“I gazed into the visions of the night.
And I saw, coming on the clouds of heaven,
one like a son of man.
He came to the one of great age
and was led into his presence.
On him was conferred sovereignty,
glory and kingship,
and men of all peoples, nations and languages became his servants.
His sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty
which shall never pass away,
nor will his empire ever be destroyed.”
Psalm 92:1-2,5
The Lord is kíng, with májesty enróbed;
the Lórd has róbed himself with míght,
he has gírded himsélf with pówer.
The wórld you made fírm, not to be móved;
your thróne has stood fírm from of óld.
From all etérnity, O Lórd, you áre.
Trúly your decrées are to be trústed.
Hóliness is fítting to your hóuse,
O Lórd, until the énd of tíme.
Apocalypse 1:5-8
Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the First-born from the dead, the Ruler of the kings of earth. He loves us and has washed away our sins with his blood, and made us a line of kings, priests to serve his God and Father; to him, then, be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen. It is he who is coming on the clouds; everyone will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the races of the earth will mourn over him. This is the truth. Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega” says the Lord God, who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.
John 18:33-37
“Are you the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked. Jesus replied, “Do you ask this of your own accord, or have others spoken to you about me?” Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? It is your own people and the chief priests who have handed you over to me: what have you done?” Jesus replied, “Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this kind.” “So you are a king then?” said Pilate. “It is you who say it,” answered Jesus. “Yes, I am a king. I was born for this, I came into the world for this: to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.”
We're presented with four visions of the nature of Christ's kingship. Two are from the Old Testament: Daniel describing him entering heaven; the psalm writers singing of him enthroned. And two are from the New Testament: John's vision of him telling us that Christ is the king we've read about; and one from John's gospel describing him at the mercy of Pilate.
Can you think of any kings? Do you recognise any of these kings?
[Edward VIII] [Juan-Carlos I] [Charles I] [Henry VIII]
[Louis XVI] [Charlemagne] [Herod Antipas] [Faisal II] William III]
[Louis XVI] [Charlemagne] [Herod Antipas] [Faisal II] William III]
What do you think a king or queen is like?
- Noble
- Just
- Wealthy
- Corrupt
- Unreliable
- Dependable
- Convenient
- Powerful
How do you think Christ is different from earthly kings?
- Eternal
- Humble
- Universal
- Crucified
Which parts of the readings do you think tell you most about the sort of king Christ is?
When, later in Mass, we say the Our Father, remember that Christ is a king, and what it means to pray that his kingdom should come.
