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Once upon a time, there was a beautiful kingdom set in a lush valley between high mountain peaks, inhabited by a handsome and numerous people. They had a King who was just and wise, and under his care they lacked for nothing. They had comfortable homes, food and drink to spare, and hours and hours of time off work. Their children were strong and healthy, and of enemies they had none. The kingdom was famous for its merry-making, for red wine and tables laden with ripe fruits and luscious pies and every sort of good thing, and the people would sit in the sunshine under the shadow of the mountains and laugh and dance and sing to their hearts' content. It made the King glad to see their joy.
One day their fortunes changed. A man with a fascinating and cruel face wandered into their valley, and what he saw there made him burn with jealousy. He begrudged the people their happiness and their health and their singing. He was sharp of wit and a good talker, and as he made his way among them, he told them of distant lands much more beautiful than their own, lands where they could find wealth and happiness unimaginable, and, moreover, where there was no King to order them around. Nothing but lies of course, but it all sounded attractive and convincing. Some turned away with a shake of their heads, but many listened, and for those that did, disturbing visions arose in their minds. As the lies took root and bore evil fruit, their discontentment grew, and they began to speak against the King. Hearing this, the stranger smiled darkly to himself, and dropped hints into willing ears to fuel their anger: "Why should the King keep you here, ruling over you? You may think you are happy, but you are no more than slaves. But the strong demand what is their own, and if it is not given them, they take it!" And so one day, beguiled by the power of the stranger's words, the people rose up and marched out of their valley, shouting insults at the King and bragging of the fortunes they would win for themselves in their new lands.
The road the stranger led them down soon grew hard and weary, and they arrived after many days in a dark place of shadows; and it was cold, and too late they heard the sound of the iron bars clanging behind them. Then the stranger was revealed as a kidnapper and a thief, and he laughed at their cries of fear and hemmed them in behind high walls and set others like himself to rule over them, and they were beaten with whips and forced to work the iron soil as slaves, and all merriment and joy left them, and they lost all hope.
When word came to the King of the desperate lot of his people, his heart was pierced with compassion. He forgot the hard and unfair words they had spoken to him, their rebellion, their ingratitude, and instead thought only of how he might rescue them from their cruel slavery. He determined to put aside his royal robes and leave the comfort and beauty of his palace, and to travel to that fearful place where his people were held in thrall. He arrived alone, disguised as a beggar, and found his way inside the iron gates.
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He went among the slaves that were once his own people, and spoke words of peace to them, turning their hearts back to their true home. But reports of the beggar came to the ear of the Kidnapper, who had him roughly seized and bound in chains and brought before him. Then the Kidnapper saw that it was indeed the King, and he laughed out loud, for he realized that his enemy had been given into his hands. He brought the beggar-king into the central square, and he gathered all the people he had enslaved and forced them to watch as he mocked and spat upon and beat his prisoner. Seeing the King in this horrible state, and thinking how he had left everything to come in search of them, the people's hearts were softened, and they understood how unfair and unwise they had been, and they wept.
The Kidnapper only mocked their anguish, and finally with great glee at his power, he put the King to a bloody death. But then something wonderful happened. In the very moment of the Kidnapper's seeming triumph, as the blood of the King was shed, the iron gates were shattered, and the high imprisoning walls crumbled, and the people were set free, and the power of their enemy was broken. And to the great joy of all the people, life flowed back into the dead body of the King. He led them home again, and they sang as they danced behind him, and with deep gratitude and renewed love for their Beggar-King, they lived happily in their lush valley between its high mountains, and the sunshine was sweet to them.
Would it not be wonderful to be the people of such a king?
"Though he was in the form of God, Jesus did not deem equality with God something to be grasped, but he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave. And being found in the likeness of men, he humbled himself, accepting death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God highly exalted him, and gave him a name above every other name." (Phil. 2)
Viva Cristo Rey! Long live Christ the King!
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