ON SERVING CHRIST THE KING

Solemnity of Christ the King

I was in Thailand two years ago. Every December, the city of Bangkok and other cities in Thailand have beautiful lights twinkling around. So colorful, so wonderful! Kumutikutitap! Bumusibusilak!

I said to a Thai fellow, “Your country is a Buddhist country, but you’re celebrating Christmas here! What a beautiful lights! I feel like I’m home in the Philippines!”

He said, “No. They are not Christmas lights. Christmas has no meaning here. Those beautiful lights that you have seen are lights for our king! We are preparing for his birthday. Everyone here in Thailand celebrates his birthday.” Thai people love their king. Everywhere in Thailand, in big establishments, offices, hotels, schools, on the road and streets, they have big pictures of the King. Even in their homes, they have his pictures with incense, with lights and flowers.

Everyone in Thailand wears yellow shirt every Monday. It’s the color of the king. When a king visits the place, huge crowds would come to see him. Some of them would have tears upon seeing him. They bow and kneel down before him with folded-hand gestures. You cannot even step on their money for the picture of the king is there. Believe me or not, one of the foreigners accidentally stepped on it, and, so, he was put to prison. That’s how the people of Thailand love their king! That’s how they serve their king!

For us here in the Philippines, we don’t have king like Thailand has. We are not Buddhists. We are Christians. Who is the king of our lives? Who is the king of our hearts? Jesus Christ says in our Gospel today, “The Son of Man comes in glory… then, he will take the seat on his throne in glory.” This Son of Man is Jesus himself. He is the King.

But who is this Jesus the king that we serve? Who is this king that we love? Let us have a look on Jesus on the cross... Look at his crown, thorns! Look at his throne, a cross! This king was a prisoner, with no one to defend him, no one to speak for him. He was thirsty, and even naked while hanging on the cross. He was unloved and unwanted, rejected and alone. This king was tortured to death!

His kingship is opposite to what we have thought. His kingdom is different from our human understanding. 

I remember when I went with the Marist missionaries to Myanmar, formerly Burma. Burmese people are lovely people. But they are poor and broken. Their country leaders, a military junta, are corrupt. No one is allowed to speak against them. There is no freedom there. Human rights are violated. No peace, but violence, oppressions and injustices. Their people suffer. The military juntas want to show to the world that they are powerful. They are building up their own kingdom in this world.

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” His kingship is not all about power. It is not about pride. It is about humility, even about vulnerability. The kingship of Jesus is about love. It is about service. His kingdom is the kingdom of loving service. Jesus came not to be served but to serve.

Christ is also calling us to serve. He called each and every one of us to serve him because he is our king, the king of our lives and the king of our hearts. It is not enough to say that “I love my Lord and my King” without serving him. It is not enough for us to say “I love my king and my God” but do not love my neighbor.

It is very important to realize that we love and serve God in our neighbor. He is present in the person next to us, behind us, in front of us… We have Jesus before us… We have Jesus wherever we go. We have Jesus in Davao Mental hospital. We have Jesus in Ma-a City Jail. We have Jesus in every person we meet and work with. Jesus is everywhere. So, we have a lot of opportunities to serve him, to give him smile, to embrace him and to love him.

God loves us so much. His love invites us to serve others with love and mercy. We can love freely because God has already poured his love into our hearts through the gift of the Holy Spirit. In our baptism, we are anointed kings. So, as kingly people, we are called to put on the mind of Jesus, that is, to serve lovingly.

Today, we are celebrating the feast of Christ the King. This celebration leads us to begin the Season of Advent, the season of waiting with joyful hope for the coming of the kingdom. Indeed, the kingdom is here now, if we remember every time we are talking to someone that “Jesus is in this person.” The kingdom of God comes when we love. The kingdom of God comes when we serve. If we truly accept Christ as king of our lives and our hearts, we must love him and serve him in others, especially in the sick, the abandoned, the poor and the broken.

This is a challenge for us – love and serve others without any reservation!