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Reflection by Siji Dominic;
I belong to a women's group, we call ourselves "Wise Women". We meet every 5 to 6 weeks for dinner and fun. Our favourite game is telephone/Chinese whispers, where a message is whispered from person to person and becomes hilariously distorted by the end. While it brings much laughter, it also highlights an important truth: what we hear isn't always the truth, and what we repeat is not what we hear.
In today's Gospel, when Pilate asks Jesus if He is the King of the Jews, Jesus responds, "Do you ask this of your own accord, or have others spoken to you about me?" This question challenges us to reflect on our own words and actions. When we form opinions or speak about others, do we do so from personal understanding, or do we merely repeat what we think we've heard, perhaps to fit in?
When we fail to speak truthfully or act with integrity, do we realise that we may, in some way, be sending someone to their own crucifixion—condemning them with our words or silence like Pilate did? And in doing so, are we truly living as citizens of the kingdom where Jesus is from, or are we aligning ourselves with a world of whispers, distortion, and judgment?
During my prison ministry, I once asked a group of prisoners what they thought heaven would be like. With their current struggles, they quickly described it as a place of love, justice, truth, kindness, peace, happiness, family, where God is and so on. In the Gospel, Jesus, coming from the very world we yearn for, reflects on His own experience, saying that if He were where He belonged, He would not have been handed over.
To follow Christ the King is to align ourselves with His kingdom—a kingdom built on truth, justice, and love.
“Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear” Ephesians 4:29
Jesus declares, "Yes, I am a king. I was born for this, I came into the world for this: to bear witness to the truth."
Faithful witnessing means living as citizens of Christ's kingdom, standing for what is right and holy, even when it is difficult. It calls us to rise above the whispers, distortions, and judgments of the world and instead, through our lives, reflect the love, truth, and justice of heaven with the help of Christ the King.
