Author: Jack Du Pont

Today we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. This is the last Sunday in the liturgical year, the calendar of the church. So we go out on a high note, proclaiming that Jesus is Lord – hallelujah! – and that Christ is King.

Actually, this is quite a new feast in the church’s calendar. It was introduced in 1925 by Pope Pius XI – so it is 100 years old today. It was introduced as a direct response to the growing secularism, and atheism of the times, and in opposition to the totalitarian regimes in Europe, including fascism in Italy, Nazism in Germany, and communism in Russia. The feast was intended to reassert Christ’s authority over all human institutions, reminding the faithful that Christ reigns not only in private hearts but also in public life and society. So happy birthday to the Feast of Christ the King!

However, I can’t help thinking today’s Gospel reading – Luke’s account of the crucifixion, is an odd way to celebrate this feast. Surely the story of Transfiguration or the Resurrection, or maybe of Christ’s Ascension would be more appropriate. And yet there are two elements in Luke’s telling of the ghastly, tragic events on Good Friday we could note. The first is the sign nailed to the cross over Jesus’s head: ‘This is the King of the Jews’ it read; the other, is the story – only to be found in Luke’s gospel – of the repentant thief crucified with him, and his request: ‘Remember me when you come into your kingdom’.

The sign that proclaimed Jesus as the King of the Jews was meant as a cruel joke. The leaders and the soldiers who said ‘You saved others – let’s see you save yourself’ were indulging in bitter mockery. Yet the joke was on them: Jesus is saving others precisely through the suffering that they mock; and there was a kingdom to be seen from Calvary, and it was the repentant thief who could see it.

So what does this Kingdom of Heaven, this Kingdom over which Christ is King, look like? Some of the answers are to be found in the reading from Paul’s letter this morning: in the first chapter of his letter to the Colossians ,Paul’s mention of the Kingdom of the Beloved Son in verse 13 leads to a hymn of praise to Christ the King. Though Christ’s redeeming work on the Cross, we have been rescued from the harsh rule of the power darkness into an inheritance of light: this is not only a promise of new life in the future, Christ’s kingship makes this present life bearable.

However, perhaps the person who has given us the best understanding of what it means to celebrate Christ the King, is the Dutch Reformed theologian and politician Abraham Kuyper. Kuyper’s work pictures a world of many independent spheres, each of which is under the direct kingship of Christ: he spells out the details of what it would look like if our politics, the press, the universities, our family life, and even our football were really acknowledged to belong to Christ’s kingdom. Kuyper rejects the idea that Christian life can be divided into “sacred” and “secular” spheres; he describes how Satan’s kingdom seeks to obscure and undermine Christ’s rule; ultimately, his writings aim to bridge the gap between believers’ private faith and their public life, showing that Christ’s kingship has implications for politics, education, art, and economics. Famously, Kuyper wrote “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: Mine!” This is what we are affirming and celebrating today, on the Feast of Christ the King.

Finally, I would like to leave you with a very practical exercise in picturing Christ’s Kingdom. Simply close your eyes and reflect on your day, on your immediate surroundings, and ask what would a perfect version of this day, and of these circumstances look like? How would I have felt, thought, behaved in such a perfect world, and on such a perfect day? What would your job look like, what would your street look like, or your family relationships? Try not to drift off into fantasy: what would your actual job look like, not your fantasy of an ideal job; simply imagine if you had a good relationship with that colleague you can’t stand. Imagine an exchange of smiles. Remain in your vision: let it calm you, let it inspire you. The Kingdom of Christ the King teaches us not only that this is the world that God too has imagined, but that it is the world which we are called to bring forth. As Christians, our calling is to create the Kingdom of God. So try to keep this kingdom constantly alive in your imagine, and constantly salute and praise its King, our savior Christ the Lord.

Yes, today we proclaim that Christ is King—not only of heaven, not only of our church, but of our homes, our workplaces, our schools, our politics, and our hearts. As we leave this place, let us live as citizens of His kingdom, bearing witness that every square inch belongs to Him.