Homily

Today we celebrate Christ, the king of the universe. Truly, his reign is not of this world! The Gospel, in fact, speaks of a very weak man, stripped of everything, poor, whose life depends entirely on others. How can one think that a man in such a state could be the king of anything He does not have any appearance of power. In our world, where what counts is appearance, how can we trust such a man, who shows exactly the opposite of strength Even bystanders deride him so much so that, now that he is condemned to death they throw his failure at him, crying, "Save yourself!" We too look for the strong, we court them, and we easily know everything about them (and maybe we do not know anything about our neighbour!) because we think the powerful give us protection, success, security, recognition, and a sense of well being [or security]. This is why someone like Jesus cannot satisfy us. Instead, we avoid him because he reminds us of our real condition. How can he be king Of what At most, he can arouse our pity. Nevertheless, this prisoner says to Pilate, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world." This man, defeated by petty kings full of arrogance and violence, and by a crowd shouting a death sentence at him, reclaims his own kingship.
The kings of this world want to be served, not to serve. They want to possess and not give. They want to impose, to speak above others, and not listen to anyone. They want to be well off, but they do not know how to do good for others. They want to be right and never to change, to command and not to obey anyone. They state their conditions and become angry if none of them are met. They do away with the one they feel is an enemy or those they do not like. The kings of this world want to be loved, but they do not want to humiliate themselves in order to be so. They are alone because they end up fearing others. They surround themselves with accomplices and subjects, but they do not have friends. Even Jesus was tempted to become this kind of king. Evil wanted to bind him to the power of consuming things, and to put his self-interest before all else, even the Word of God. "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me," the devil said to Jesus in the desert. Jesus is not bought off with money, nor does he compromise; he refuses to serve the rulers of this world. "My kingdom is not from this world," he says to Pilate. Jesus is king because he serves and loves. He is king because, in reality, only love rules and has true power over creation, only love can understand it and not spoil it. He is king because he is the son. He is king, not over all or against all, but together with and for all. He is king because nothing can resist love. And for this reason, he is in reality the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, as it is written in the Book of Revelation.
His power, the only one that counts and lasts, comes from love. For this reason, it is the most powerful on the earth; for this reason he is king of the universe. He also asks us to trust in the power of loving—not to empty it of feeling, intelligence, and heart. He asks us not to give up because of fear, and not to think that it is too little. Jesus, weak, meek, and humble of heart, is king so that all of us who are weak and in need, who are small, may defeat evil, the enemy of life and of love. We too can be his. His reign passes throughout this world, throughout our hearts. Those who do not belong to the Lord end up being slaves to the logic of kings or are seduced by power or the sword. Belonging to him is beautiful and sweet because in his reign of love, all is ours without limits: "Love and do what you want." The power of love, the prophet Daniel said, lasts forever, it never fades. All the kings of this world end and slip away like their power. They reveal themselves as ignoble, fallen, vulgar, and filled with obsession. The reign of God does not end. Lord, king of the universe, come quickly to wipe away the tears of men and women, to free them from evil, from hatred, from violence and war. May your reign of peace and justice come quickly. Teach us to belong to you, not to be afraid, but to be strong and free in love; weak as we are, weak as you are, Lord, you who weak are king and have defeated evil. Yours is the glory and the power, from age to age. Amen.