need. On November 14, the Church celebrates World Day of the Poor. Our King, who we follow, is to be found in the poor and the needy. Walk through the slums to encounter the King in the poor. During COVID 19, people saw their loved ones dying in front of their eyes because they did not have financial resources to treat them. Helping one person may not change the world, but it might change the world for one person. Can we all reach out our hands and be a blessing to the poor?
The King’s Assurance
Our king is the shepherd who knows the “smell of the sheep” as Pope Francis says and He invites every consecrated man/woman, every believer to know the smell of the sheep. I do not know what my future holds, but I know who holds it, is my strong belief. Our future is in the hands of the great king, the King and Lord of the universe. Jesus is King of all kings! The Assurance given by the great King is, “I will be with you always even unto the end of the world” (Mt 28:20). When we have the King Himself, why do we need the wealth of the passing world on our journey here on earth? We are heirs of the King and we belong to the royal household. What more do we need? We are princes and princesses of the royal family with the attitude that belongs to Jesus Christ, our Universal King.