As we come to the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year, it is always the celebration of the Solemnity of Christ the King. And I would like to share with you an interesting clip I saw that highlights the Kingship of Christ. It is from the movie 300, which is about Leonidas, king of Sparta, who led 300 men to defend his land from an invasion by the Persian army led by their "god-king" Xerxes. In this clip, we see a negotiation between Leonidas and Xerxes.
The video clip can't be embedded, because it is copyrighted. So click on this link to view it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXaTcZWBfC0
There are a few points in the dialogue between the two which struck me, highlighting the contrasting ideas of what kingship was. And I found that I could relate Leonidas' kingship with Christ's kingship of love, self-sacrifice and freedom. In contrast Xerxes kingship can be equated to the devil's kingship of false promises, fear, oppression and pain.
| Xerxes / Devil | Leonidas / Christ |
| - would gladly kill any of his own men for victory | - would die for any one of his men |
| - has slaves | - has warriors who were free men |
What Xerxes does, is like what the devil did to tempt Jesus after his forty days in the desert: a promise of power and fame, if Jesus would only bow before him. And just as Leonidas stood up to Xerxes, Jesus stood up to the devil, because he knew who was the true source of power and good.
This is what we need to reflect on today - Is Jesus really our king? We know that he was willing to die for any one of his men, to free them from the hands of the evil one. Have we then experienced his kingship in our lives? Are we marching in his army, under his banner, following his lead? Are we as Leonidas says, free men who stood against a tryant, the evil one?
Let us then today truly acknowledge Christ as our king, bending our knee before him, pledging our allegiance, following his commands, and be his army in establishing God's kingdom here on earth.
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