brothers and sisters

May the Lord give you peace!

Today we celebrate the solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. With this feast, we conclude the liturgical year. And we prepare for Christmas with the precious time of Advent. Today we also have the joy of celebrating the anniversary of our “liturgical group”, and I would really like to thank each and every one of you, for your generous service to the liturgy, which is the heart of a community. You know, you understand a community by how it is celebrated…

The solemnity that we celebrate today invites us to contemplate the kingship of Jesus. A kingship that is not expressed with earthly power, or with force. But a reign of humility, love and mercy. It is a kingship that overturns our human logic and invites us to reconsider the true meaning of reigning…

Yes brothers and sisters, celebrating Christ the King is truly a paradox, and perhaps it may even seem like a contradiction. This celebration invites us to recognize Jesus as the King of the universe and, above all, the King of our lives, in our plans, and of our decisions. But to understand this important celebration well we must understand well: what kind is Jesus ?

In today’s Gospel we see Jesus before Pilate, a confrontation between two opposing visions of power. Pilate represents earthly authority, with his ambitions and his military strength. He asks Jesus: “Are you the king of the Jews?”. Jesus’ answer is clear: “My kingdom is not of this world”.

Jesus is not a king like those the world knows. He does not seek political power; he does not impose his dominion by force. His kingdom is a kingdom of truth, justice and love. He reigns by serving, he gives life… and his crown is of thorns, not gold. This challenges us to reconsider our ideas of power and success. Yes, to understand the kingdom of Christ, to understand King Jesus we must change our minds, we must “convert”…our actions and behaviour.

Jesus says to Pilate: “Whoever is of the truth, listens to my voice”. This truth is not just an abstract concept, but it is the profound reality of God’s love for humanity. Jesus came to reveal this truth, which frees us from sin and death. The truth of Christ invites us to live according to the Gospel, to reject the lies of the world and to choose the path of justice and peace…

Brothers and sisters, we must be very clear… and this is the moment we must decide. And it is for everyone: priests, religious, lay people, the elderly, the young, for everyone: which kingdom do we want to serve? The kingdom of this world, or the kingdom of Jesus.

If you think you dominate, that you only command, and not “serve”, you are not accepting the kingdom of Jesus… For me, the example of decision for the kingdom of Christ is our Patriarch, Cardinal Pizzaballa. In this difficult moment that the Church of the Holy Land is experiencing, with the war in Gaza, he has decided to be close to the poor, the children, the elderly. I saw the Patriarch cry, because he could not get food into Gaza for the poor… Yes, food for the poor… taking care of the sick… working for justice and peace… this is the kingdom of Christ…. To be in the kingdom of Christ is to embrace the Cross of Christ.

Recognizing Christ as King of the universe means welcoming him as the Lord of our life. Who reigns in our heart? Often, we risk putting other “kings” on the throne of our existence: like success, money, pride. But only Christ can give us the peace and happiness we seek.

Yes brothers and sisters, the kingdom of Christ manifests itself every time we choose love instead of hate, truth instead of lies, forgiveness instead of revenge…

Dear brothers and sisters, today we are called to renew our fidelity to Christ the King. He does not want to dominate us, but he wants to guide us with love towards eternal life. Let us entrust to Him our life, our joys and our difficulties. And let us pray and ask….Thy kingdom come, Lord Jesus!” Amen.