I’ve got a friend of mine, John, that I’ve known since college, who has always perplexed me.  I’ve never understood this guy.  I couldn’t figure him out back then, and I would certainly have to say that I can’t figure him out today.  I can hear from my friend, John, every week for months, and then suddenly I don’t hear from him at all for years.  He has called me before and has been right down the street.  And once he called me and he was in Budapest.  At times he would describe himself as a liberal conservative, and then a few days later, he would call himself a conservative liberal.  I always thought he didn’t quite get what those terms meant.  He was funny, and outgoing, and the life of the party.  But he also tended to be recluse and hated to be in large crowds.  John was a real saint, so many times helping people out in trouble, and he’d give you the shirt off his back.  And there were other times that I was absolutely convinced that John was the Anti-Christ.   He may have been one the smartest, most intelligent people that I have ever known, and there have been many, many days that I have been absolutely convinced that my friend John was crazy.  Not just a little different, but certifiably crazy in the head.  You and I both know the difference.  The honest truth is that I don’t even know whether or not to call him a friend.  We stay in touch.  The years go by.  And there just seems to be more and more that I don’t understand.

       I guess, we’ve all probably known people like my friend, John.  We spend time with them.  We know many things about them.  But we really don’t understand.  It makes me think of Pontius Pilate in our Gospel today.  This little scene, which occurs right smack in the middle of St. John’s Passion story, records part of the encounter between Pilate and Jesus, right before Pilate hands Jesus over to the Jews to be crucified.  We read this account every Good Friday.  Today, we read it on the Feast of Christ the King.  It is most appropriate for both days.  But what sticks out so glaringly for me today is just how perplexed Pilate is with Jesus.  Pilate is not understanding at all, the man he has in front of him.  The Jewish leaders have painted Jesus as a dangerous revolutionary that must be stopped.  He is supposed to be a threat to the Jewish nation and to the Roman Empire.  Pilate supposes Jesus to be violent, and full of hate and venom, and ready to bring down the entire Roman Empire.  But that’s not Who he sees in front of him.  Pilate is almost attracted to Jesus and His words.  And this is interesting because Pontius Pilate was a mover and a shaker.  He loved his power and authority.  Pilate wanted more.  He couldn’t wait for his next big promotion.  Pilate was so into the political games and the power trips that so often come with civil authority.  And yet here he is, in a room all by himself, with a different kind of King.  This King is unlike any other.  And Jesus is talking about a Kingdom that is also unlike any other.  And Pilate knows that Jesus is telling the truth.  Pilate may not understand truth.  But he knows that this Jesus is telling the truth.  Pilate doesn’t know what to do with Jesus.  Does he let Him go?  Does he have Him crucified?  Does he have Him scourged?  Does he leave his job, his palace, his ambition, and follow a real King?  Well, we know what happened.  Pilate was a lot weaker than he thought that he was.

       But what about us?  What about all of us two-thousand years later?  Do we understand Jesus any better?   We certainly know more about Him than what Pontius Pilate did.  The Feast of Christ the King challenges all of us to take a good hard look at Who Jesus is to us.   Is Jesus Christ the Lord and King of your life?  Are you following Him with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind?  Or are you just perplexed?  When we are confused, it is nearly impossible to see clearly and come up with the right answer.  Like my friend, John, Jesus confuses us when we’re caught up in the lies and blind spots of this world.  Jesus is a different kind of King.  His truth is offering us a completely new way of thinking and of living.  We can be part of His Kingdom.  But we’ve got to choose it everyday -  many times every day!  We’ve got to let Him be our King, our authority!

       We know the Kingdom has begun.  We’ve seen it.  We’ve tasted it.  We know that we are invited to royal banquet unlike anything that this world has ever or can ever offer.  We are invited to eternal life.  But He’s got to be King.  Not us.  Not our pride or our selfishness.  Not money, or power, or things.  Not our desires, or ambitions, or greed.  Only Jesus!  He is Christ the King.  May we follow Him every day of our lives.

God bless us on this Feast Day,  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…AMEN !!!

St. Maria Goretti…Pray for us !!!