My dear parishioners, as Christ offers to us his Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity—the pledge of his eternal love—we are given an example to love one another as he loves us. This is his new commandment. Unselfish love for one another is the true mark of discipleship. Thus “rooted and grounded in love”  [Eph 3:17], we do not fear to proclaim Jesus as Christ, the immortal King.
            No more are we strangers in a hostile realm, no longer wanderers without a home. Henceforth, by means of the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, we are “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God”.  [Eph 2:19]  We who are judged worthy by Christ are citizens of the Kingdom over which he rules, “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone”.  [Eph 2:20] 
            Hence, the Kingdom of God is fettered no longer by the blood of tribes—a contradictory sign of cultural hegemony and religious atrophy—rather it flourishes with the vibrant citizenship of faith! One cannot behold the glory of the King without beholding the sacrifice of the man,  Jesus, who fulfills the will of God by "emptying himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men".  [Phi 2:7] 
            Only a scant three years avail him to accomplish his mission. His rabbinic school convenes on the hillsides of Galilee, in the crowded synagogue of Capernaum, anywhere his followers can gather. His students number the working poor, the sick and lame, the oppressed and disheartened. Although the Son of God expresses his aversion of the Way of Sorrows, he nevertheless works assiduously in his father’s Kingdom whatever may come.
            Jesus’ service to the Kingdom of God thrusts him face to face one day with the ill-tempered Pontius Pilate, Roman procurator of Judea. In the hours before his arrest and trial, Jesus says first to his apostles:  “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here and watch”, and then to God: “Abba, Father, all things are possible to thee; remove this cup from me; yet not what I will, but what thou wilt.”  [Mk 14: 34-36] 
            Condemned as a sectarian and revolutionary, Jesus is handed over to the Roman Governor of Judea by the leaders and chief priests of his people. On that fateful Friday in the governor's palace, Pilate and Jesus confront one another. For the Roman governor, dialogue is not a possibility with the Nazarene—it is a tedious farce.
            Although the Roman governor and the Jewish rabbi grapple momentarily with kingship, each sees in himself a vessel filled with a totally different drink. Pilate knows only a cup of power and privilege, a vessel soon to fall from his hand. Christ is himself a chalice from which the new covenant in his blood will be poured out as a libation for the salvation of the world.
            Pilate asks Jesus to state his intentions with regards to Rome: Are you a king? His mocking question is but a mere imitation of a genuine search for truth. Yet Jesus replies not for Pilot, but actually to answer a catechetical question he posed to his disciples in the past: “Who do men say that the Son of Man is?”  [Mt 16:13]  Now, under Pilate’s cold and harsh glare, Our Lord answers it clearly for all time:  “For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice.”  [Jn 18:37] 
            When Jesus speaks of his kingship, he means the authority given by his father to himself as Son to forgive sins, to execute judgment, to teach divine truth, to speak his father’s words, and to accomplish his father’s works.
            My dear friends, Jesus has come to gather God's people on the mountain heights of justice, to feast on the good grazing land of divine truth. Hence, you and God’s Church are charged with a duty, a divine obligation to submit to God and to what God alone has named as true and good. “Every one who is of the truth" , declares Christ the King, “hears my voice.” The King of Kings is passing by! Rise up and follow him! Sincerely in the hearts of Jesus and Mary. Your pastor, Reverend Richard Barker.