“Above him there was an inscription that read, “This is the King of Jews.”
What does the INRI above Jesus mean? The inscription above Jesus which is shortened INRI, which means Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. The inscription “was written in Hebrew, in Latin and in Greek[i] Why was it written in three languages? Hebrew, Latin and Greek were the main languages of the Roman Empire which ruled the world at the time of Jesus. Jesus cannot be limited to Nazareth. Jesus cannot be limited to just one people, the Jews. Jesus is for all, He is all in all. He is not the King of Nazareth or the King of the Jews but the King of Kings, Christ the King. The fact that INRI was written in the three main languages of the people of the Roman Empire was to proclaim to all that Jesus is the King of Kings. All are called to stand before Christ Crucified and make a decision, just as the thieves, the soldiers and all people have had to make a decision. Is this man, as C.S. Lewis said, “A liar, a lunatic or Lord.” Is this man just the King of the Jews or is He the King of Kings and, thus, my king.
Clovis, who was the first Barbarian tribal leader to embrace the Catholic Faith, and is credited as being the Father of Catholic France, was so moved by the story of Christ crucified that just in being told about the crucifixion he and a thousand of his army were baptized and converted. Clovis and his tribe valued a good leader, a man that sacrifices all for the good of the tribe. Clovis saw in Christ the ultimate sign of a leader and said to those who brought him the story of Christ, “Oh, how I wish me and my men could have been there [at the crucifixion]” What do we see in Christ crucified? Do we see a man from Nazareth, a King of a certain group of people, a criminal, a hero, a servant, a leader?
In many of the alien movies, those from another world would encounter a human and say, “Take me to your leader” Who is your leader? Who is really leading your life? Is it yourself, those that influence you? Your activities? If a person not from this world were to see the material things that were important to you (posters, books, pictures, video games, music, your activities), who would they say is leading your life, influencing your life?
VIDEO – “One Solitary Life”
Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today He is the central figure of the human race. All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned have not affected the life of man on the earth as much as that one solitary life. Where are the kings now? Where are the dictators, the empires, the governments? Christ still stands and the Church He founded still stands after 2000 years of history. Christ is King, but is He the King of our life.
The Church, under the reign of Pope Pius XI, gave us the feast of the Kingship of our Lord Jesus Christ in the jubilee year 1925. “Christians have ever hailed our divine Lord as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It was a King that representatives of the Eastern world came to adore him in the manger; it was a King, albeit not knowing what he did, that the official representative of the Western world lifted him up upon the Cross.”[ii] From East to West, we have proclaimed Christ as King. We proclaim Christ as King to a world in need of leadership, in need of salvation. Our world is skeptical, just as skeptical as those who at the Crucifixion said, “If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.” Our world is looking for a sign, that Jesus truly is Christ the King, if they do not see the sign, they will not accept Christ as King.
What are the signs of a King?
Kingdom – A King has a Kingdom. The Kingdom of Heaven as stated in this packet is the Church. The Church must, therefore, take seriously its role and salvific mission of teaching, sanctifying (making holy) and governing not only the members of the Church but all mankind. If the world sees a healthy Church, it will see a healthy king.
Servants – A King has Servants. The Faithful members of the Kingdom of Heaven the Church are the members of the Body of Christ. If the servants are not obedient to the King, how can anyone take the King seriously. If the servants are not willing to be taught, to be made holy and to obey the rules of the King, how will those not in service of the King desire to be in His service.
Crown – A King has a crown. We have only to gaze at our King crucified to see the crown that our King wears, a crown of thorns, of humility, of suffering. Saint Elizabeth of Hungary was a great queen and is said to have at times worn a crown of thorns in imitation of Christ. When she was asked about the practice, she responded, “How can I a queen, wear a crown of gold, when Jesus, my King, wore a crown of thorns.” Are we willing to imitate Christ in His humility and His sacrificial nature? This suffering is the priestly mission of Christ, to offer self for the world. How do we join in this mission?
Staff – A King has a staff. The staff of Christ is carried by the Bishops in union with the Pope; they are our shepherds, our leaders. The world should witness the governing and teaching role of the Bishops, and in the Bishops a voice that calls out in the wilderness, a voice of truth and many times a voice of contradiction to the falsehoods presented by the father of lies, Satan.
Castle – A King has a castle. The Church is our fortification or safety. Jesus promised Peter and all the faithful, “Peter on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell, shall not prevail against it.”[iii] Are we willing to run to the rock, the Church, our safety in the midst of the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil. Are we willing to allow the Church through its Sacraments to sanctify us, to make us holy?
Thrown – A King sits on a thrown. “It is not to remain in a golden ciborium that He comes down to us each day from heaven; it’s to find another heaven, infinitely more dear to Him than the first: the heaven of our soul, made to his image, the living temple of the adorable Trinity.”[iv] Christ wants to sit on the thrown of our heart. Christ the King’s battle is not for earthly kingdoms, but the battle for each individual heart. It is the enemies within us that God want to conquer. “And he will sit there until all his enemies who are within us become his footstool.”[v] Who sits on the thrown of your heart? What are the enemies within us that Christ the King must conquer before he can truly reign in our heart? The greatest of these enemies are the seven deadly sins. “Vices can be classified according to the virtues they oppose, or also can be link to the capital sins which Christian experience has distinguished, following St. John Cassian and St. Gregory the Great. They are called “capital” because they engender other sins, other vices. They are pride, avarice (greed), envy, wrath (anger), lust, gluttony, and sloth or acedia.”[vi] The world must see that we are not ruling our own life, that we do not call our own shots, but that it is Christ reigning in us and, therefore, it is Christ that is conquering the sins in our life. The world should see in the faithful, purity in their hearts, a purity that can only happen if Christ is in their heart. Just as the “pure in heart shall see God”[vii], the world will begin to see and recognize God through the pure hearts of the faithful.
[i] John 19:20
[ii] Abbot Gueranger, OSB, The Liturgical Year; Vol. 14
[iii] Matthew 16:18
[iv] Saint Therese the Little Flower
[v] Office of Readings; Vol. 4; page 577; Origen
[vi] CCC - 1866
[vii] Matthew 5:8