Christ is the king of kings

November 20, Solemnity of our Lord Jesus, King of the Universe
Daily Readings: 2 Samuel 5: 1-3, Psalm 122:1-5, Colossians 1: 12-20, Luke 23: 35-43

Christ is the King of Kings. He is the son of the living God. We have received redemption and forgiveness for our sins. God has delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, Jesus the King.

Today is the Solemnity of Christ the King. The readings leave no doubt that the Lord is certainly king, but it is only in the gospel that we learn precisely what kind of king he is. In that moment of interrogation before Pontius Pilate, we learn that Jesus' reign was not like that of earthly kings, for he says, "My kingdom is not of this world." We also begin to realize that the kingdom will not be fully revealed until after the Lord's resurrection.

So, the gospel on this day and the feast of Christ the King are reminders that the terrible things that were going to happen in Jesus' life were not the end and that he would be vindicated in a way that had never been done before.

When we encounter difficulties in our efforts to hasten the full coming of the kingdom, we should remember that the kingdom's joy will one day be ours as well. We and all the other members of the church will share in the glory of the resurrected Christ, whose reign has already begun to show on earth because we all took part in the resurrection.

Jesus' passion demonstrated that he was both a powerful and humble king, so let's decide to follow his faith in God and the way he lived his "Kingdom faith" so that we can exclaim with the Psalmist and other humble Christians throughout the ages, "The Lord is king, he is dressed in majesty!"