Jesus answered, “You say 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.”

Today is a special feast day…, the “Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ the King.” This feast was originally created by Pope Pius XI in 1925 in direct response to the comunist threat that was encircling the globe, and the secular athiest mindsets that follow in the wake of this evil movement. Pius wanted to help the world understand that while governments come and go, Christ reigns forever as king of the universe.

What does it mean that Jesus is king of the universe? The catholic church teaches that there are 3 churches in god’s kingdom. The church militant is the faithful here on earth that are fighting to make it to heaven. The church suffering are the faithful in purgatory, that have the hope of being with god in heaven but still need to be purged of all of their remaining attachment to sin. Finally there is the church triumphant, which consists of the faithful that are with God in heaven. Jesus’ kingdom is in heaven, and while his dominion covers the entire universe and all of his faithful, only the Church Triumphant are able to see Him in all His glory.

The church militant and suffering yearn to be with Him in heaven, but we must fight the good fight here on earth before we can earn that joy and right.  This world, and the world of purgatory, are stained and corrupted by sin. The devil has succeeded in destroying the world that God created, and marring it with the ugliness of his lies. The Lord our God, allows this evil and this sin because He can use it to make good from it. The bible says that all of heaven rejoices when one sinner turns from their evil ways. And that only happens when a sinner climbs out of the mire and muck of their sin, and washes themselves clean in the blood of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross. If Jesus were to enter into this world, and make His divinity known, it would rob us of that triumph. And so the church militant, and the church suffering strive and struggle to overcome their weakness and to finally make it to heaven.

But for many in this world that love their sin and hate God, they find the idea of Christ as King as so offensive, that they will violently oppose it. We have public figures that have claimed that saying “christ is king” is anti-semitic and even racist. Far left atheist politicians have claimed that those that believe that christ is king, like Traditional Catholics, are domsetic terrorists and white supremesists. But it is not just a modern problem, The pharisees and the romans killed Jesus because of their fear of losing their earthly power, and influence.

But why is this statement so offensive to many? Because if christ is king, then it means that all of their other reliegions are false. It means that their idols of money, power, and politics are meaningless, and fleating. And it means that everything that they have acquired through theft and violence, and deciet will not save them from the judgement that the true king of the universe will levy upon them.

The difference is the truth. The truth is that Christ is indeed King. And because that is true that means that all of the other world religions that put their faith and worship in something other than christ are pagans, and their gods are fake, if not disguised demons. If Christ is indeed king, then that means the rich and powerful people of this world, while in possession of many things, are utterly bankrupt in what really matters, and what will ultimately bring them eternal happiness. This is why Pilot scoffs at the idea of truth and says “what is truth?” He denied the truth, in fact damned the truth, and ultimately killed the truth in one of the most horrific ways humanly possible.

Jesus knowing all this responds by saying, “anyone that hears the truth obeys me.” And that is ultimately the point of this whole dialog. When you see Jesus as who he truly is, God of the universe, and you confront what that truth means to your life, it is at that moment that everything changes. You cannot confront the truth that Christ is King, and not be moved by it. If you reject it you will violently revolt against it (like many do), but if you accept it, you must change your life, and order it according to his will for you. And when you do that you will find yourself a Christian, and your life will be forever changed. This is my wish for you that you too confront this truth, that you too will be changed by it. Viva Christo Rey.

Oh Lord, help my brothers and sisters to see you as you truly are, king of the universe, and to be utterly changed by it.