If you want to know one of the places where we get the traditional image of God the Father—aged and with flowing white hair, such as we see in Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel frescos—look no further than the “Ancient One” holding heavenly court in the reading from the Book of Revelation.

“I’m the procurator over Judea. I am a friend of Caesar. I am the arm of Rome, the mightiest empire of the known world. If someone is brought to my attention, they had better be worth my time.” So thinks Pilate, as this Jesus is dragged before him.

When Pope Pius XI instituted the celebration of Christ the King in 1925, he said that when humanity recognizes “that Christ is King, society will at last receive the great blessings of real liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace, and harmony.” It’s difficult to imagine the whole world accepting Christ’s kingship, but it was a remarkable statement.

Christ is our King, who judges us fairly and with love. Let us confess to him our faults.

Are you the king . . . ? Jesus is clearly a king, but what kind, and of whom? Pilate was chiefly concerned about Jesus as a real threat to Roman political power, which was in fact the charge his enemies made against him in order to condemn him. I could be that, Jesus says, but if that were my purpose those around me would be fighting for me.

The feast of Christ the King was created by Pope Pius XI in 1925 to remind us that Jesus is the true king of all creation and that he “must reign in our hearts, minds, wills, and bodies,” the pope wrote.

A man who was completely innocent offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act. —Mahatma Gandhi