A Sonnet for Christ the King

A Sonnet for Christ the King

When Pilate asked him if he was a king,
“You say so,” were the only words he said.
He would not answer back to anything,
though mocked with crown of thorns upon his head.
So if you call him king, then be aware
that in his kingdom might is seldom right:
ex-presidential spite would shrivel there,
and media moguls lose their power to blight.
The one who comes in glory can be seen
in those laid low by hunger, illness, thirst,
imprisoned, naked, branded as unclean –
all those regarded as the least and worst.
We meet him in the stranger at our door;
his kingdom comes in service to the poor.
Barbara Messner 18 November 2020