Let Christ Be Your King

The following is a reflection on the Solemnity of Christ the King.

One of my favorite saints is St. Thomas More. I am sure many of you know who is, but his legacy is being executed for defiance against King Henry VIII. Essentially, as the English reformation was occurring in England at the orders of Henry VIII, More refused to take the Oath of Succession to the King of England. This was because the Act of Succession rejected the Pope and his authority over the affairs of the English Church. Essentially, this was the defining document in forming the Church of England, also known as the Anglican Church. Essentially, in simplistic terms, Henry wanted an annulment from the Pope, who refused to grant it, which led to Henry wanting ecclesiastical control in England. All English officials had to take this Oath to the King, therefore becoming an apostate of their faith and giving their loyalty to the King. More realized this was nonsense, that it was pure ridiculousness, and on matters of reason, logic, and religion, More refused to pledge Oath to the king. He realized that it was wrong to abandon his faith at the will of another man, to abandon what Jesus Christ founded for another man. What he realized is that there is one King, and that King isn’t Henry, it isn’t any British, French, or any earthly King. The one King is Jesus Christ, and More refused to abandon that and give authority to another king. And for that decision, for his decision to keep the word of the one King, to stay true to the Catholic faith, he was killed, beheaded for that matter.

Isn’t this idea of kingship really what this whole solemnity is about. I mean the name of our solemnity today is literally Our Lord Jesus Christ, KING of the Universe. Christ the King was instituted in 1925 by Pope Pius XI. As the Catholic Bishops explain, they created it “to respond to growing secularism and atheism. He recognized that attempting to ‘thrust Jesus Christ and his holy law’ out of public life would result in continuing discord among people and nations.” He created it to remind the world that Jesus Christ should be and needs to be the most important thing in our lives. There should be nothing more important than Jesus Christ, since he is the King of the Universe. Nothing happens without him. As John explains in the first verse of his gospel, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” Jesus is the Word - John was telling us that Jesus was there in the beginning, and that He is God. Jesus Christ is the real king, the only person who has authority forever, and the only person who truly deserves our worship, our honor, and our veneration. He created this Church, which is His Kingdom on Earth, to bring everyone to Him. The truth is, that although anyone who receives salvation receives it through Jesus Christ, the fullness of truth, beauty, goodness, and Christ Himself is founded in the Church he founded, the one, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church that the King Himself founded. It is time that we realize the priorities that More made clear for us. More emphasized that Jesus Christ is the King, and that deviance from Him and his instructions, deviance from His values, is nothing but denying Christ Himself. We cannot pick and choose what we want to follow; we cannot choose which commandments to follow that Jesus Christ gave us. And More realized this matter. More realized that above all, Christ is the King, a King that will never fail us, a King that will never lead his people astray like Henry VIII or any king or president.

Having just celebrated Thanksgiving, I am sure many of us are now preparing for Christmas with trees, buying gifts, listening to the music, watching the movies, etc. I know I am very excited for Christmas and all the good things that come with it. It is definitely, by far, one of the best times of the year. And I am sure we are all familiar with “Keep Christ in Christmas,” which is a great saying, but one I think often goes over our heads, especially as Catholics. Our attitude is that we go to mass and then celebrate Christmas, but that is really not what that saying is, nor is it what it is meant to convey. It is trying to remind us of the threat that exists as a result of the society Pope Pius XI worried about when he instituted the solemnity we have today, a society that rejects Christ, His Church, His mission, and His Kingship. There is a story that I came across about a town that literally banned the Nativity being put up. A few years ago, Rehoboth Beach officials banned the Nativity from being put up on the typical place where the typical Christmas decorations were put up. The nativity had been put up since the 1930’s, but society once again took a shot at Christ and His Church. But the Knights of Columbus sued and fought back, realizing that the only King is Christ and His law, and His kingship comes before and above all else.

It is their defense that shows really the purpose of this solemnity. We are meant to leave this solemnity, as it ends the liturgical year, with a mission and promise to defend Christ, our King in battle during the next years and all years to come. We know how the war ends, Christ wins, seen in His paschal mystery, but there are battles along the way, happening every day in our souls, and we need to be the soldiers of Christ fighting against the temptations of the enemy that society falls into. We need to defend our King. We need to be reminded that our Kingdom, our King is under attack, that people ridicule Him, despite being the one, true King. We need to take an oath to no one but Christ and put Christ above everything, in our actions, thoughts, laws, etc.

In the ancient world, people would genuflect and fall prostrate for their kings. When the King entered the town, people would wave palm branches and give them praises and glory. But when God entered the world, He became the King of all humanity, the King that loves us to the end, the King that proved his Kingdom through his sacrifice. And because of this, no knee shall bow towards anyone but Our Lord Jesus Christ. When was the last time you fell prostrate towards Christ? When was the last time you really recognized the awe, glory, and power that Jesus Christ has, not because He conquered people, not because He used violence, but because He showed his love for us, through his cross. True love exists, and Christ showed it on the cross. And it is because of this love that the Father exalted him above everyone, and it is because of this that we must Genuflect, bow, and fall prostrate in the face of God, who is present. We must take an oath to no one, and be the defenders of the faith in the world that hates him. Christ has made it clear that He is the King, that is the Word who was at the beginning. The rest falls on you.

Let Christ Be Your King.