Christ the King rules through you

In the wake of the First World War, Pope Pius XI diagnosed the problem with our world in his encyclical Quas Primas  [i]  issued December 11, 1925. In short, the Holy Father observed that the world’s nations “recognized no moral code other than self-interest,” impiety and disrespect for religion was placed on “equal par” with faith, parents neglected their marriages and children. In short, greed and selfishness were at the heart of the modern world. In Quas Primas, the Holy Father established the Feast of Christ the King.

Pius XI knew about an older world. Plato, Aristotle, Augustine and Aquinas had all argued for the necessity of virtue in governance. Clearly rulers from their time were not virtuous, but, still, the idea of virtue as the standard to judge governance by tied their world together in a mannet that integrated personal and political conduct. No leader of their time could say, "Personally, I believe abortion is wrong, but I still support it because I am a politician." "Personally, I think stealing is wrong, but, I still support the decriminalization of armed robbery." Crazy thinking in a world that integrates personal and public morality. We, however, do not live in that world anymore.  Nicolo Machiavelli gave the intellectual underpinnings to the current state of the world in his book,  The Prince. Macchiavelli had argued that politics ought to be guided by the best outcome possible, not governance in the best way possible. In short, politics is the art of the possible and should be judged on results. Dante Aligerhi's Inferno is populated by people who were successful in terms Macchiavelli would have approved. 

What happens, however, as Pius XI wondered, when virtue is separated from governance; where the wisdom of governance is measured solely by results? We know the answer; the result is the rule of self-interest. Prof. Patrick Deneen of the University of Notre Dame described our situation as a collapse of a tradition of government based on virtue and self-restraint in his book, Why Liberalism Failed. By liberalism, Deneen means government directed towards the liberty of the governed, not progressive politics. The key shift is a virtue understanding that envisions true liberty as self-control against a modern version of liberty that sees liberty as freedom to do what you want, as long as it is not illegal.

... the older tradition (of virtue) sought to foster an ethic of restraint. It recognized that humankind was singular among the creatures in its capacity to choose among numerous options, and so in its need for guidance in that condition of liberty. This liberty, the ancients understood, was subject to misuse and excess: the oldest stories in our tradition, including the story of humankind’s fall from Eden, told of the human propensity to use freedom badly. The goal of understanding ourselves was to understand how to use our liberty well, especially how to govern appetites that seemed inherently insatiable. Deneen, Patrick J.. Why Liberalism Failed (Politics and Culture) (p. 115). Yale University Press. Kindle Edition.

Liberal politics is the art of compromise, the not the practice of being compromised. If politics is the art of the practical, then American politics is very successful. The stock market is up, we are successfully defending our borders and employment is at an all time low. Why aren't Americans insanely happy with their government? What is missing in the art of the practical? The Western World, pursuing self-interest, has been running on the fumes of Christianity ( culture, meaning, purpose, sanctity and virtue) for several hundred years or more.  Mostly Americans believe in God. What is missing? Christ is King, Lord of our lives, when our choices reflect the reality of our ultimate concern.
 
Christ is revealed as King on the cross
Christ was rejected by both the rulers of Israel and Rome, both God’s chosen people and the gentiles.

“The rulers sneered at Jesus and said, "He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God." Even the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine they called out, "If you are King of the Jews, save yourself." Above him there was an inscription that read, "This is the King of the Jews." Lk. 23

The voice of the Jewish prophet Isaiah opened the early Christians ears, “I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who tore out my beard;  My face I did not hide from insults and spitting.” Is. 50:6 Over his head hung the charge, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.”  Jesus died for his people and all the nations. What does it mean to have Jesus revealed as king in this manner?

The scriptures continue,

"Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us." The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply,  "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal." Lk. 23

On one side of Jesus hangs a man who want to escape the consequences of his crimes. On the other side is a man, justly condemened, who seeks mercy. One is focused on results and the other on the nature and morality of his action. Is Jesus your king because he delivers result ( come down from that cross) or because God is good and calls you to share in that goodness?
 
How is Jesus my King?
How is Jesus king when secularism and fundamentalism are the two predominant powers clashing for control of the nation and the world. What do we mean when we pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Are these possibilities?

