34th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B), Solemnity of Christ the King

Sunday 24 November 2024
Jn 18,33-37

“Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?… My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.””
(Jn 18,33-34.36-37)

In the last dramatic hours of his earthly life, Jesus is put on trial before Pontius Pilate, on the charge of kingship: “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asks him. Initially, Jesus answers indirectly, referring to His kingdom; then, pressed by the procurator, he affirms His kingship. He is king and precisely for this declaration he will be condemned to death on the cross.
To grasp the depth of this statement, we must take a big step back in time and return to the time of the prophet Samuel, when there was not yet a monarchy in Israel. At that time, the Lord raised up charismatic figures, those moved and guided by the Spirit of God, who when necessary gathered the people together and formed an army capable of defending them from enemy attacks. Until the people, tired of always depending on improvised figures, asked Samuel for a king, just like other peoples. The Lord grants what is requested, but the concession has a dramatic tone and, addressing the prophet, he says: “… they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me, so that I may not reign over them” (1 Sam 8:7). The verb to reject is the same as that used in Acts 4:11: “The stone that the builders rejected…”. The kingship of God is rejected, discarded. And why? To be like others, to not be different, out of shame for living according to the criteria of the kingdom of God.
Back to us… Let us not be afraid to welcome the values of the Kingdom of Heaven, such as purity, faithfulness… because they are the only ones that can give us the joy that the world cannot give. Let us therefore welcome into our lives the kingship of the Messiah: Jesus. His kingdom is a kingdom of peace!

p. Giuseppe