On Friday night at a wake, while being plied with food and drink and thinking how much running I would need to do, I commented that I was being treated like a king, which effectively meant that I was happy for people to fuss over me while I sat and did whatever I wanted to do: in other words, it was all about me and my desires. In the way home about this more and remembered a recent and unusually popular movie.
The Kings Speech tells two stories of being King. Edward VIII came to the throne of England in 1936 and abdicated less than two years later. Although touched by his devotion to the woman he loved but whom he could not marry, the British were horrified that he could put his personal desires and preferences over the fate of the realm. In June 1937 his younger brother Bertie ascended the throne. He lacked self-confidence, could not speak in public because of an impediment, and was shy. However, he knew that these were his issues, not those of his country, and that he has to forgo self-centeredness for the sake of his people. He had a very different idea about what the role of king. An unlikely hero called George VI was born. From the outset his people knew his weaknesses, but also knew that he would die for them. George VI did not leave London during The Blitz, toured the theatres of war and stood with his people. As the movie points out, he was constantly making rousing speeches that were excruciating for him to deliver. He was one for others. His was a model of kingship for others that could be emulated.
George received his model of kingship from the Prince of Peace, Jesus. Jesus turned the prevailing model of ruthless, selfish arrogant power-hungry kingship on its head. In its place he was the shepherd who nurtured his flock, the one who sought out the strays and lead them back to the fold: he shall, in the words of Isaiah, I shall look for the lost one, bring back the stray, bandage the wounded and make the weak strong.
Even though Christ gave us the ideal model of leadership 2000 years ago, the dark side of oppression, aggression and violence still endures, and as history teaches, sometimes prevails. Jesus’ model of kingship is one that serves, even in the face of terror. In many persecutions of the church over the centuries, men and women have died with the words Long live Christ the King on their lips, attesting that in the face of darkness, Christ offers us eternal light, something oppressors cannot take away. This hope and strength is what terrifies oppressors, is what made Stalin nervously ask ‘how many divisions has the Pope’. The same fear of the truth is what drove Hitler, Pol Pot, Mao Zedong and other despots to prioritise the destruction of the Catholic Church. Today our oppression is the more subtle that would banish religion from the public sphere to be just another interest group in society, like a sporting or social club.
At the end of time we will all stand before God and give an account of our faith or doubt, our selflessness or selfishness, action or inaction. This is a constant call to us to vigorously engage in the life of our society, challenging it to conform to the ideal of the prince of peace, so that our world and ourselves can be what God have given us the opportunity to become.
Homily Christus Rex Year A 20th November 2011, OLQP
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