Gospel in Art: Jesus answered: 'Yes I am king'

Christ the King Crucified executed in Limoges 1200-1215 © Cluny Museum / Alamy

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 24 November 2024
John 18:33-37

'Are you the king of the Jews?' Pilate asked. Jesus replied, 'Do you ask this of your own accord, or have others spoken to you about me?' Pilate answered, 'Am I a Jew? It is your own people and the chief priests who have handed you over to me: what have you done?' Jesus replied, 'Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this kind.' 'So you are a king then?' said Pilate. 'It is you who say it' answered Jesus. 'Yes, I am a king. I was born for this, I came into the world for this: to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.'

Reflection on the enamelled cross

Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat!

Christ conquers! Christ rules! Christ reigns!

Today we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. The Church's liturgical year concludes with today's feast, which was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925 to celebrate the Jubilee Year and the 16th centenary of the Council of Nicaea.

Today we celebrate that Christ is king in the kingdom in which we already live. Here is a beautiful explanation given by Gerald Darring (St Louis University, Center for Liturgy):

'The Kingdom of God is a space. It exists in every home where parents and children love each other. It exists in every region and country that cares for its weak and vulnerable. It exists in every parish that reaches out to the needy.

The Kingdom of God is a time. It happens whenever someone feeds a hungry person, or shelters a homeless person, or shows care to a neglected person. It happens whenever we overturn an unjust law, or correct an injustice, or avert a war. It happens whenever people join in the struggle to overcome poverty, to erase ignorance, to pass on the Faith.

The Kingdom of God is in the past (in the life and work of Jesus of Nazareth);
it is in the present (in the work of the Church and in the efforts of many others to create a world of goodness and justice);
it is in the future (reaching its completion in the age to come).

The Kingdom of God is a condition. Its symptoms are love, justice, and peace…'

Our artwork is an early 13th-century enamelled crucifix, made in Limoges. Christ the King wearing a regal crown is seen on the Cross, clad in a blue dalmatic. He is awake and in triumph, rather than suffering. The vibrant, colourful enamelling was an intricate art form perfected in the Middle Ages. The technique of enamelling used intense heat to fuse glass (in liquid form when heated) onto a prepared metal surface, allowing the metalworker to create brightly coloured images. Medieval enamelers used several different techniques, but champlevé enamelling was one of the most common. The word champlevé means literally 'raised fields', referring to the way that beds were dug out of a copper plate to receive the powdered enamels which would then rise and sit at the same level as the copper ground, making for an even surface. These enamel pieces were not only visually stunning but also highly durable.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's Reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/john-18-33-37-2024/