Christ the King Sunday—The Crown of the Year
There’s something powerful about a finish line. Runners pace themselves, pushing through fatigue with one thought in mind, what awaits at the end. That final stretch holds more than a ribbon or a medal; it represents the culmination of every step taken, every mile endured.
In the same way, Christ the King Sunday marks the finish line of our worship calendar — a crowning conclusion to a yearlong journey through the story of our salvation.
For some time now, we have been journeying through the long stretch of Ordinary Time—the Season after Pentecost. But it’s not ordinary because it lacks meaning. Rather, it’s the sacred stretch of everyday faithfulness, where the Spirit quietly builds the Church. Today, that journey finds its exclamation point. From the expectant hope of Advent to the glory of Easter, from the fire of Pentecost to this very moment, every season of the Christian year leads us to declare: Jesus is King.
Christ the King Sunday invites us to lift our gaze. Not to a throne fashioned by human hands, but to the One through whom all things were made. The One who holds all creation together. In him, the invisible becomes visible. He is not only the Savior of the world; he is the sovereign Lord of it.
The book of Colossians reminds us that Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. His reign is not distant or detached. It is intimate, redemptive, and all-encompassing. He is reconciling all things our past, our present, our future, by the blood of his cross. And today, we proclaim with joy and confidence: Christ reigns now and forever.
Christ the King Sunday is not just a celebration of who Jesus is, it’s a call to live under his lordship. It’s a holy reminder that in a world of competing powers, Jesus alone reigns with justice, mercy, and peace. As this liturgical year draws to a close, we rest in his kingship and look forward with hope. A new year begins next week with Advent, but today we crown the year with Christ.
“May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”
Christ the King Sunday reminds us that the story doesn’t end — it reigns. Jesus, the Alpha and Omega, calls us to step into a new season grounded in his sovereignty and shaped by his grace.
