We all believe that Christ is the King of the universe, and that his Kingdom "will have no end." We profess this belief every week in our Creed. But what is the nature of this Kingdom What kind of a Kingdom is it whose King is enthroned on a cross, as our King is?
Kings are responsible for bringing peace and prosperity, justice and order to their people. Christ did that for us, and for the human race, from the cross. Yet Christ's peace is not always visible to the naked eye. It takes faith to see it, because it is a peace that lasts forever, an interior peace that comes from being brought into friendship with God.
The bad thief and the rulers didn't see this peace – they were looking for a king who would bring them earthly prosperity. The Good Thief did see it. He recognized that Jesus was no ordinary, earthly king, and that he had a bigger plan in mind.
What was that plan? The source of all evil and suffering in the world is sin – mankind's interior and ongoing rebellion against God, instigated by the devil in the Garden of Eden. End that rebellion, and you will have lasting peace. Jesus came to do that.
As St Paul writes in the Second Reading, Jesus came to "deliver us from the power of darkness and transfer us to the kingdom" of God. He did that through his loving obedience "unto death on a cross" (Philippians 2:8), which reversed Adam and Eve's self-centered disobedience and made friendship with God possible again. In Christ, the rebellion ended. Through obedience to Christ our King, as the Good Thief teaches us, we can have the lasting peace of living in friendship with God: "Today you will be with me in Paradise."
Usually when we think about the crucifixion, we think about it from the perspective of the people standing around the cross and looking up at Jesus.
But what did it look like from Jesus' perspective? He was looking down at his torturers and his disciples, and in his mind's eye he saw us as well – we are present there, mysteriously but truly, every time we come to Mass. As he looked, he hoped that we, like the Good Thief, would accept his gift of salvation, of true interior peace.
Here is how one writer has expressed the thoughts of our King on the throne of his cross: "The people watched and stared at me hanging and dying on the Cross... The rulers sneered at me; the soldiers mocked me; one of the thieves reviled me... You were there too, and all of those who have called themselves Christians. Every time my followers fail to come to their neighbor's aid they join Calvary's passive spectators; when they disdain the teachings of the Church they join the sneering rulers and mocking soldiers; when they give up their faith or let it smolder because they prefer the passing kingdoms of this world, they join the reviling thief. I saw your face looking up at me as I hung upon the cross. At first you laughed and mocked, you were distracted and careless, just like the others. Then you saw that I was looking at you, waiting for you, hoping in you... A flash of recognition flitted across your eyes. I knew that you had glimpsed my love, that you were sorry. And even then, in my agony, I smiled. Whenever you repent, whenever you come to me in your need and ask me to be your King, I take you by the hand and rejoice in leading you to Paradise." ("The Better Part: A Christ-Centered Resource for Personal Prayer," by John Bartunek, LC, p777).
Today, as we celebrate the Eucharist, the veil of time and history will be lifted, and we will be sacramentally, mysteriously present at the crucifixion. Through the Eucharist, Christ will offer his body and blood in reparation for our sins. He will then offer them to us as nourishment, to strengthen us so that we can follow him faithfully, carrying our own crosses and those of our neighbors.
Why? Why does Christ constantly, day after day, week after week, year after year, offer himself to us? Because he knows that we long for a peace that only he can give, the peace that comes from being purified of sin and filled with grace. However, he cannot give us this peace unless we agree to it. We must agree to live as his subjects, to believe what he teaches, to follow what he commands, to desire what he wills. This is what he taught us when he instructed us to pray, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven."
The fullness of this Kingdom will be revealed only at the end of history. But the saints show us that even so, it is still possible to enjoy its power and blessings here on earth – if only we are willing to put our own comfort and satisfaction in second place, and seek first to love God and love our neighbors as Christ as loved us. Jesus is hoping that today each one of us will renew our commitment to do just that.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said this about Christ our King, “The Cross is the 'throne' where he manifested his sublime kingship as God Love: by offering himself in expiation for the sin of the world, he defeated the "ruler of this world" (Jn 12: 31) and established the Kingdom of God once and for all. It is a Kingdom that will be fully revealed at the end of time, after the destruction of every enemy and last of all, death (cf. I Cor 15: 25-26). The Son will then deliver the Kingdom to the Father and God will finally be "everything to everyone." (I Cor 15: 28)
“The way to reach this goal is long and admits of no short cuts: indeed, every person must freely accept the truth of God's love. He is Love and Truth, and neither Love nor Truth are ever imposed: they come knocking at the doors of the heart and the mind and where they can enter they bring peace and joy. This is how God reigns; this is his project of salvation, a "mystery" in the biblical sense of the word: a plan that is gradually revealed in history.” (Homily for Christ the King, 2006)
Today the eternal King is knocking once again on the door of our hearts – something inside of us still has to be conquered. Let's let him in, so that his victory, and his peace, can truly be ours.