The Kitchen Sink
An occasional piece of paper
November 23, 2003
Vol. 6 no. 42

Everything But...
           At least in Canada we can still talk about kings without everyone thinking you are anti-democratic. At the moment, the Canadians who can remember a king are in the shrinking minority. King and Queen are not inclusive titles, so today has been properly rendered The Reign of Christ. Clever, for monarchs do reign; we commoners are more common.
           Pope Pius XI instituted Christ the King Sunday in 1925, on the occasion of the 1600th anniversary of the Council of Nicea, and especially the Nicene Creed (on page 920 in Voices United). There were still kings then, but it wasn’t until after the Second Vatican Council that it began to be observed ecumenically, and only in 1969 was it moved to the last Sunday after Pentecost.
           Being a king in the first century was not a neutral position. For the Jews, Jesus being King of the Jews was blasphemy because there was only one King of the Universe – God. Herod, the governor of Judea, was known to have styled himself as King of the Jews, perhaps King over the Jews is what he really meant. The soldiers posted a mocking sign on the cross that Jesus was this ineffective king. Jesus, however, was reinventing the job.
           A king must have a kingdom, but Jesus’ reign was elsewhere. A king must be powerful to compel others to follow his lead, but Jesus’ weakness is more compelling, and his kingdom has endured far longer than the greatest of human empires. Today is not intended to be the conclusion of the year; instead, a new beginning in a kingdom always right here in our midst.