November 22, 2012:       Daniel Daring        Daniel's previous reflections

Christ the King – John 18:33-37

In 2002, the magazine Popular Mechanics published an image of Jesus reconstructed by Richard Neave, a medical artist, with the help of the science of forensic anthropology. The face is of a peasant, he has dark olive skin, short curly hair and a prominent nose, closely resembling a Palestinian Jew of the first century. The scientists estimate that he would have stood 5-foot-1-inch tall and weighed 110 pounds. The image might be closer to reality than all the images and statues that try to portray him as a white, delicate man, with long hair. And it is not yet the end of the surprise.  

Are you the king of the Jews? – asked Pilate  

By all standards of the world, kings live in palaces; they are surrounded by guards and attended by servants; they have at their disposal huge sums of money and they command an army. There has not yet been a king who was born in a manger, had to be protected only by his own parents, and forced to flee his place of birth in order to save his life. And yet, this is the story of Jesus of Nazareth, which runs a course that has nothing to do with a life of a king. First, he worked throughout his whole life. Whether he was helping Joseph in a carpentry shop or tended the flock of his family – if we assume that the family had a flock of sheep - on the Galilean Mountains, it is not clear. However, it is clear that he had to earn his daily bread like any other commoner. Second, although Jesus could attend school as a child in order to learn how to write and read, he did not have time and money to pursue an intellectual career. Third, he lived in an occupied country and saw the cruelty of the Roman Empire, to which he himself fell the victim when his life was cut short. Finally, his only weapons against the political and religious establishment were the words he spoke and the actions he performed.

Despite being so powerful, the worldly kings are often at the whim of the elites and political parties. They have an army of advisers that runs the public affairs and tells them what is the best for the Empire. Jesus of Nazareth again decided on a different course of action. His advisers were the ordinary people with whom he shared a daily struggle for survival. His teacher was the experience of working, of being hungry, of sheding tears, of lacking sleep, and of worrying about the future. He saw the world from the stand of the people who barely made ends meet. Those people, those experiences had a lasting influence on him.

Looking at Jesus, Pilate could not understand how the man he had before his eyes could be the king of the Jews. And to some extent, he was right: kings do not come from a peasant background, do not work with their hands, and do not use words as their weapons.  

So, you are a king! – said Pilate  

Yet, at the same time Pilate was wrong. The man who stood in front of him was a king, but of another kind of kingdom, which is not of this world. We are so brainwashed by our educational system that we easily accept the dichotomy between the state and the church, or to put it another way, between the political and spiritual realm. And we do not even question it, because we are told that the kingdom of God is not of this world. So, we are often consoled with a message that in this world we have to suffer, but in the kingdom of God we will rejoice and live a happy life. However, we miss the point that Jesus died preciously because, by proclaiming the kingdom of God, he challenged the political system of his time. If you say, ‘woe to you rich’ (Luke 6:24), and ‘blessed are you poor’ (Luke 6:20), you are undermining the system, which is built on inequality; and if you say, ‘love your enemies and do good to those who hate you,’ (Luke 6:27), you are undermining the system which is based on hatred. Worst of all, Jesus’ proclamation attracted many people who began to realize that it is not God’s will for them to live in misery. Thus, Jesus’ spiritual message had political overtones. Jesus’ message about the kingdom of God judged the prevailing political and social system of his time. He came to testify to the truth that the values of the world are in total contradiction to the values of God’s kingdom: God meant that there should not be needy persons among us (Acts 4:34).

On November 13, 2006 The Philippine Star run a story about a Protestant pastor, Isaias Santa Rosa, who was abducted from his house in the presence of his wife and two daughters, and shot dead. Shepherding a small church in the province, helping the local farmers by organizing grain funding programs, and making some written comments about the policies of the Philippine government earned him a reputation of being a leftist. His proclamation of the Gospel was rightly understood by the powerful as a threat to their reign. According to the newspaper, the evidence revealed that the military was involved in the killing.

Yes. Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world, but only for now as he said: ‘But now my kingdom is from another place’ (John 19:36). The time is coming when those who realize the truth about the false values of the world will decide to pray and work for the coming of God’s kingdom the way Jesus did.  

Conclusion  

The feast of Christ the King has been with us for years. It was instituted by Pope Pius XI on December 11, 1925 as the answer to the rise of atheistic communism and secularism. Thus, since the beginning it has always had political overtones. Today, we continue to proclaim Christ our King, not only against atheistic communism and secularism, but against the rise of neo-capitalism, the free-market economy, and the powerful corporations. Yes. Our king may have a peasant face, but his message of God’s kingdom has inspired many throughout long  generations to work for a world where God is honored and every person’s right to live a dignified life is safeguarded and respected. ‘Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the people of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be. Amen’ (Revelation 1:7).