Christ the King of the Universe
1 st Reading: Daniel 7:13-4
I had a dream and visions as I lay in bed. As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the One who is Ancient of Days and was presented before him. To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all people, nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed. The Word of the Lord
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 93:1, 1 -2, 5
R. The LORD is king; he is robed in majesty.
The LORD is king, in splendor robed; robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.
R. The LORD is king; he is robed in majesty.
And he has made the world firm, not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old; from everlasting you are, O LORD.
R. The LORD is king; he is robed in majesty.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed; holiness befits your house,
O LORD, for length of days.
R. The LORD is king; he is robed in majesty.
2 nd Reading: Revelation 1:5-8
Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever.
Amen. Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will lament. So it is to be. Amen. 'I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, 'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.'
The Word of the Lord
Gospel Acclamation: Mark 11: 9, 10
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: John 18:33-7
Pilate asked Jesus, 'Are you the King of the Jews?' Jesus answered, 'Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?' Pilate replied, 'I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?' Jesus answered, 'My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.' Pilate asked him, 'So you are a king?' Jesus answered, 'You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.' The Gospel of the Lord
Some few Lines of Reflection:
“You say that I am a king.”
This is perhaps the only explicit time Jesus admits that he is a king.
Affirming his kingship at this stage of his life is quite suppressing. Why will he want to express or affirm his kingship now that he is in chains, covered with blood, a prisoner in front of Pilate?
There were many other interesting stages in his life that he could have taken advantage of. For instance: we know that they people wanted to make him a king after the multiplication of bread
(see John 6: 15) but since he knew that they were coming to make him a king he left the place and went to the mountains. It could have been very easy for him to declare himself king after healing the sick, bring people back to life. Or again at Baptism, when the voice was heard from heaven, he could have just said ‘you have heard it I am the Son of God I am the king of Israel.
Jesus avoids all these great opportunities and now that he is without powers what so ever (at least according to our human understanding) he accepts and declare himself a king? Even though we cannot perceive with certitude the reason of Jesus decision to proclaiming himself king at this precise time, we can ascertain with assurance that he wants us to revise our own understanding of what it means to truly be a king. We can recall him saying: “You know that the rulers of the
Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” Matthew 20: 25-28. For Jesus being a king means being ready to render service even if that means death. Now that he is about to die, about to render his ultimate service not only to the Father but also to humanity, he deems it important to accept his kingship and proclaim it.
The God News of this Sunday: is that through baptism we are kings and consequently are called to only claim our kingship, our leadership qualities if and only if we are ready to serve, to render service to others, to the church even if that means dying.