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 Solemnity of Christ the King, Year C: Homily by Fr Isaac Chima

Theme: Acknowledging and Accepting the Kingship of Christ

Readings: 2 Sam. 5:1-3; Col. 1:12-20; Lk 23:35-43

Today, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe. This solemnity marks the end of the Church’s Ordinary Time. So, with this feast, we reach the end of Ordinary Time in Year B, and we proclaim Christ as the Alpha and the Omega—the King of kings and Lord of lords. In today’s Mass, let us pray that Christ may truly reign in our words, our actions, and our hearts.

This feast was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925, at a time when nationalism, secularism, and modernism were eroding faith and moral values. The nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were marked by upheaval—religious intolerance, anti‑clericalism, and ideologies that dismissed God and exalted man as the measure of all things. These currents contributed to the devastation of the First World War, reminding us that when faith and respect for life are cast aside, human dignity itself is endangered.

Our own age faces similar challenges. Voices today argue that religious and traditional values are outdated, promoting practices such as abortion, euthanasia, same‑sex unions, sex reassignment surgery, and in vitro fertilization. These trends risk undermining the sacredness of life and the moral order. We must remain vigilant, for the rejection of God’s law always diminishes humanity.

Modernism’s effort to banish God from public life and enthrone man in His place led to the spread of atheism. Against this tide, the Church established this feast to reaffirm Christ’s sovereignty—not only in the privacy of our hearts but also in the public sphere. So, this solemnity was instituted at a time when the world exalted man as the measure of all things, a period when secular currents sought to render the Church irrelevant in public life. A time when political, social, and cultural institutions increasingly suppressed the mention of Jesus Christ and denied His kingship over nations and hearts. In Europe especially, prevailing ideologies promoted a worldview that sought to banish God from daily life, encouraging people to organize their lives as though He did not exist. The feast was therefore established as a remedy to the challenges posed by Modernism, intended to reaffirm and promote the worship of Christ both within the privacy of our hearts and in the public sphere.

Originally titled Jesu Christi Regis (Jesus Christ the King), Pope Paul VI later, in his 1969 motu proprio Mysterii Paschalis, renamed it Iesu Christi universorum Regis—Jesus Christ, King of the Universe—and elevated it to a solemnity celebrated on the last Sunday of the liturgical year.

This title is profoundly relevant today. We live in a world where evil is often glamorized, where faith is ridiculed, and where believers are dismissed as irrelevant. Yet Christ remains the King of the Universe, the King of kings, and His reign endures forever. Today’s readings affirm this kingship.

The first reading recalls Christ’s royal lineage from David, Israel’s great king. The kingdom of David was great and powerful to the extent that the people of Israel yearned for a king who would rule them again like David. In Jesus, God gives us a king greater than David, one whose reign is eternal.

Today’s Gospel affirms the kingship of Christ. While the rulers and people gathered at the foot of the cross denied His kingship and mocked Him, one of the thieves crucified alongside Him recognized His true majesty and pleaded, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingly power.” Ironically, those who rejected His kingship also acknowledged that He had saved others, though they claimed He could not save Himself.

Christ, however, is not like our earthly kings. He is the King who takes upon Himself the suffering meant for His subjects, the King who dies so that His people may live and be saved. He is a compassionate King, one who values His subjects more than His own life. Unlike earthly rulers, who often sacrifice their people to protect themselves or pursue selfish interests, Christ the King offers His own life for His subjects. Earthly kings demand that their people die for them; Christ, our King, died for us.

The second reading also talked of the kingship of Christ. It proclaims that God has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son. In Christ’s reign we find peace, justice, mercy, love, and truth.

The purpose of today’s celebration is to acknowledge and worship Christ as King of the Universe and King of our lives. His reign must begin in our hearts and extend to our homes, our families, our workplaces, and our society. Only then will the world reflect His kingdom of justice and peace.

This solemnity challenges each of us personally, and we must ask ourselves these following questions: Is Christ truly the King of my life? Do I give Him the rightful place in my heart? Are His teachings the path that directs my choices?

If Christ does not reign in our lives, then today’s celebration risks becoming an empty ritual. But if He is enthroned in our hearts, then His kingdom will shine through us into the world.

Christ the King is also the Good Shepherd. Let us trust Him, follow Him, and allow His reign to transform us so that His kingdom may come on earth as it is in heaven.

Happy Feast Day and have a blessed week.

Fr Isaac Chinemerem Chima