There were many times when the people who followed Jesus wanted to make him a King. The people obviously thought that Jesus could offer them hope for the future. They wanted Jesus to replace the political leaders of their time and build a Kingdom of Justice and Peace. Whenever Jesus recognized that the people wanted to make him a King he would flee from them. Jesus had no desire to assume an earthly kingdom. Jesus had no desire to save the people through some political plan of his own. The power and authority that Jesus demonstrated through his ministry to the poor and sick did not come from some political mandate thrust upon him by the people. Jesus was indeed born to be a King, he was the Son of David and there was a kingdom that awaited him but it was not one that the people could bestow upon him. As Jesus humbly revealed to Pilate during his Passion, “My kingdom is not here.”

Jesus knew that a kingdom awaited him. He knew that he would one day reign over all peoples and nations. However, the source of his power and authority would not be built out of fear, it would not be based upon some external mandate thrust upon him, rather, his power and authority would be drawn out of love. The reign of his kingdom would be exercised from within the people rather than from outside. The signs of his kingship would not be armies and coercive regimes but would be the interior freedom of a heart filled with love. The power and authority of Jesus flows out of his obedience to the Father’s will, not the pursuit of his own selfish ends.

The true revelation of Jesus as King comes on Calvary when Jesus takes his throne upon the cross. Pilate places the placard over his head that ironically acknowledges and bears witness to his kingship. “This is the King of the Jews,” proclaims the sign in the languages of Greek, Latin and Hebrew. Only on the cross can the truth of the power and authority of love be seen. Time and time again we hear people in our gospel today challenging Jesus to “save himself.” Worldly kings would serve their own interests first and only serve the interests of the people if it served their own ends. Jesus opens the way into his kingdom through the cross of suffering and death. All those who wish to gain entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven must be willing to take up the cross and pass through death with Christ the King leading the way.

Teresa of Avila spoke about our relationship with Christ the King, his Majesty, through prayer as being like an Interior Castle. The dwelling place of Christ the King is at the center of our hearts and in our deepest interiority. Fr. Diego de Yepes described it as “a most beautiful crystal globe like a castle in which she saw seven dwelling places, and in the seventh, which was in the center, the King of Glory dwelt in the greatest splendor. From there He beautified and illumined all those dwelling places to the outer wall. The inhabitants received more light the nearer they were to the center.” Our journey to union with Christ the King of glory is an interior journey into this beautiful castle.

Jesus Christ the King must be enthroned upon our hearts and it is at our deepest center that we encounter him in love. We walk the way of Christ the King in prayer, accepting the cross and its purifying love and through obedience in love coming to place of spiritual union with Christ. The Kingdom of Christ the King is not in this world but is near, even now in our hearts. May he always reign in our hearts enthroned in love.