Christ the King

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Jesus Christ is King of the universe. He is, “the Alpha and the Omega, the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty.”  (Revelation 1:8) This Truth is unchanging. Jesus Christ is our King and he wants us to reign with him in his everlasting Kingdom. Through his death and Resurrection we have all been given eternal salvation. The questions we need to ask ourselves are, Is he King of my universe? Do I have my eyes fixed on Christ? Is this where my heart lies? Is being pleasing to Him and walking along the path of righteousness the focus of my life?

In today’s gospel, Jesus tells Pilate, “My kingdom does not belong to this world” (John 18:36). This world is not our home; this is not all there is. Jesus goes on to tell Pilate, “For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” (John 18:37) This, too, is the reason we are here, to testify to the truth. We are to be Christ’s hands and feet until he comes again. The victory in Christ has already been won, and if we heed his voice, then we too will be victorious.

The focus in America has been about shopping, getting the best deals. All we heard about for weeks was Black Friday. People went to extremes, camping out in front of stores for days, to get the best deal on an object! The world would be a much better place if we put this much time and effort into our relationship with God and our fellow man. If we had as much zeal for our Lord as we doing for getting the best deal, the world would be on fire for Christ, our King. Next Sunday begins Advent. We prepare for the birth of our Lord and Savior. Our world has taken the focus off of Christ and put it on stuff. There are so many distractions and pressures to have more, do more, to be more. What change am I going to make in my life right now in order to make Christ the King of my universe? How am I going to prepare for His birth this Advent season instead of being caught up in the commercialization of the holidays? We don’t even call it Christmas anymore. And more importantly how am I preparing for His return. “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Matthew 18:8)