The feast of Christ the King recognizes the triumph of Jesus, the one who testified to the truth with his words and with his life.

Jesus certainly seemed to be the underdog—outarmed, overpowered, seemingly inconsequential.

Power is a tricky business. Many will try to win it, buy it, or obtain it by whatever means necessary. Yet power remains elusive even to those who seek and desire it.

I thought of Jesus, who said his kingdom is not of this world, a world where being right and getting even and proving my point is all important.

Pilate, like most of us, is a guy who can’t handle the truth because it means accepting that our world is upside down and inside out.

Today we proudly proclaim Christ as our king. That means we freely take up the task of being loving, kind, and compassionate so as to reflect those qualities of Jesus.

As we reach the end of the church’s year, we celebrate Christ’s kingship as the crown of our celebrations of Christ’s life during this past year and also as the Lord of our lives. Let us pray to God, in whose kingdom we dwell.

Here, in the dock before the Roman governor—a most unkingly position—Christ engages Pilate in a dialogue about just what kind of a king Jesus is.

Therefore, distrust every claim for truth where you do not see truth united with love; and be certain that you are of the truth and that the truth has taken hold of you only when love has taken hold of you and has started to make you free from yourselves. —Paul Tillich