Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King which brings about the conclusion of our liturgical year.
A king has a kingdom entrusted to his care. For Christ our King this is also true, but it does not come in the worldly sense which was expected. To put this into perspective, the words “Kingdom of God” appear a total of 122 times throughout the course of the New Testament, 99 of these times they are found within the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), and 80 out of these 99 times are the words of Jesus Himself. From this we can gather that the “Kingdom of God” is at the front and center of Christ’s message.
If the “Kingdom of God” was so important to Christ’s message we must reason that the Kingdom of God continues to be important for us in this day and age. Despite this importance it easy to get confused on the true meaning of the Kingdom of God or the statement that Christ is our King. Our Gospel presents us with Pilate who much like others was confused on these statements. Pilate who questions Jesus concerning His Kingship. Pilate who was confused on what it meant for Christ to be a King or to have a kingdom. Pilate who was convinced that Christ was a threat to his rule.
Much like Pilate our world seems to be engulfed in a similar attitude. We have become so busy as a culture that we have fooled ourself into believing that we are no longer in need of God. We believe that we are at the height of the enlightenment and thus we reject the reality of there being a finite truth. We have become desensitized to immorality to the point that we no longer feel compelled to chase after virtue. We place the pursuit of money and belongings at the center of our life. We have cut ourself off from the community and attempt to do everything alone. Yes, much like Pilate we fear anything that might infringe upon our way of life.
Nevertheless, it is Christ whom our heart truly longs for. It is Christ and His Kingdom that will set us free from all that holds us hostage. Pilate came into an encounter with the Kingdom of God because he came into an encounter with Christ. Despite this encounter he missed the very thing that His heart longed for. Origen held that the Kingdom of God is made manifest through the presence of Christ. Therefore this statement is not about a location, but is about the Person of Christ Himself and our relation to this Person. In the words of Benedict XVI: “The Kingdom of God is not to be found on any map. It is not a kingdom after the fashion of worldly kingdoms; it is located in man’s inner being. It grows and radiates outward from that inner space.”
