Sharers in His Kingship (Christ the King.B.2021)

 

When I was young, a boy might read a Hardy Boys novel and decide to be a detective, and a girl might read the Nancy Drew series and get the same idea.

Although I did read the Hardy Boys—and the occasional Nancy Drew off my sister’s shelf if I was desperate—I never wanted to be a detective. My childhood career choice came from reading Mark Twain’s novel The Prince and the Pauper. I figured I would make a rather good English prince. (I didn’t think there was much future in becoming a pauper.)

Looking back, I didn’t make a good start on the virtue of humility!

St. Paul wanted to keep his converts humble. He asked the Corinthians “What do you have that you did not receive?”

That’s a good question for any of us to answer. Whatever we have—talents, titles, even faith itself, is a gift from God, not any accomplishment of ours.

But on this glorious parish feast day, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, I would like to ask a very different question. What does Christ have that you did not receive? What does the King of the Universe possess that he did not share with us?

There’s an easy answer: Christ was God, and he certainly didn’t share that with us. But the answer is wrong. What does the priest say at every Mass, as he prepares the chalice? It’s said quietly, so you might not know this prayer: “By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.”

So that takes care of divinity. Jesus shares his divinity with us. If this were my main point today, I could name a dozen Fathers of the Church who have taught this truth.

But let’s go back to the question. What did Jesus have that he didn’t share with us? Radically, we know he shared his body and his blood. We know he shared his inheritance since St. Paul says we are “heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.” The Apostle also tells us that if we share in his sufferings we may also share in his glory (Romans 8:17).

And there’s something else. Something we often talk about in the parish: Christ’s mission. We know that Jesus shared his mission and ministry with the Church and with all the baptized.

So what’s left for us to share?

Today’s feast points us to one more thing. Even as we acclaim Christ as our King and Redeemer, we rejoice that Jesus even shared his Kingship with us. We have a share in his sovereignty.

Let’s look at today’s Scriptures. The first reading and the Gospel are all about Christ, who “was given dominion and glory and kingship,” and who came into the world “to testify to the truth.” But the second reading says something about us: Christ has made us “a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father.”

We’re not just priests, however. We are royal priests, sharing in the kingship of Christ. St. Peter states that clearly in his First Letter. Here’s what he says: “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation…” (2:9a).

And let’s be careful not to think we’re talking about priests like me and Fr. Lucio. At baptism, the priest or deacon says, “As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet, and King, so may you live always as a member of his body, sharing everlasting life.” Every Christian shares in the priestly, prophetic, and kingly mission of Christ according to his or her state in life.

Many of us share the Lord’s rule in our relationships with others. Priests who are terrified of exercising any pastoral authority are failing to share in the Shepherd-King’s office shared with them in baptism and ordination. Parents who avoid using God-given authority to guide their families, “lovingly, patiently and sacrificially” are missing a key aspect of the call received in baptism and in marriage.

All of us are rulers, if not of others, then at least of ourselves. We’re given the power to rule over our impulses and passions, for one thing.

Perhaps most importantly, our share in the kingship of Christ leads directly to a deeper understanding of human dignity. The deepest roots of our dignity aren’t found in what we do, but in who we are. Whatever you think of hereditary monarchy, it’s not mainly about what the royals do; it’s about who they’re related to.

So too with us. Knowing we’re all members of Christ’s royal family helps us respect ourselves as we must, avoiding all that defiles our conscience and erodes our self-respect.

On top of that, a lively awareness of the share in his kingship that Christ has given us reminds us to respect the dignity of others. We honour Jesus, the ruler of the kings of the earth, whenever we honour one another, even in what Mother Teresa called “the distressing disguise of the poor."

Knowing that the Lord “made us to be a kingdom” should give us a confidence to do what we can to make the world better, despite the fact it has turned away from his sovereign rule. Christians are largely ignored in the public square these days, but that does not mean we do not belong there.

As one author put it recently, “The laity’s kingly office is exercised by their leadership in temporal affairs, acting as Christ would. Jesus, the king of heaven, gave his life to conquer sin and death, to bring resurrection and new life. By bringing Christ’s leadership and governance in our own spheres, we offer renewal and new life where it is most needed.”

The laity help to rule society according to God’s plan for creation in whatever sphere they have influence, including the stewardship of creation. As Pope Francis says in his encyclical Laudato Si’,  “our ‘dominion’ over the universe should be understood more properly in the sense of responsible stewardship” (94).

The Catechism of the Catholic Church sums up everything I’ve said today in two sentences: “Jesus Christ is the one whom the Father anointed with the Holy Spirit and established as priest, prophet, and king. The whole People of God participates in these three offices of Christ and bears the responsibilities for mission and service that flow from them.” (CCC 783)

The way my life has unfolded, I never did get offered a job as a prince, although I’ve never been a pauper, either. But today, together with each one of you, I celebrate something greater still: our royal share in the mission of the King of Kings, to whom “be glory and dominion, forever and ever.”