The King and His Kingdom (Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Year A)

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“The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I shall want” (Psalm 23)! What has this statement got to do with today’s feast? To the sheep, the Shepherd is a leader, the Shepherd is a king. And what makes a shepherd a king or a leader to the sheep is not the power that he wields over the sheep; it is not the wool, the meat and the hide that he stands to gain, get or extract from the sheep. What makes him a king, a leader and a good shepherd is what Prophet Ezekiel is saying in the first reading (cf. Ezek. 34:11-12, 15-17): “he will seek out his flock when some have strayed; he will seek the lost, he will bring back the strayed; he will bind up the crippled; he will strengthen the weak; he will watch over the strong; and will feed the sheep”. From this, we can say that the primary responsibility of a shepherd is defending, protecting, feeding and keeping the sheep safe. In fact, a good shepherd must protect the territorial integrity of his flock.

Go through the Old Testament especially the Books of 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Kings and the Book of Judges, pay attention to the lives and acts of the kings and the leaders of Israel and other kingdoms, you will discover that many of those kings were ready for war, many actually went to war in order to ward off and fight enemy forces that threatened the territorial integrity of their kingdoms. And that is one of the reasons why a lot of wars were fought in the Old Testament times. Inasmuch as there are citizens, the king has it as a primary responsibility to protect and keep them safe. Inasmuch as you remain a Ghanaian citizen, the King of Ghana (in this case the President) has it as a primary responsibility to ensure that you are safe. But if you legally reject your Ghanaian citizenship, his hands are off. 

We Christians profess to be citizens of a kingdom: a kingdom of which Jesus is the King. Amongst other things, today’s feast should bring us to this consciousness. As a Good Shepherd, as a King, the second reading (cf. 1 Cor. 15:20-26.28), tells us that “Christ will deliver this kingdom to God the Father at the end of time”. However, we must admit that there are forces threatening and bent on tampering with the territorial integrity of Christ’s kingdom of which you are member. These are the forces of sin, evil and death. Christ must continue to fight to make sure that He destroys every rule, authority and power of the devil, sin and death. He must be victorious; He must deliver the kingdom to the Father. We may ask: If He is fighting for the kingdom, why does it seem as if evil is winning? If He is fighting for the kingdom, why is it that sin appears to have won? Now, as long as we exist in time, there are those who have chosen not to be under the kingship, authority and power of Christ. Yes, the Good Shepherd Christ seeks and continues to seek the lost and the strayed; but there are forces and people that have stubbornly refused to submit to His authority. Because of the presence of such elements, evil may have appeared to be more pervasive than good but that does not mean that evil will ultimately be victorious over good. Maybe, we can ask ourselves once again: Where do I belong? To whose kingship or authority have I surrendered? Inasmuch as I have chosen to be under the kingship of Christ, I am bound to obey Him. The Letter to the Hebrews 5:9 tells us that “Christ is the source of salvation to those who obey Him”. If I have blatantly, stubbornly and consistently refused to obey His words and commands, what it means is that I have chosen to be under the kingship, authority and power of evil, sin and spiritual death.

Christ’s kingdom is a kingdom of love, peace and justice. Those who have chosen to be under his authority must be submissive to His commandments and must abide by the kingdom constitution of love, justice and peace. The Gospel (cf. Matt. 25:31-46) tells us that it is on the basis of that commandment or constitution that we will be judged on the last day. From the gospel, let us note that our failure to love and our indifference to the needs and cries of others can also prevent us from entering the eternal joy of the Father.



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