I have to admit something. I find it hard to think Christ as the King.

For me, brought about by our history, stories, media influence and my recent visit to Thailand where they still have their version of a king, my image of a king is someone high and mighty, lives in an extravagant and opulent abode, dressed in finery and adorned with the most sparkling gemstones you can ever find. This king is almost unreachable and someone I know in my lifetime, I will never meet.

Yet here is a King presented to us this Sunday. A King who was humbly born in a manger, dressed in simple robes, slept in other people’s homes, who walked on cobblestone roads the same as everyone else, who appreciated having children around him and someone who touched people – both literally and figuratively.

In today’s gospel, this King was hung on the cross, mocked, challenged, and was crucified. He hung on a cross and bore scars from the lashes and strikes when he was scourged. He was nailed on the cross and bore the scorching heat of the sun, and the terrible wind before the quake until his last breath.

We all know this King and relive his crucifixion and death every Holy Week. But what comes right after sings in every Christian’s heart… His resurrection. Because of His resurrection, if I may borrow Pope Benedict XVI’s words in his Easter Vigil homily last April 2006, “he broke the definitiveness of death, because in him the definitiveness of life was present.” He gave a new meaning to life and he is the living proof of the truth that life does not end in human form, but He “crosses” over from death to life so we can find eternal joy and happiness.

And no king of this world will ever compare to the gravity and love that Christ did for humankind.

A king may give glory to his people through material things, achievements and fulfillments of promises made, but Christ’s glory is like an amazing, almost blinding light that reaches even the darkest corners of the world. When defining a king, there are a lot of descriptions available. But when capitalized, “King” means God, Christ. Without the worldly images of a king, I can think of Christ as King, which makes me still and know He is God.