In 1925, Pope Pius XI looked out at the world around him; he did not like the reality he saw. People were turning away from God and from the Church. Europe was devastated from the violence and tragedy of WWI. Russia had become a Marxist state after the Russian revolution. Governments in Mexico and in many European countries were making things difficult for people to practice the Christian faith. Secularism, modernism, fascism, and nationalism were creating conditions that would later lead to WWII. In December 1925, Pope Pius XI issued the encyclical Quas Primas, establishing the feast of Christ the King on the last Sunday of the liturgical year. He explained that a majority of people in his day had thrust Christ and God’s law out of their lives, that Jesus and the values of his life and ministry no longer held supremacy in either in private affairs or in politics. Pius XI wanted this feast of Christ the King to help the people of world to search for their destiny in “the peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ.” That same year, the Pope declared a special jubilee year to pray for peace throughout the world. As we turn on the news, seeing violence, terrorism, and mass shootings so pervasively, the message of Christ the King speaks to us today.
There is a great story about the pride and ego of Napoleon, the emperor of France. He had won great military victories in Egypt and Italy, setting his sights on conquering the rest of the world. In his quest for power, he decided he would be declared emperor. To show his prominence and legitimacy, and to root his authority in the French monarchy and in the Catholic Church, at Napoleon’s request he was to be consecrated emperor by the Pope himself. He was to be the first Frenchman to hold the title of emperor since the Emperor Charlemagne had been crowned emperor in Rome by Pope Leo III on Christmas day in the year 800. Pope Pius VII traveled from Rome to Paris for the ceremony at Notre Dame Cathedral. Yet, on the snowy morning of December 2, 1804, at the moment the Pope was to crown Napoleon as emperor, Napoleon turned away from the Pope on the high altar, faced the congregation, and put the crown on himself. Napoleon then put a crown on the Empress Josephine. In his arrogance and pride, Napoleon wanted to show that he was above the Church and above God. Is that the way we behave in our own lives? Does our pride keep us from truly acknowledging that Jesus is our king?
In our Gospel today, when Pilate questions him, Jesus explains that his kingdom is not of this world. Think about how every time we pray the Lord’s prayer, we pray “thy kingdom come.” We try to live by the values of the Gospel and the values of Christ’s kingdom so as to infuse our world with those values. However, so often, the values of Christ’s kingdom are so different from the values of the world. The world can be a frightening place. Just as Pope Pius looked out the world in 1925 and saw things that alarmed him, we often feel the same way today, don’t we? We question just how safe we are in the world today. There are no easy answers to the reality we face today, just as there were no easy answers to what the world faced back in 1925 when the Pope declared the solemnity of Christ the King.
Our Church leaders and our faith offer us some wise advice. Archbishop Chaput of Philadelphia calls us to place our confidence in the Word of God, to open ourselves to the transformative power of Christ’s grace, and to truly believe that we can realistically live out the values that the Church teaches. God calls us to mercy and courage and wisdom, not anger or fear or frustration. One of my parishioners in Yazoo City told me about working with the little kindergarteners in the nursery. She was reading one of the children a book, and on one of the pages, there was a picture of a little crown in the corner. She pointed to the crown, and asked the little boy, “John David, I wonder what that little crown is for.” John David responded, “That crown is for Jesus. He is the king of kings.” Even a little child, in his innocence and honesty, can recognize Jesus as our king. One of the members of the Hispanic community once said to me: “Father Lincoln, shouldn’t the feast of Christ the King be as important to us as Easter or Christmas, for if Christ is not truly our king, what significance does all the rest have in our lives?” In order for us to truly say that we belong to Christ's kingship, to Christ’s kingdom, we are called to walk with Christ in our daily lives, to walk in the truth that he embodies and proclaims. Through our actions and our spirit, we will show the world that Christ is our King.
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