Above him they put an inscription that read, ‘This is the King of the Jews.’ Being the last Sunday of the Church year, we celebrate today the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe. It is a feast that summarizes all the individual solemnities and feasts of Christ that are celebrated in a church calendar year. As a celebration that also signals the beginning of the preparatory season of Advent even as pulls down the curtain on a year that has come to an end, the feast of Christ the King celebrates not only the person of Jesus Christ but also his kingship (reign). Jesus’ reign as the king and savior of the universe was ushered in when he assumed our creaturely nature (cf. John 18:37) and he continues to reign until that time when he will hand over the kingdom to his Father (cf. I Corinthians 15:24). Despite the opposition that his claim generated and continues to generate today, Jesus remains the king of the universe. Not even his persecution and death managed to put a dent in his kingly reign. 
The Gospel passage for today enables us a peek, albeit in a subtle way, into the kind of king that Jesus is. The soldiers’ mockery of Jesus as the king of the Jews was the culmination of a pattern of suspicion, skepticism, and misunderstanding with which the kingship of Jesus was received from the moment he ushered it (his birth). When Herod heard from the Maggi that a king had been born in Bethlehem of Judaea, he became quite concerned and even made a move to have the baby Jesus killed. When Jesus began his teaching and healing ministry and claimed the title “Messiah,” the religious leaders and the majority of those who often flocked to listen to Jesus teach failed to understand the kind of Messiah that Jesus is. Even one of the two criminals who were crucified with him wondered what kind of Christ (Messiah) would let himself be subjected to such an undignified death. It was only the second criminal who was able to understand the manner of king that Jesus is: a Savior King.
Jesus’ claim as king was misunderstood because his reign is not of this world (cf. John 18:36). Had Herod understood this, he would not have felt threatened by Jesus birth. Had the religious leaders understood that Jesus was not a political Messiah, they would not have pushed the hands of the Romans into executing Jesus. Had the crowds understood that Jesus was a Savior King, like the second criminal, they would have asked Jesus to help them set foot in paradise. Now to say that Jesus’ kingship is not of this world does not mean that it is something that is out of touch with the present. On the contrary, Jesus’ kingship is all about the transformation of the present world by restoring it to the original intent of creation. Jesus’ life and ministry clearly pointed to this: ‘ The spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives, sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord’ (cf. Luke 4:18-19); ‘ He called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases…to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal’ (cf. Luke 9:1-2); ‘ If it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then know that the Kingdom of God has come upon you’ (cf. Luke 11:20). To say that Jesus’ kingship is not of this world is to say that its domain transcends the present, that is, Jesus’ is not only concerned with our present situation but also with our life with God. This is the reason why Jesus both assumed a creaturely nature (Christmas) and defeated the powers of corruption (Easter).
What implication does this have upon us as followers of Jesus? If Jesus is a king, then we are his loyal subjects (we confessed our loyalty when we accepted baptism in his name). The duty of a loyal subject is ensuring that the interests of both the king and the kingdom are safeguarded and advanced. But we are more than subjects. We are Jesus’ partners: ‘ I no longer call you servants but friends because I have made known to you the secrets of the kingdom’ (cf. John 15:15). As Jesus’ partners, we join him in his ministry of advancing and making present the kingdom. When, therefore, we ask the Lord to let his kingdom come upon us whenever we say the Lord’s Prayer, we are essentially asking the Lord to transform our lives according to his will so that thus transformed, we too may march forth and transform the lives of others. 
Today’s celebration is thus a time for stock-taking, a time for us to look back into the year that is ending and ask ourselves if we have lived up to our billing. Have I been a faithful partner and friend of Jesus? Has the kingdom advanced under my watch or did I cede some ground?