O King of the Nations

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

On December 22, Jesus is named as King of the Nations:

O King of the nations, and their desire, the cornerstone making both one: Come and save the human race, which you fashioned from clay.

St. John's Gospel gives us the best perspective of this title in the passion narrative, especially in the encounter between Pilate and Jesus in the Praetorium. The other Gospels portray Jesus as the silent Lamb led to slaughter. St. John, on the other hand, shows us a king seated on the judgement seat, crowned with thorns, robed in purple, and finally enthroned on a cross with a placard naming him as King. Jesus is the Savior King.

St. Matthew also uses the perspective of Jesus' royalty in the infancy narrative at the beginning of his Gospel. When the sages from the East come looking for Jesus, they go to the palace of the King. Where else would you find a king? When they find him in Bethlehem, they are changed by the encounter and go home by a different route.

If we name Jesus as Savior and Creator King, it behooves us to pay heed to his commands, to live our lives in homage to such a great King.