Jesus King

 

Since 1776 kings and queens haven't had much meaning for us, so what do we make of a feast called "Christ the King"?
In John's account of Jesus before Pontius Pilate Jesus says in effect that "king" is not the way he thinks of himself.
One way I find helpful to think of this feast is that Jesus wants to be the dominant influence in my life, the center, the reason I live. His strategy for winning our hearts is simple - He loves us. Such powerful love is irresistible. We drop our defenses and surrender ourselves totally to Jesus.
I remember when, after communion, I would finish drinking the Blood of Christ left in the chalice and rinse it out, I would talk to Jesus moving in this sacramental way into my bloodstream. I would ask Jesus to make my blood his, to make my body his, to change my mind into his so I would see things with his eyes, to make my will his so that I would want what he wants, to turn my heart into his heart so that I would love the way that he loves.
If I could let that happen and every Christian could let that happen, then Jesus really would be our "king."
(The picture is the grand basilica at St. Vincent's in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.)