For the majority of people the days of being governed by a king are long gone. In most parts of the world kingships and kingdoms have given way to governments and democracies. For this reason we are no longer familiar and perhaps even comfortable with what it means to be ruled by a king. For this reason too Christians may find it difficult to relate to the idea that Jesus is our King. If we are able to move beyond any initial reaction we may have we can come to see that the kingship of Jesus is a powerful and beautiful reality in the life of the Christian community.
To have Jesus as our King means that we have someone to look up to, someone who can inspire and guide us. It means too that we have someone who is in control of our lives, someone with power. To know that there is a powerful person in control of our lives makes us feel safe and secure; it also gives us confidence.
Of course there is a particular aspect to the kingship of Jesus that we need to keep in mind. The Gospel tells us that Jesus is the person to whom we must give an account of ourselves when we die. In other words, Jesus and Jesus only is the one who will judge us. But what will Jesus our King base his judgement on? Practical love. Did we care for those in need? Did we feed the hungry? Did we visit the sick and the lonely? Did we clothe the naked? Did we practise what used to be called the corporal works of mercy? St John of the Cross, the Carmelite poet and mystic puts it well. He says, “In the evening of life we will be examined in love.”
It is inspiring and encouraging for us to know that Jesus, our King, leads by example. He does not ask us to do something that he did not do himself. Jesus fed the hungry, he cured the sick, he befriended lepers and social outcasts, he comforted those who felt lost. Jesus was a servant king. In fact, Jesus still is a servant king. Jesus continues to identify himself with the poor, the weak, the unloved. Indeed, in some mysterious way Jesus is actually present in them. “As long as you did this to the least of these brothers and sisters of mine you did it to me” (Matt 25:40). We meet Jesus in our neighbour and we serve Jesus in our neighbour. This is why Jesus, our King, will judge us on how we treat others, especially those who are most vulnerable.