Our king is not a king of this world who has to seek or cling to power. He would never scrabble for control of others. He did not seek wealth. He did not fight for victory over anyone, or use force on anyone who disagreed with him. Everyone was and is free to walk away or to take on his gentle yoke.
When asked to show force or use vengeance he refused. When asked to punish someone, the ones who asked ended up walking away in silence, contemplating their own sins.
He was clear about who he was but he never had to brag about anything. Why would he? He was quietly in charge of every star, every atom, every quark, every beetle, every galaxy. His spirit upheld all things. "I am that I am" God told Moses when he asked him his name. He just is.
And he knew who he was.
When Pontius Pilate asked Jesus if he was a king, our Lord's answer showed us we didn't understand the kind of king he really was.
People are also reading... President Welsh takes responsibility for 'unacceptable' A&M student ticket pull issues Pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after incident with train Watch: Texas A&M students wait at ticket pull for Texas game tickets Inner Loop East opponents to meet Wednesday Bryan woman arrested with 65 grams of crack cocaine Here's how much Texas A&M will pay New Mexico State to play Saturday's game A&M Consolidated grabs commanding bi-district win over Friendswood Victim identified in fatal crash in College Station A&M students brave grueling conditions for ticket pull. Will university reexamine policy? Game Day Guide: Texas A&M to hold Senior Day vs. New Mexico State College Station football team makes right adjustments in bi-district win over Crosby 25 years after Bonfire collapse, the tradition lives on with A&M students still running it Cessna's grades: Aggies have no problem with New Mexico State, but still have work to do A&M President Welsh: Texas NIL law will need adjustment based on court case Brazos County election officials feel the strain of unrelenting scrutiny from skeptics
Our worldly minds, even as his followers, still find it hard to understand someone who has absolute power but instead chooses dusty feet and sacrificial love.
Can you imagine a mosquito landing on you and biting you? And instead of smacking the mosquito you die for it to save it? We are less than mosquitos given the scale of creation and the absolute power of God. But we are everything to him because he loves us, each one like the only one.
What kind of king is Christ? The kind of king who is infinite but makes himself small for us so we can be friends. The kind of king who washes our feet, shares his rule with us for the small exchange of our love. Indeed we are crowned with the stars in his eyes when he looks at us. He makes us like himself, he lifts us up, he washes our feet, feeds us, dresses us in his own bright finery.
What does this kind of Christly kingship mean for us? He summed up his expectations of us by saying "love one another as I have loved you." He would have us love humbly, sacrificially and completely. He said that if we had authority in this world we should never lord it over those in our charge. He never did. He didn't have to. It means that we should be grounded in the dignity he gives each of us, in his gift of free will, his unfathomable and tender humility. We reflect his heart, keeping him always at the center seeing with his eyes.
I heard in a homily once from Bishop Bill Wack that 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 could be taken to describe our Lord. We know God is love. So we just read the passage replacing the word love with his name.
"Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind. He does not envy, he does not boast, he is not proud. He does not dishonor others, he is not self-seeking, he is not easily angered, he keeps no record of wrongs. Jesus does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Jesus always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Jesus never fails."
To see how you are doing following this king of ours, go back now and this time put your name in in place of "Love."
I think we all have a ways to go. It's a good thing we have him to help us.
How can we serve a king like this one? A king who washes feet? Who gives freely? Who rules by love and asks for nothing else?
By washing feet, by giving freely, being ruled by love alone.
Bryan resident Shawn Chapman, a mother and grandmother, is a Secular Discalced Carmelite, a Catholic community in the Diocese of Austin.
Stay up-to-date on what's happening
Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly!
Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.