Introduction: May
you come to a great realization of the Lord Jesus’ Reign in your life!
In the series,
“The Tutors” what may strike us was the power of King Henry (and the other
kings and queens). They demanded that their subjects serve them and wait on
them. They had complete power over the life and death of their subjects. We do
not have a king or queen ruling us. Yet we do have an eternal King in Jesus.
His way of reigning is through service to others. He came not to be served, but
to serve and give His life for all. And all He expects of us, His subjects, is
that we follow His example of carrying for the least of our sisters and
brothers.
As we end this
liturgical year, it is a good time to reflect on this past year and make
resolutions for the new Church Year which begins next Sunday on the First
Sunday of Advent.
Today we
celebrate that Jesus is our sovereign Ruler – our King. The prophet Ezekiel
portrays GOD as a shepherd who separates rams from goats. The concept of GOD
being a shepherd is repeated in Psalm 23. In the Second Reading, Paul views
Jesus ruling, as the believers anticipate the final victory celebration in the
heavenly Reign of GOD. In the Gospel, Jesus links Himself to the glorious Son
of Man Who oversees the final judgment scene where the sheep have been
separated from the goats and the sheep begin to share in the eternal joy of the
heavenly Reign, while the goats go off to live in the hell they have created
for themselves by their lack of caring for others.
First Reading: Ezekiel
34:11-12,15-17
The Lord will judge between sheep and sheep
Commentary: Is this
really an appropriate reading for the Feast of Christ the King? All about
sheep? Shouldn’t it be about crowns, medals, processions, and majesty? No, it
should not! Christ’s kingship is modelled on God’s kingship, or rather, Jesus
came to show us what God’s kingship is. ‘The kingship of God has come upon
you’, was his first proclamation. In the British countryside, we can usually leave
the sheep to graze on their own. In the hilly country of Palestine, there is
always a shepherd to look after them, to stop them from wandering over a cliff
or stave off attacks from wild animals. Sheep are silly creatures, can be
guaranteed to wander, wide-eyed and gormless, in front of a passing car and
then run the wrong way. We are silly creatures too and do just the same. We
need God’s care to keep us on the right path. Jesus as the Good Shepherd
cherishes us, guards us, heals us, calms our fears, and even gives his life for
us. That is what his kingship is.
Responsorial Psalm 23:1-3a,5-6
The Lord is my shepherd; there
is nothing I shall want.
Even though we
have heard Psalm 23 so many times, it never gets old hearing it again. Each
time, we are comforted with the image of the shepherd who leads the weary sheep
to a place of good grazing and freedom from fear. Even though the sheep walk
through the valley of darkness, the human sheep are not afraid, because the
shepherding GOD is there to protect and ward off danger. The feast that the
Shepherd prepares is filled with rich food and overflowing cups of drink. It is
celebrated in a place where GOD’s enemies can only look upon the feasting with
envious longing to partake of the choice of food and drink. Yet this feast is
for those who have followed the lead of the loving shepherd.
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians
15:20-26,28
Christ will hand over the kingdom to God the Father; so that God may be all in
all
Commentary: What
will happen at the end of the world? How will the world be brought to an end?
We simply do not know, and it is not the sort of thing the Bible needs to teach
us. For us Christians three things are certain – and this is what Paul
teaches us here in vivid picture language: Firstly, God’s sovereignty will
extend over the whole of creation in peace and harmony. Secondly, this will be
through Christ’s work of mediation, for Christ is Lord of the Church, the
‘backbone’ of the Church which is his Body. When Paul says, ‘he has put all his
enemies under his feet’, he is quoting a messianic Psalm about the priest-king
of Jerusalem, frequently applied to Jesus. Thirdly, Christ is the first fruit
of the resurrection: where he has led the way, we are to follow.
Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46
I was naked and you clothed me;
sick, and you visited me
Commentary: This is
the last of Matthew’s great parables. The world is finally divided into
‘goodies’ and ‘baddies’. The great dramatic scene here depicted will not
necessarily happen all at once, but we shall each of us at the moment of death
face the judgment of our divine Lord in his glory. This confrontation will be
an experience far more awesome and shattering than any description can express,
and yet fulfilling and reassuring. We will know at last in a naked way our own
filth and also our own infinite value to this transcendent figure.
Two striking
points are stressed in the parable. Firstly, we will be judged uniquely on our
treatment of those in any kind of need. Not on our prayer life. Not on our
asceticism or penances undertaken. Only on our respect for others, how far we
look to see what they need and what we can give. Each of the ten commandments
in the Old Testament, and each of the eight beatitudes in the New can be resolved
into this: telling the truth, financial honesty, honouring father and mother
(or children), hunger for justice, peace-making. The second striking point is
the reason for the first: that Christ is in each person. What we do to others,
we do to Christ.
Reflection: Do you allow the love of Christ,
who is your Lord and King, to rule in your heart? Augustine of
Hippo (354-430 A.D.) said, "Essentially, there are two kinds of
people because there are two kinds of love. One is holy, the other is selfish.
