Make Christ the King of our hearts

MAKE CHRIST THE KING OF YOUR HEART

Jn. 18: 33-37

If it had not been for his encounter with Jesus very little would have been known of Pontius Pilate and he would never have had a mention in the Creed we recite at Mass every Sunday.  He was the fifth Roman governor of Judea, a far-flung outpost of the Roman Empire.  His remit was to keep the peace and ensure that the Judeans paid their taxes.  He ruled for ten years over this province, caring little for the people he was meant to serve and whom he regarded as inferior.

His meeting with Jesus took place at a Jewish Passover.  The religious authorities were jealous of Jesus.  They were jealous of His popularity with the people.  They were afraid that His influence could lead to trouble with the Roman authority.  So, for the preservation of their nation and its customs it was best if Jesus was eliminated.  They brought Him before Pilate on the trumped-up charge of being a king.  Pilate must have sensed how much they hated Him.  Pilate tried Him and found Him innocent.  But when he heard His accusers say that he was no friend of Caesar if he released Jesus, he decided swift action had to be taken.  He washed his hands off the whole affair and told them they could have what they wanted.  So, he passed the death sentence on our Lord Jesus.

Jesus’ enemies had played their cards well and they got what they wanted.  Jesus, the innocent Man, went to His death for the sake of their nation, to appease the anger and jealousy of the religious authorities.  It saved Pilate being reported to Caesar and being embroiled in further legal proceedings.  And so, Jesus, the 'King of the Jews', was sentenced to death by crucifixion.

When Pilate asked Jesus if He was a king, He replied He was, but made it very clear that His kingdom was not of this world.  He was not a monarch to give orders to people or to ensure that taxes were collected.  In telling Pilate He was a King He informed him just who were His subjects.  They were the ones who were on the side of truth and listened to His voice.  He had come to bear witness to the truth, to serve and to give His life to save His people.

Our world has grown so far from God and what Christ our King wants.  The values of Christ are not popular.  The feast of Christ the King is an opportunity given to us to reflect on just what kind of subjects we are to this King.  Do we stand by the truth He proclaimed and died for, and so listen to His voice?  Is our following of Him weak and dithering or do we remain loyal, steadfast to the demands of His Gospel?  By the way we live our lives do we witness to the person of Jesus?  Are we using all the means we have of making inroads into the lives of the many who have never heard about Christ and His ways?  We are surrounded by a culture of death in the blatant practise of abortion, contraception and the desire of those who wish to place euthanasia on the statute books.  Do we indulge our fantasies with the untiring search for pornography on the internet?  Jesus spent much of His time with the sick, the blind, the lame and lepers.  As His subjects, do we fight to better the lives of the starving in the Third World, the poor and the marginalised?

The feast of Christ the King invites us to start living our lives as Jesus taught us to live them.  Through following Him may we grow more and more like Him, our King.  He will only be our King when we give Him our total allegiance.

Lord Jesus, Your kingship is made real in our lives when we allow God to work in us and through us.  It is a life-long process involving a daily invitation to conversion.  May we do all we can to spread Your Kingdom on this earth and may You, Christ the King reign in our hearts and in the hearts of all.

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