Scripture Sunday: Christ the King

Revelation 1:4b-8
​1:4 Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
7 Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. So it is to be. Amen.
8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.
John 18:33-37
18:33 Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?"
34 Jesus answered, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?"
35 Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?"
36 Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here."
37 Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that 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."

Happy last day of the year—at least in the Western church calendar! Today is Christ the King Sunday, the final Sunday of the liturgical year, just before Advent begins and ushers in a new year of worship and reflection. Much like the transition in our everyday calendars, this day offers us an opportunity to pause, reflect, and set intentions for the year ahead.

The church calendar invites us to end the year with the assurance and hope that Christ is King. Christ’s kingship is not one of domination or worldly power. He is not a King who rules through force or seeks to take what is not his. Instead, Christ is a King who humbles himself to serve the lowly. He left the riches of heaven to become poor for our sake. By his own blood, he overcame death and fear. He reigns in love and invites us to share in his life.

Christ’s Kingdom, however, is not of this world. Yet this does not mean he does not care for it. Rather, his Kingdom is the world reconciled to God. As Scripture teaches, Christ came to “reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross” (Col. 1:20). The evil of this world will pass away, but the world Christ came to save will endure, transformed and redeemed.

Saint Basil (330-379) reflects on this cosmic reconciliation and how Christ’s death on the cross extends to all creation:
“Why was the economy of the Incarnation accomplished through the Cross? Because those saved were collected from the four parts of the earth (cf. Mt 24:31). In fact, the cross is divided into four parts in order to touch the four parts of the cosmos. Hence, the chosen death on the cross was so that all parts of the cosmos, through the four parts of the cross, can participate in salvation. Another reason could be that besides the wooden cross, there was an intelligible cross etched into the cosmos, since the four parts of the universe touch at the center, and, thus, from the center energy extends into its four parts” (In Is. 249; PG 30, 557B).

Christ, the Alpha and the Omega, who was, and is, and is to come, is the King supreme. All things were made through him, and in him, all things hold together. Because of this, we can encounter Christ in all of creation. Saint Basil explains how the visible world can lead us to the invisible beauty of God’s Kingdom:
“May God who, after having made such great things, grant you the intelligence of His truth, so that you may raise yourselves from visible things to the invisible Being, and that the grandeur and beauty of creatures may give you a just idea of the Creator. For the visible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, and His power and divinity are eternal” (Hex. 3,10,5-6; cf. Rm 1:20).

In Christ’s Kingdom, he has made us a Kingdom of priests (Rev. 1:6). Priests serve as intermediaries between God and others, offering sacrifices, teaching, studying, and helping others worship God. They remind people of their forgiveness and guide their communities toward God. As a holy nation of priests, we are called to guide others to experience what it means for Christ to be King.

As priests in his Kingdom, we have the privilege and responsibility of pointing others to the beauty of Christ’s reign—a reign visible in the world he created and redeemed. In every person, in all creation, and throughout the cosmos, we are invited to contemplate Christ, the King who chose to use his power not to dominate but to give life. By contemplating the visible world and the beauty it reveals, we are drawn into the mystery of our King and his Kingdom and invited to act to bring his Kingdom to Earth.
As the year comes to an end and we look to the next, let us live as priests of this Kingdom, reflecting the love and humility of our King seen in all that he made. Let us let our contemplation lead to action, just as our King did, bringing justice to all of creation.

Caroline Hiler is a Seminary Intern at Creation Justice Ministries