No doubt, he is the king. With the manner he dominated and demolished his last opponent, the remaining skeptics who have had lingering doubts about his superior world class prowess are now totally convinced he is indeed the king of the ring. Manny Paquiao truly deserves the world-boxing legendary title, “The Pound-for-pound King!” Manny rules… Yo!!! Once again, a kingly welcome as he comes home is in order.
Today we give honor not to the king of the ring though but to the King of kings—Jesus Christ. On this Feast of Christ the King which signals the end of the liturgical year, it’s fitting to ask ourselves how we have given honor to him. How have we shown allegiance to our King?
You see, the king of the ring publicly bows and kneels in his corner before and after every fight presumably to entrust everything to the God he believes in. So far he is successful in his every fight in the ring. He is happy. His fans are happy too. It seems to all of us that God is on his side even as we wonder how God maintains impartiality in respect to the equally ardent prayers from the Mexican or Puerto Rican corner.
Apparently the king of the ring entrusts to God his every fight. But will he allow the same God to lead his life outside the ring? Some believe that this is his greatest challenge now. Not Mayweather! With the blinding success that has brought his life unimaginable wealth, inebriating fame, and endless opportunities of every sort unknown to him before (like politics and romance?), will Manny Paquiao still bow and kneel to let God be God of his life—not only during his boxing bouts that continue to make history; but also in his personal life as a husband… as a father for instance? Or let say, as a future congressman?!!!!!
Do we allow Jesus to be the God of our life? Is he the King whose commands we are following?
In today’s gospel (Jn 18:33-37) Jesus is in trial in front of Pilate. The exchange between them unfolds the nature of Jesus’ Kingship. “Are you the king of the Jews?” is the question thrown by Pilate to Jesus. The answer to which determines whether or not Jesus is guilty of treason as charged. And Jesus answers obliquely that his “kingdom does not belong to this world.” This implies of course that indeed he is a king but of a different order.
Kings rule in the external public forum—the socio-economic and political affairs—which is configured by men and governed by them. No. Jesus is King not of that order. His kingdom does not rely on military strategies, or on economic systems, or on political power. Instead, Jesus is king of the internal forum—the affairs of the heart, the arena of conscience—where the deepest spiritual strivings and the search for the truth transpire. As such, this arena is far superior to the former. The allegiance of the heart is immeasurably more profound than any external public adherence, say, to a political party. Thomas More, for instance, is remembered by his remarks just before his execution: “I die as the king’s true servant, but God’s first.”
Ultimately, the interior adherence to Jesus in faith ought to influence the way we conduct even our external public affairs. This is why even without military personnel and political machinery, Jesus’ kingship is radically transformative—the very reason why the revered people in the corridors of power in his time wanted to get rid of him!
“Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice” (v. 37). This is the statement of our King. This is how we show our allegiance to him: To allow Jesus to rule the affairs of our hearts and to let his truth reverberate in every nook and cranny of our conscience. To accept Jesus as king, then, is to be aware of the interior adherence of faith he demands and to actually live by it each day in all the facets and seasons of life.
Why would we like to do this? Because he is a king whom we can trust! He is a king whose self-sacrifice on the cross dispels any doubt about the magnanimity of his love. He is a king whose only desire is the ultimate joy and total fulfillment of his beloved subjects. He is a king who holds the truth which we, shortsighted human beings as we are, always fail to see on our own. We readily see the externals. The superficial. The glossy coating. Because, in seeing, we use only our eyes and not our heart. And we fool ourselves by jumping into the conclusion that the window dressing we see is the be-all and end-all of life. So tragic that many have lived by it… and eventually died for it… with the greatest uncertainty, very much unlike Sir Thomas More, if there ever was a meaning to life.
We need to listen to his voice in the deepest recesses of our hearts.
We end this liturgical year with this Feast of Christ the King. Let us ask ourselves: Have I recognized his voice and truly listened to him through out the year? Has my life been a little different because I have allowed God to lead me from within? Is He truly my King?
