Solemnity of Christ the King: Proclaiming Christ as King in the Age of Fake News and Religion

In today’s modern age, who wants a king? Although there are still living kings and queens ((King Albert II of Monaco and Queen Elizabeth II of England easily comes to mind), the very concept of King might seem anachronistic today. The image of king and queen hark back to Medieval and Ancient ages which we can only marvel at movies and novels.

Yet the church, in its last Sunday of the year celebrates and proclaims Christ the king. The image of a king for Jesus maybe the last thing we can think about Jesus as he renounced any form of royalty, authority and domination and came to serve not to be served. But this is the whole point of the celebration. In proclaiming Jesus Christ as the true king of all humanity, the church presents the kingship of Jesus and the kingdom he inaugurated as diametrically different to all worldly kings and kingdoms, past and present. In today’s penchant for fake news, Jesus Christ is the real king, all other kings are fake.

In presenting Jesus Christ as the true King of all humanity, the church is inviting all peoples to live the most basic and most genuine commandment of all—love and care for the least of our brothers and sisters. This commandment transcends all religions, culture, politics, race and ideologies. It does not only proclaim Jesus as King of all humanity but also makes us partakers of his kingship. We are king ourselves if we have followed these commandments now and for the rest of our lives.

Jesus’ commandment invites us to reflect on the difference between true love and its false imitation, between real Christianity and its fake lookalike. It seeks to rattle us when we have narrowmindedly equated Christianity with laws, hypocritical religion and superficial observances. It rebukes fake Christianity and any form of religion when it only concerns with external religious observances while being blind to all the hunger, thirsts, homelessness, captivities and sickness prevalent even in the immediate world around us.

In the parable of the gospel today, Jesus as Christ the King at the end of times proclaims who has truly lived or not the true meaning of religion. Those who have lived the truest religion are in and those who have not lived are out in his kingdom.

It may come as a surprise to some that there was no mention of the Ten Commandments. Jesus criteria of who’s in and who’s out in his kingdom at the end of times amount to the six classical works of mercy (or ‘deeds of loving kindness’ as the Jews called them). They concern food, drink, welcome, clothing, nursing care, and visiting.  Jesus proclaimed that there must never be a lost child, an unforgiven member of the community, never an un-fed, un-welcome, un-clad, un-nursed, un-visited one in our community. These are deeds in the here and now which has eternal and eschatological consequences. These are the deeds where we can find Jesus as king.

Who has recognized and reverenced Jesus’ kingship? They are those who give food to the hungry and drink to the thirsty, who welcome strangers and clothe the naked, who comfort the ill and visit prisoners.

“Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.”

Who has not recognized and reverenced Jesus’ kingship? Those who have omitted to do, or never got around to giving food to the hungry and drink to the thirsty, welcoming strangers and clothing the naked, comforting the ill and visiting prisoners.

‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’

Is not this the most basic and most genuine commandment for all peoples to live —love and care for the least of our brothers and sisters. Does this not transcend religions, culture, politics, race and ideologies. Does caring and loving for the least in our society  not look like these today?

• Welcoming the migrant and refugee and rejecting xenophobic attitudes and heightened nationalism.
• Acceptance of people of other cultural backgrounds and faiths, building bridges of community and rejecting walls of separation.
• Renouncing corrupt wealth and power and looking after the poor, the sick, the naked, the hungry, the thirsty, the imprisoned, and the lost.
• Rejecting instruments of war and embarking on the ways of peace.
• Denouncing extra-judicial killings, torture and execution and upholding the civil rights of all persons.
• Repudiating policies and practices that harm the Beloved Community of all creation and threatening the future of human civilization.
• Embracing the way of love and justice and disavowing authoritarianism and domination.

Yes, we need to proclaim Christ as king in today’s age of fake news and religion, in words and deeds for the least of our brothers and sisters, here and now.

Jesus Christ you are the true king of the world, let your kingdom come! Help us to worship and honor you now in the least of our brothers and sisters. Help us not to delay, lest it may be too late.

I am passionate about the intersection between new media and technology. I continue to research and apply new media in theology and vice-versa. I am also a fan of Our Mother of Perpetual Help and her continuing relevance in today’s digital world.
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