We share in the kingly function of Christ

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

            CHRIST, being the pattern of our humanity, should be the focus of our whole life with the view of becoming more and more like him to such an extent that we can be rightly called as “alter Christus” (another Christ), if not “ipse Christus” (Christ himself).

This is no gratuitous presumption. A proof of this can be found in his priestly prayer before his passion and death when he said: “That they (we) may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us…” (Jn 17,21)

St. Paul in his Letter to the Galatians also alluded to this truth when he said: “There is neither Jew or Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you all are one in Christ Jesus.” (3,28)

Now, since Christ is our ultimate King in the sense that he is our Redeemer who reigns over all creation, we should also understand that for us to be like Christ and to be one with him, we should also share in his kingly function.

This can only mean that we participate in Christ’s kingly authority and rule over sin and everything that is evil. This can only be made possible when we strive to live a life of obedience to God’s will, following his commandments and, as a consequence, living a life of holiness. This sharing of Christ’s kingly authority and rule is also exercised with we strive to serve others, using our gifts and talents to build up the body of Christ.

Some key aspects especially of the laity’s kingly function are, first, that of servant leadership. This means that the we should serve others, especially the poor and marginalized, in a way that would reflect Christ’s servant leadership.

Second, we should be in the forefront of transforming the temporal affairs, bringing Christian values into our work, family, social and political life, etc., always promoting justice and virtue.

Lastly but not the least, we should always be giving witness to Christ in all our words and deeds in such a way that we in effect would be proclaiming the Gospel and inviting others to follow Christ.

This can only mean that we really should make Christ our King, first of all. We can do this by making little conquests in our spiritual life everyday. We need to understand that our life will always involve some struggle. In fact, it is and should be a daily affair. Failing in that struggle does not only mean getting stuck at a certain point. It certainly means we have retrogressed. In this business of struggle, if we don’t advance, we retreat.

We should therefore be reminded of our duty to hone up our skills in spiritual warfare. Christ already hinted this much when he said: “from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent bear it away.” (Mt 11,12)

Our life here on earth cannot but be in some form of struggle. Aside from our innate urge to grow and develop that requires some effort, we also have to contend with enemies whose sole intent is precisely to bring us down, to divert us from our proper path toward holiness. This is not to mention that our ultimate goal is to reach heaven, which definitely will require effort and struggle, and of course God’s grace.

This is how we can make Christ truly our king, and in the process make ourselves share also in his kingship.

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com