On Christ the King and the End of the Liturgical Year

This coming Sunday, Bishop Sarah will join us for the feast of Christ the King. She is preaching, which means I don’t have to prepare a sermon! This is an unusual situation my week, and my electronic diary is telling me I should be writing a sermon right now! I thought I would take the time to reflect a little on this important day, and how we mark it.

The feast of Christ the King is a relatively new addition to the liturgical year.  It’s origins lie in a Papal Encyclical which dates back to 1925.  Pope Pius XI wrote a document that attempted to summarise Christian order and he called it Quas Primas, which means In the First.

Back in 1925 the world was a very different place; fascism was on the rise in Europe and the role of religion was increasingly being questioned.  Secularism was growing and Pope Pius decided that he would institute a feast day to direct world leaders to the authority of Jesus Christ as King on earth.  He also hoped to emphasise the church’s right to freedom, and remind the world that Christ’s reign is over hearts and minds, bodies and souls.

Judging by the horrific war that ensued a decade after Quas Primas was written Pope Pius’ aim to stem the spread of extreme ideologies and secular practices failed.  However, it’s legacy has remained, and the theological ideas it espoused, namely the Kingship of Jesus Christ, were further developed by Pope Paul VI.

We are at one of those places in the year where our liturgical and secular calendars diverge significantly. To us we are just contemplating Advent, but out there in the secular world, Christmas has been on the TV, in shops and on our streets for weeks.  Just recently, in America, there have been protests on the streets and people have been seen carrying banners saying “No more Kings.”  This, of course, refers to the fact that the USA is a post-monarchic country which specifically defeated a Kingdom, and enshrined a different approach to leadership constitutionally.

Just recently, I have been watching The Crown on TV.  It is interesting to see many of the events of my childhood brought to life on the screen, framed through the lens of the British Monarchy.  Whilst there is an undercurrent of divinity in relation to the anointing of the monarch, the reality is that our true King, Our Lord and Saviour, represents a very different kind of Kingship to the models we see in our secular world.

So then, it seems that Christ the King is a difficult theme for us to reflect on because the very idea of his kingship is nothing like what our modern world understands.  Whilst any ideal of Kingship may seem archaic to many of us, Our Lord’s Kingship is both relevant, vibrant and alive in our modern world.

The Gospel of Mathew is a good place to start exploring the idea of Jesus’ Kingship. In it, he warns the disciples about judgement. In fact, much of the chapter deals with similar issues. the first 2 parables we hear, The Ten Bridesmaids and The Talents focus on the coming of the son of man.  But the third and final parable, The Judgment of the Nations looks closely at the idea of judgement itself. 

Matthew’s Gospel has emphasised throughout its telling of the ministry of Jesus.  These themes include the need for righteousness (particularly, a right relationship with God and others)  and the fact that this is needed to enter the Kingdom. Another theme is the need for performing good deeds or works of mercy as an expression of righteousness. A third theme is that all will be judged according to their deeds, especially the works of mercy towards those who are weak and marginalised.   Remember that Matthew’s gospel was written primarily for a Jewish audience.  They would have understood these concepts, although the relationship between them and the emphasis on different aspects, particularly the idea of “good works” would have been challenging.

Matthew 25 needs to be read and understood in relation to questions and disputes in Matthew’s community about the precise relationship between the Christian churches and Judaism, particularly with regard to the relevance, for both Jewish and Gentile followers of Jesus, of Jewish Law and its associated religious practices and observances. Matthew 25 sets out core requirements according to which Individual Christians and Christian communities are to be judged. For Matthew, observance of Jewish Law was not an end in itself. Religious observance is only authentic when it results in merciful attitudes and actions. Issues of law and religious observance find their proper place in relation to the authentic Christian attitudes and merciful actions that they produce. 

For Catholic Christians there is no contradiction between being conscientious about religious observance and performing good works such as those set out in Mt 25:35-36. Ideally, authentic religious observance and performing the works of mercy go together and are mutually supportive and enriching.   I mention this because other parts of the church, most notably our brother and sister evangelicals, do not place the same emphasis on good works as we do.

The ‘Golden Rule’ remember is: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  It is a worthwhile maxim for living whether one is a Christian or otherwise. However, building a relationship with Jesus Christ is at the heart of being a Christian and this involves both being engaged in the life of the Christian Church and performing works of mercy in the world - “doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.” 

If your life is oriented to love and mercy you will come to the love and mercy of God. But if you have excluded people in need from your life, you have excluded yourself from God’s kingdom where there is only acceptance and love. Jesus actually tells us in no uncertain terms who the people we need to look out for are: hungry and thirsty people, immigrants and people without clothing, the sick and prisoners. He doesn’t use complicated words or theological ideas, but instead  speaks of food, clothing, something to drink, and protection from elements. He doesn’t recommend “love”, but instead tells us the actions that constitute love;  specific actions like giving, welcoming, visiting, and taking care of each other.  What matters to Jesus is not a theoretical love but loving compassion that helps the person in need.

This is Jesus Christ the King at his simplest and finest.  His Kingship is over all people and all lands.  He tells us clearly, robustly and with a simple honesty, that our future, our future in heaven, is tied to the way we behave towards those in need today.

This is our King.  The King of our hearts and the changer of worlds.  Let us make sure that today, and every day, we place those values and actions that Jesus insists on at the centre of our lives.