We have had, in the course of world history, many kings and queens, especially in my home country of England. Some of them have been good rulers, saintly even (e.g. St Stephen of Hungary, St Edward the Confessor, Queen Margaret of Scotland). But many have not been quite so saintly. True is the saying of Lord Acton over a century and a half ago: “Power corrupts, Absolute power corrupts absolutely”. There is something about earthly power and authority that can go to a person’s head, and when that power belongs to an absolute monarch, with life and death in their hands, it can lead to some terrible atrocities. It is why countries with traditional monarchies have long understood the need to establish various restrictions against abuse of power in their leaders.
Pilate understood the danger of allowing a king to arise in Israel, which would be a threat to him and to the Roman emperor. In our gospel today, Pilate questions Jesus to see if he represented a danger to Roman rule. In answer to such an accusation, Jesus states that the kingship which he wields is of a different order to earthly rule. It looks to an allegiance of the heart and a spiritual sovereignty which in no way is competitive with earthly power. But there is a self-awareness and an acknowledgement from Jesus that he is a king, that he does come to bring in the reign, the kingdom, or rather kingship of God. To deny that would be to deny the supreme truth of who he is, and since Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, (John 14:6), he cannot lie, he has to speak the truth. Pilate realizes that he is in the presence of greatness and a true majesty, although he declares to the Jewish leaders that he sees no political threat in Jesus. “I find no guilt in him” he says, and subsequently several times tries to secure the release of Jesus, before being forced by the leaders to give Jesus up to execution. Even then, Pilate has the last laugh. On the sign above the cross of Jesus, on which was usually written the reason for the criminal’s execution, Pilate has written “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”. The Jewish leaders object to this designation, telling Pilate that he should have written: “This man said, I am King of the Jews”. Pilate’s answer is immediate and crushing “What I have written, I have written” (John 19: 19-22). Pilate is saying, in no uncertain terms, “This man I crucified was and is your king. Deal with it”. The thief crucified by Jesus’ side says to him “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). The centurion who watches Jesus die is forced to admit, as he sees the way in which he accepts death, “Truly this man was the Son of God” (Mark 15: 39). Jesus reigns from the cross, the cross is his throne and it seems everyone accepts that except the Jewish leaders who should have been the first to acknowledge his reign and his Lordship. Their loss, our gain. We former pagans, who have come late to the party, and yet believe in Christ’s kingship, even though we were never present at his crucifixion, we have submitted to the truth that Jesus Christ is Universal God and Savior, we become part of Jesus’ dominion or kingdom.
Our reward is to become ourselves a kingdom and priests to Jesus and to his heavenly Father. This is what our baptism does for us. It anoints us to share in the kingly, priestly and prophetic role of Jesus. Like Jesus, we are to show our kingship by a life of service to our fellow man and woman, a service that reaches out on their behalf and shares with them the offer of eternal life and forgiveness of sins made available to us through Jesus and his Church. That bestows on us a nobility and dignity that nothing and no-one can ever take away from us, no matter how much we may be despised and rejected in this present life. This day, on which we celebrate and acknowledge the kingship of Christ, is also held by the Church as the World Day of Youth. We, who are older, need to pass the baton of faith onto our youth, letting them know that there can be no greater dignity and nobility to their lives, no greater contribution that they can make to the betterment of the world, than to commit themselves to Christ and the spread of his kingdom, a kingdom, as declared in our Preface for this Mass, which is “an eternal and universal kingdom, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace”. Pope Francis will declare as saints next year, Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati, the former 15 years of age, the latter 24, when they died. Both were young men who had a love for life and a strong influence on their young colleagues, showing that you could embrace a full life and nurture a strong faith as well. Their canonization at such a young age should encourage and inspire our youth to know that they can aspire to be saints as well, and that living a life of Christian faith and holiness does not mean that we have to become hermits and “holy joes”. May we, as their elders, show that truth by the joyful, loving, peaceful and holy lives we live in witness to our faith in Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Amen.