“Are you a king?” Pilate’s question is a good one. How could anyone look at Jesus and believe he was a king? There he stood before Pilate, bound in chains. He had no armies, no throne, and not even any followers left. He looked nothing like the kings of this world. Yet, Jesus was a king. He is a king—a king like no other.
The kings of this world often seek to enrich themselves, to command servile obedience, and to wield their power to dominate others. But Jesus is different. He is a king who unites with his followers in solidarity. Unlike worldly kings, he uses his infinite power and freedom not to enslave but to choose suffering and death.
Why would he do this? Because he is a merciful king. Life offers us very few certainties, but this we know: rich or poor, young or old, no matter where we are born, we will all suffer, and we will all die. Christ saw this reality, and in his mercy, he chose to redeem it. He gave suffering and death meaning. God looked upon the very worst aspect of human existence—what fills us with fear and drives us to protect ourselves—and he transformed it. Christ took suffering and death, the one certainty of our lives, and made it our source of hope. He made it the very path to salvation.
Because of this, we no longer have to fear suffering and death. In fact, as Christians, we cannot fear them. We cannot run from suffering; rather, like Christ, we must open our arms to embrace the cross, confident that it is the path to eternal life and eternal joy.
When Christ suffered, he gave meaning to our suffering. He took what seemed vain and made it salvific. Through the Incarnation, Jesus united himself to us, and through him, we are united to one another. As members of the Body of Christ, when we suffer, Christ suffers, and the whole Church suffers. This means every one of us participates in the salvation of the world. Just as the suffering and death of Jesus won salvation for all people, so does ours. We no longer live merely for ourselves. We live through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ, for the salvation of the world.
The challenges we face, the crosses we carry, are no longer meaningless burdens or “vanities of vanities.” They are opportunities to save the world. They are our chance to complete the work of Christ in the world and to bring all people into God’s kingdom. As St. Paul says, we are “filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ”. Col 1:24
We must face life’s burdens as though the entire world depends on us—because it does. This includes not only the great burdens but also the smallest: working without complaining, forgiving an insult instead of seeking revenge, listening to a spouse or friend even when we are exhausted. Every single cross we bear with patience and love brings grace to the world and draws others closer to salvation. Alone, we can do nothing, but united with Christ our King, who bears our burdens with us, we can save the world. By freely choosing the way of Christ, we can transform all suffering and death into eternal life.