This reflection about Jesus as a king came to me on my spiritual exercises over the summer. However, I thought it fit best for Christ the King coming this weekend. We still do a meditation on “the call of Christ the King,” and we still celebrate this weekend’s feast day. We do this living in an age and place (USA) that looks down on monarchy. The Regnum Christi site published it. Here are the first paragraphs:
A central meditation in the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises is the call of Christ the King. The idea is to imagine being called by an earthly king and then to see how much more it is to be called by the king of the universe. For the past 100 years, we Catholics have celebrated the Feast of Christ the King, but recent times, in which worldly kings are so unlike Christ’s kingship, make this analogy seem much less straightforward.
I think this analogy still has value, but I now feel a need to nuance it more than I would have done so a few decades ago. Let’s explore what this mediation is, and both the external and internal factors that require more nuance.
The Call of the King
The Call of the King is a key mediation in the second week of Ignatian Spiritual Exercises. This meditation is part of a series in which retreatants explore their own choices in following Christ.
Fr. Kevin O’Brien, SJ summarizes it: “Imagine a call from an earthly leader who has inspired us, and then imagine Christ calling us to join him in helping him to realize God’s kingdom on earth. Does that excite us or scare us? Does it make us hopeful?”
The analogy between a worldly and the heavenly king is clear. Jesus is the heavenly king, but how is he like and unlike an earthly king?
Rooted in Church History
The idea of Christ’s Kingship is well rooted in Scripture and Tradition. 1 Timothy 6:15 refers to Jesus as “the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.” Note: the Hebrew language lacks a superlative suffix (like -est in English), so speakers would express this concept simply by doubling the noun. Thus, a more interpretive translation of the Hebrew could be “the Kingiest king and lordiest lord,” showing that Jesus is not only a king, but so much more. We see this same title in Revelation 17:14, which speaks of Jesus’ final victory: “they will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lordsand King of kings.” If he wins victory over all, he is truly King over all.