1. First Alternative: Some Christians that Jesus lost the battle and retreated to heaven to plot his return. The world didn’t change after the Paschal Mystery, people take him for granted and the world is still as messed up as it has always been. In short, we judge Jesus by the standards we judge human government; solely on results that we like!
2. Second Alternative: Some Christians believe that he is King, Lord of the Universe, on a cosmic level and, sometime in the future we will meet him in heaven. These Christians love what Jesus preached, but life is a messy business and his ideas are so impractical. Maybe in the world to come, we can try to be meek, mourn and thirst for justice. 
3. Third Alternative: Jesus actually is in charge in the world, working behind the scene, guiding history with an unseen hand. Like a giant earthquake the world is waking up to racism, abuse of women, children and the environment. Jesus did all of that. In short, we should just be alert to what God is doing, we don't need to take an active part. He has it covered!  
4. Fourth Alternative: Jesus said that his Kingdom is not of this World and this era is coming to an end. Better just worry about my own salvation. 

The obvious answer however, comes from scripture. We are made in the image and likeness of God. Our king saves us and rescues us and rules his kingdom through us. the Kingdom is progressing, always in fits and starts. Persecuted or undermined in one place it grows in another. Virtue, doing the right thing, in the right way for the right reason, is always a challenge for fallen humanity. Our falls, however, are what forms us into God's people when we are open to the power of God's grace lifting us up. Jesus is working in the world in unseen ways. That doesn't mean we should be unseen doing his will. Yes, the world is coming to an end, so we need to get busy about His business. 

How does Jesus save us?

"Whatever you think of the much misunderstood doctrine of original sin … it would be extremely foolish to suppose that humans, left to themselves, have not done amazingly horrible things as well as amazingly wonderful ones. Humans make bombs as well as music. They build torture chambers as well as hospitals and schools. They create deserts as well as gardens. And yet the vocation sketched in Genesis 1 remains: humans are to be God’s image-bearers, that is, they are to reflect his sovereign rule into the world. Humans are the vital ingredient in God’s kingdom project. When we ask about the way in which God wants to run the world and then focus this on the sharper question of how Jesus now runs the world, we should expect, from the whole of scripture, that the answer will have something to do with the delegation of God’s authority, of Jesus’s authority, to human beings.” Wright, N. T., Simply Jesus (p. 212). HarperOne. Kindle Edition.

What Jesus said about the Kingdom
Our King rules the world through us. God’s kingdom comes into the world like a farmer sowing seeds that grow quietly. Mk. 4:26-29 The kingdom is like leaven that a woman mixed into flour to make dough. Mt. 13:33. The Kingdom is like a dragnet that snares all sorts of things. Mt. 13:47-50. It snared us for heaven's sake, literally.

At his Ascension, the Lord was asked,

When they had gathered together they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority.  But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:6-8.

Acts of the Apostles tells the story of God’s kingdom coming to all the corners of the earth through the witness of the apostles. God’s kingdom arrives as the Church goes out into the world, although that work has not been completed. God’s kingdom used the roadways of the Roman Empire in the past as it uses the Internet and means of communication today. The miraculous roots of the Church are still echoed when a prayer is answered, a saint is canonized after the Church witnesses a miracle or an apparition of our Blessed Lady is deemed credible. All of this in a highly secularized, materialistic culture. Everybody gets the opportunity to hear the Gospel, although, as in the First Century, people don't recognize the signs all around them.  God’s kingdom is present when the Church gathers in Sacred Liturgy to listen to the Word of God and celebrate the Sacraments, above all the Eucharist. God’s kingdom comes because he sends in his agents; the meek, the mourners, those who are poor in spirit and those who hunger and thirst for the sake of righteousness. God’s kingdom comes when his disciples are persecuted for his sake.
 
Pope Pius XI was right, the powers of this world recognize no code except self-interest. That doesn't mean that their aren't good virtuous men and women in government. Perhaps they are leaven in the dough or a seed that is sown.  Jesus is the King that leads the rebellion against the powers of this world. That rebellion begins with Christian Conversion, “a complete and sincere adherence to Christ and his Gospel through Faith [i].”  The Kingdom of Heaven is embodied in the Church and our desire to spread the Good News that the world needs to hear. The world, a beautiful place, has become an ugly place through the hand of man. That ugliness is often manifested in what we build and how we treat each other. Building St. Mark Church is an act of rebellion against the spirit of the age. The Gospel calls us to more than merely nice, but, instead, to courageously witness to the Gospel. St. Paul reminded the Colossians:

Let us give thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light. He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Col. 1:12-20

  [i] Pope Pius XI 1925 encyclical established the The Feast of Christ the King. That encyclical provided,