Happy Solemnity of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe! These are always some of my favorite readings. I could write and converse about them on and on.
Jesus is king! He is our Shepherd. As our Shepherd He desires to lead us personally as any loving father would, as a teacher leads her students, the soldier leads his platoon into battle, and the farmer leads his herds. Jesus wants to enter in our lives on a personal, intimate level. He will never impose Himself but offer Himself as more of a guide.
Because of this, and our free will, it is very easy for us to reject Him or put him on the back burner till our schedule frees up or “we have more time” as we always are saying, “I have more important things to do right now.” As any best friend wants to get to know you on a deep level, Jesus desires to become the absolute ruler and monarch of our souls. Jesus wants us to come to Him for everything and to become dependent upon Him always. In the words of Matthew Kelly: “We should be so focused on God that in all we say and do should bring Glory to God. If it doesn’t then we aren’t doing it right.” We must accept it freely and without reservation. Jesus won’t force Himself into our Hearts. He will only govern if we freely surrender ourselves over. Pick up our cross and walk in His footsteps. When this takes place in our lives, His kingdom begins to become established within us and throughout the entire world.
If God’s kingdom lies within, God relies on us to make sure that the world knows His truth and law, and that it is respected within all civil society. Christ’s authority as King, gives us the authority and duty as Christians to do all we can to fight civil injustices and bring about love and respect for every human person. We have most certainly seen this in action over the past year. As the Gospel states today, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ As the Shepherd goes after his one lost sheep, so does God wait patiently without judgement at the door waiting for us to open it and invite him into the deepest parts of our souls. The more we fall in love with God, the more we become Godlike, and the more we can serve in a world who needs the truth and light more than ever right now. We must as Christians see the face of God in every person no matter what their story and journey looks like. It was Jesus who was hanging around the sinners, lepers, and tax collectors.
So as you reflect on today’s readings, I encourage you to think about your own embrace of Christ as our one true King. Does He truly govern your life in every way? Do you allow Him to have complete control over your life? If the answer is no, think about what you can do to make that a possibility if that is truly what you are yearning for in your life. Let Jesus reign so that you can be converted and through you, others can come to know Him as King and Lord of all too! May your Kingdom come! Jesus, I trust in You.