Jesus did not live as a king… but as a servant; his choice was not power, but humility and detachment; his throne was a cross, and his crown, a crown of thorns. From there he attracts. This is how his witness stands out.
Jesus dissociates himself from human lordships and reigns. Although his “kingdom will have no end” (Lk 1:33), he intends to show us another way: “Whoever wishes to be great must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first must be the servant of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for all” (Mk 10:42-45).
Jesus is recognised as King and Lord because he has served humanity like no other, and because his witness is a provocation to spend oneself in mercy, solidarity and service to the point of spending and wearing out one’s life.
In the liturgy, the Gospel parable places him judging “all nations”. But this judgement is reduced to a single issue, a single question: love for others. For Jesus, the quality of a person’s life is demonstrated by the love he has put into his relationships with his brothers and sisters.
The one who loves fulfils the whole law. Therefore, it is not desires or words that save, but deeds of love and mercy. What God expects from us as a matter of priority is an intimate solidarity like the one that Jesus lived.
