Christ the King

Christ the King Sunday or Reign of Christ Sunday is celebrated on the last Sunday of the liturgical year.¹ It was begun by Pope Pius XI in 1925 as a response to the growing secularism of the time. The years between the end of World War 1 and the beginning of World War 2² were a time of social, political, and technological changes. At the same time fascism was on the rise³. While the focus of Christ the King Sunday (and the lectionary readings) have shifted over time, it is always useful to spend time thinking about what it means to proclaim Jesus as King.

Thinking about Jesus as King is not a new idea. Certainly many of his earliest followers expected Jesus to become king, ruling over the restored nation of Israel in their time. In our time, to proclaim Jesus as King can cause us no end of trouble, because we have such difficulty believing the sort of king Jesus actually is. This week’s gospel reading text is a familiar Holy Week text, but it might not be what you or I would have chosen for “Christ the King” Sunday.

When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots to divide his clothing. And the people stood by watching, but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one! The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”

One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom.” He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:33-43

Historically kings held substantial power and authority. Today kings are more figureheads than persons with ruling authority. Yet the concept of “king” in common usage, remains a way of describing a person with significant if not absolute authority. Given how we typically think about kings, this text seems an odd choice. But reflect for a moment what it does say about the kingship of Jesus.

What we know about Jesus life, death, and resurrection is in contradiction to how we think about kings. Kings take food and resources from people⁴. Jesus fed people. Kings punish those who oppose them. Jesus may have criticized but he never harmed or ostracised anyone. People kneel before kings and serve kings. Jesus washed the disciples’ (even Judas’) feet. Jesus told them and us that he came to serve, not to be served.

Holy Week is a time when the way of the kingdom of God, embodied in Jesus, and the way of the empire of Rome come into sharp relief. Jesus entry into Jerusalem is presented in direct contrast to the Emperor’s entry. Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a donkey not an imperial war horse. Jesus was accompanied by regular people, the working poor, not rich elites and military might of the empire.When confronted with arrest and trial, Jesus chose the way of non- violence. He did not call for angels or his followers to fight for him ⁵. The kingship of Jesus was mocked and scoffed at, rather than honored. Jesus forgave those who killed him. Even after the resurrection, Jesus did not and does not seize power. Jesus never used or advocated for might and power over others. He is a most un kingly king.

It’s hard to think of a gospel text about Jesus that supports our ideas about what a king ought to be. In fact, Jesus goes out of his way to not be called king. Take a look at any of the gospels and see how Jesus acts. He’s not very king-like. The way he lives and the way he calls his followers to live are not how kings and the king’s favorites live. This is not an accident. It wasn’t that Jesus just wasn’t very adept at being a king. It wasn’t that Jesus forgot to be a king, or that he ran out of time to be a king. Jesus completely and deliberately redefines what it means to be a king.

Christianity has repeatedly gotten the kingship of Jesus the wrong way around. Christians, as followers of Jesus have gotten our role and responsibilities wrong time and again. We slide into a triumphalist mindset with alarming ease. We forget, or can’t recognize, or refuse to believe that the way of life Jesus calls us to is completely unlike anything we find in this world. And that includes how people in positions of authority behave.

The vision of Christ as a conquering, dominating, authoritarian king is wrong. This wrong vision is what drives much of today’s Christian nationalism beliefs and then shapes their view of society and government. The hierarchical, patriarchal, world view that privileges systems of power and control, in families and in civil life, is not the way of Jesus. The idea that Christians must be in charge and that particular religious values must be enforced by law is not the way of Jesus. I intentionally called Christian nationalism’s values “religious” values rather than the term they use, “biblical” values, because I do not think they are biblical values.

Christ the King Sunday is a good idea, because it is a day to readjust our ideas about what sort of king Jesus is. Christ the King eats with sinners. Christ the King heals every illness. Christ the King feeds the hungry. Christ the King challenges the wealthy to give up their wealth. Christ the King reimagines economies. Christ the King brings a kingdom of peace, not violence or fear. Christ the King recognizes the value and beloved status of all people. Christ the King united people in unity, into lives based in non coercive love. Christ the King rules by invitation, welcoming and accepting all.

1. This year the last Sunday of the liturgical year is Nov 23, 2025. For a picture of the Christian year, see this post ↩︎
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interwar_period ↩︎
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism ↩︎
4. When the people of ancient Israel want a king, “to be like other nations” this is exactly what God has the prophet Samuel warn the people about. 1 Samuel 8 ↩︎
5. Matthew 26: 50-56; John 18:35-36 ↩︎