Jesus Says "I am the Truth"

11-21-2021Weekly ReflectionFr. Anthony Okolo, C.S.Sp

Today is the last Sunday in the Church’s calendar which we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King that Our Lord Jesus Christ is a universal King. Today’s feast reminds us that Jesus is the universal king but His kingship is different from all other kings. He rules not by power and might like the world kings, emperors and monarchs but by love which is manifested on the Cross. His power doesn’t make us slaves in the human way. It elevates us to Him and makes us share His own life. “Christ did not deny that He is a king rather He affirms He is a king, but not of a worldly kingship but, heavenly kingdom. He came not to deliver people from oppression of the Romans or political institution, but from the oppression of sin and the evil one, which are the greatest form of enslavement. His mission was to speak the truth through example and word.” This is a call for us who follow Him to strive after truth in our words, actions and deeds. This truth must be spoken in charity with love.

Christ is the only man in human history who has said: “I am the Truth.” This profound statement of Jesus that I am the truth is an indication that everything rests in Him and everything is reconciled in Him. Thus Jesus offers Himself as the answer to all the questions of the human heart. He goes further to say that “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice”, It means that those who reject Christ reject Him not because of any other thing but because they could not withstand the truth of what He stands for or what He says. Christ is the King, a King that we must know not only with the mind, but also with the heart. Christ is the royal witness of truth because He governs upon mankind and the world in an authentic manner. “He doesn’t tower above. His scepter is not a wand of command but once more the Cross which becomes a pastoral with which He guides his sheep.”

In dying on the Cross, Jesus was not defeated by the world. He conquered it with His love and exhorts all those who would come after Him to be ready give their lives for others. How prepared are we to sacrifice our lives for the good of other people as Jesus did for us?

Today’s Gospel reading opens with Pilate’s question to Jesus: “Are you the King of the Jews?” In response, “Jesus replies with a question that seeks to confront Pilate with his own personal commitment as opposed to what others tell him about Jesus. The issue is no longer Jesus’ guilt or innocence but whether Pilate will respond to the truth of Jesus kingship”. In a way, Pilate knew what implication the affirmation of that question would generate especially within the Roman authorities, Jesus in turn throws the question back to him and wanted his own personal commitment. In the same way, we need a personal response to who is Jesus for us, not relying on what others said, but your own personal response which would be born from your own personal encounter with the Lord.

Besides, Jesus states that His Kingdom is not of this world in the sense that it neither takes its origin from here, nor is it an earthly kingdom that would be a rival to political imperialism. Jesus’ reign is beyond time and space and that is why He says that His kingdom is not of this world. Jesus has no design on political control and yet, His power extends over every nation on the earth. His reign goes beyond political landscape because He rules at the deepest part of the human person which is the heart. The simple question is, does Jesus reign in your heart. Do you give Him the space to be the king in your life?