Christ the King Sunday celebrates the all-embracing authority of Christ
as King and Lord of the cosmos. Officially called the Feast of Our Lord
Jesus Christ the King, it is celebrated on the final Sunday of Ordinary
Time, the Sunday before Advent.
Christ the King Prayers
Scriptural References: Psalm 23; Matthew 25:31-46; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28
Pope Pius XI instituted The Feast of Christ the King in 1925 for the universal church in his encyclical
Quas Primas. He connected the increasingly denial of Christ as king to the rise of secularism. At the time of
Quas Primas,
many Christians (including Catholics) began to doubt Christ's authority
and existence, as well as the Church's power to continue Christ's
authority. Pius XI, and the rest of the Christian world, witnessed the
rise of non-Christian dictatorships in Europe, and saw Catholics being
taken in by these earthly leaders. These dictators often attempted to
assert authority over the Church. Just as the Feast of
Corpus Christi
was instituted when devotion to the Eucharist was at a low point, the
Feast of Christ the King was instituted during a time when respect for
Christ and the Church was waning, when the feast was needed most.
Pius hoped the institution of the feast would have various effects. They were:
1. That nations would see that the Church has the right to freedom, and immunity from the state (Quas Primas, 32).
2. That leaders and nations would see that they are bound to give respect to Christ (Quas Primas, 31).
3. That the faithful would gain strength and courage from the
celebration of the feast, as we are reminded that Christ must reign in
our hearts, minds, wills, and bodies (Quas Primas, 33).
Today, the same distrust of authority exists, although the problem
has gotten worse. Individualism has been embraced to
humility and service. Jesus said:
such an extreme,
that for many, the only authority is the individual self. The idea of
Christ as ruler is rejected in such a strongly individualistic system.
Also, many balk at the idea of kings and queens, believing them to be
antiquated and possibly oppressive. Some even reject the titles of
"lord" and "king" for Christ because they believe that such titles are
borrowed from oppressive systems of government. However true these
statements might be (some kings have been oppressive), these individuals
miss the point: Christ's kingship is one of
You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the
Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority
over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes
to become great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be
first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not
come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for
many (Mark 10:42-45, NAB).
and
Pilate said to Jesus, "Are you the King of the Jews?"...
Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom
did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me
from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not
here." So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?" Jesus answered,
"You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the
world,to testify to the truth (John 18:33b, 36-37).

Thus, Jesus knew the oppressive nature of secular kings, and in
contrast to them, he connected his role as king to humble service, and
commanded his followers to be servants as well. In other passages of
Scripture, his kingdom is tied to his suffering and death. While Christ
is coming to judge the nations, his teachings spell out a kingdom of
justice and judgment balanced with radical love, mercy, peace, and
forgiveness. When we celebrate Christ as King, we are not celebrating an
oppressive ruler, but one willing to die for humanity and whose
"loving-kindness endures forever." Christ is the king that gives us true
freedom, freedom in Him.
Thus we must never forget that Christ radically redefined and transformed the concept of kingship.Christ the King Sunday used to be celebrated on the last Sunday of
October, but since the calendar reforms of 1969, the feast falls on the
last Sunday of Ordinary Time, which is the Sunday before Advent. It is
fitting that the feast celebrating Christ's kingship is observed right
before Advent, when we liturgically wait for the promised Messiah
(King).
History
The earliest Christians identified Jesus with the predicted Messiah
of the Jews. The Jewish word "messiah," and the Greek word "Christ,"
both mean "anointed one," and came to refer to the expected king who
would deliver Israel from the hands of the Romans. Christians believe
that Jesus is this expected Messiah. Unlike the messiah most Jews
expected, Jesus came to free all people, Jew and Gentile, and he did not
come to free them from the Romans, but from sin and death. Thus the
king of the Jews, and of the cosmos, does not rule over a kingdom of
this world.
Christians have long celebrated Jesus as Christ, and his reign as King is celebrated to some degree in
Advent (when Christians wait for his second coming in glory),
Christmas (when "born this day is the King of the Jews"),
Holy Week (when Christ is the Crucified King),
Easter (when Jesus is resurrected in power and glory), and the
Ascension
(when Jesus returns to the glory he had with the Father before the
world was created). However, Pius XI wanted to specifically commemorate
Christ as king, and instituted the feast in the Western calendar in
1925.
In the 21st century many Western Christians, Catholic and Protestant,
celebrate Christ the King Sunday, including Anglicans and Lutherans.
Unfortunately, in some mainline Protestant churches, "king" language is
not popular, and the feast is downplayed. However, in a chaotic and
unjust world that seems to scorn any kind of authority, many Christians
proudly celebrate Christ the King Sunday, where the loving and merciful -
and just - king of the universe is praised and glorified.
Taken from:
http://www.churchyear.net/ctksunday.html