The King

Last weekend, the Catholic Church celebrated the feast day of Christ the King. It marks the end of the “liturgical year” and concludes a tumultuous year for the world, filled with sorrow, loss, and uncertainty on so numerous fronts.

What has exacerbated this in many countries is politics and the ever-increasingly common flood of fake news which seems to accompany any hot topic.

Leaders of many countries are very often focused on the power and authority that their position wields over their political enemies, and inevitably the people they govern. They get drunk on their own supremacy for the purposes of enriching themselves and their allies, bringing down those who do not agree with them and trying to ensure that they cling on to the reins of “leadership” for as long as possible, regardless of what the majority want.

But in the Bible interpretation, the King’s job is to care for his people, to ensure all his sheep are safe, to the point that not even one is lost. Like a shepherd, he doesn’t walk in front of the flock but behind it, to guide it and protect it from predators lurking in the dark.

When was the last time you heard the word “care” in the same sentence as CEO, President, or Prime Minister? Hardly. We’ve all been taught about military leadership, tough decisions, and ruling with conviction and a will to succeed. The King who cares seems out of place in our modern world, yet is the very thing we need right now to lift us out of our darkness.