Who is our King? Who or what has sovereignty over our lives? On this Feast of Christ
the King, these are the questions that we must ask ourselves.

If Jesus Christ is truly sovereign over us, his life and teaching governs what we think, say
and do, how is that manifest in our daily lives? Jesus governs what we think when our view of the world and of other persons is shaped by the Gospels, by Church teaching and our personal prayer, and not by what shock jocks and cable pundits would have us think and believe. Jesus governs what we say when we strive to speak a word that will lift others up and not tear them down. Jesus governs what we say when we strive to speak a word of forgiveness and not a declaration of hatred and a desire for vengeance and retribution. Jesus governs our actions when we reach out to those who are poor and on the margins of society. Jesus governs our actions when we welcome immigrants and provide them with the support they need to establish themselves in this country. Jesus governs our actions when we visit the sick, call the lonely and isolated, and volunteer in soup kitchens and food pantries. This is what it means to say the Jesus is sovereign over us. He and his teaching govern what we think, say and do.

Sadly, other things can become sovereign over our lives. We can allow our thinking,
speaking and acting to be governed by the popular opinion and popular prejudice. We can allow alcohol, drugs or even sex to become sovereign over us – controlling our thoughts and actions. We can allow the desire for material possessions, or the desire for power, to become sovereign over us. In what areas in our lives is there a need for change so that Jesus truly becomes sovereign over us? Are we open to the grace of God to allow that change to happen?

As disciples of Jesus Christ, only he should be sovereign over us. May we grow in our faithfulness to Jesus and his Gospel so that living in faithfulness to him in this life, we might reign with him forever in the life to come.