One is subject to God; the other endeavors to equal Him." Jesus came to
fulfill the law of righteousness (Leviticus 19) and transform it through his
unconditional love and mercy towards us.
The Lord Jesus proved his love for us by offering up his life on the cross as
the atoning sacrifice for our sins. His death brings freedom and life for us -
freedom from fear, selfishness, and greed - and new abundant life in the Holy
Spirit who fills our hearts with the love of God (Romans 5:5). Do you allow
God's love to purify your heart and transform your mind to think, act, and love
others as the Lord Jesus has taught through word and example?
The lesson of separating goats and sheep at the end
of the day
Jesus' description of the "Son of Man", a Messianic title which
points to the coming of God's anointed Ruler and Judge over the earth (John
5:26-29, Daniel 7:13ff), and his parable about the separation of goats and
sheep must have startled his audience. What does the separation of goats and
sheep have to do with the Day of God's Judgement over the earth? In arid dry
lands such as Palestine, goats, and sheep often grazed together during the day
because green pasture was sparse. At nightfall, when the shepherd brought the
sheep and goats to their place of rest, he separated them into two groups.
Goats by temperament are aggressive, domineering, restless, and territorial.
They butt heads with their horns whenever they think someone is intruding on
their space.
Goats came to symbolize evil, and the expression "scapegoat" became a
common expression for someone bearing blame or guilt for others. (See Leviticus
26:20-22 for a description of the ritual expulsion of a sin-bearing goat on the
Day of Atonement.) Jesus took our guilt and sins upon himself and nailed them
to the cross. He paid the price to set us free from sin and death. Our choice
is either to follow and obey him as our Lord and Savior or to be our own master
and go our own separate way apart from God's way of truth and righteousness
(moral goodness).
We cannot remain neutral or indifferent to the commands of Christ. If we do not
repent of our wrongdoing (our sins and offenses against God and neighbor) and
obey the Gospel we cannot be disciples of the Lord Jesus nor inherit his
kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy. Separation of the good from the bad
is inevitable because one way leads to sin, rebellion, and death and the other
way leads to purification, peace, and everlasting life with God.
Love of God frees us from inordinate love of self
The parable of the goats and sheep has a similar endpoint as the parable of the
rich man who refused to give any help to the poor man Lazarus who begged daily
at the rich man's doorstep (Luke 16:19-31). Although Lazarus was poor and
lacked what he needed, he nonetheless put his hope in God and the promise of
everlasting life in God's kingdom. The rich man was a lover of wealth rather
than a lover of God and neighbor. When Lazarus died, he was carried by the
angels to Abraham's bosom to receive his reward in heaven. When the rich man
died his fortunes were reversed and he was cast into the unquenchable fires of
hell to receive his just desserts. The parable emphasizes the great chasm and
wall of separation between the former rich man held now bound as a poor and
miserable prisoner in hell and Lazarus clothed in royal garments feasting at
God's banquet table in the kingdom of heaven.
The day of God's righteous judgment will disclose which kind of love we chose
in this present life - a holy unselfish love directed to God and to the welfare
of our neighbor or a disordered and selfish love that puts oneself above God
and the good of our neighbor.
When Martin of Tours (316-397 AD), a young Roman soldier who had been
reluctant to fully commit his life to Christ and be baptized as a Christian,
met a poor beggar on the road who had no clothes to warm himself in the
freezing cold, Martin took pity on him. He immediately got off his horse and
cut his cloak in two and then gave half to the stranger. That night Martin
dreamt he saw a vision of Jesus in heaven robed in a torn cloak just like the
one he gave away that day to the beggar. One of the angels next to Jesus asked,
"Master, why do you wear that battered cloak?" Jesus replied,
"My servant Martin gave it to me." Martin's disciple and biographer
Sulpicius Severus states that as a consequence of this vision "Martin flew
to be baptized" to give his life fully to Christ as a member of his people
- the body of Christ on earth and the communion of saints and angels in heaven.
Augustine of Hippo (354-430 A.D.) wrote, "Christ is at once
above and below - above in Himself, below in his people. Fear Christ above and
recognize him below. Here he is poor, with and in the poor; there he is rich,
with and in God. Have Christ above bestowing his bounty; recognize him here in
his need" (excerpt from Sermon 123, 44).
On the day of judgment, Jesus will ask "whom
did you love"?
When the Lord Jesus comes again as Judge and Ruler over all, he will call each
one of us to stand before his seat of judgment to answer the question - who did
you love and put first in this life? Inordinate love of self crowds out love of
God and love of neighbor. Those who put their faith in Jesus Christ and follow
his way of love and righteousness will not be disappointed. They will receive
the just reward - life, and peace with God in his everlasting kingdom.
If we entrust our lives to the Lord Jesus today and allow his Holy Spirit to
purify our hearts and minds, then he will give us the grace, strength, and
freedom to walk and live each day in the power of his merciful love and
goodness. Let us entrust our lives to the hands of the merciful Savior who gave
his life for us. And let us ask the Lord Jesus to increase our faith,
strengthen our hope, and enkindle in us the fire of his merciful love and
compassion for all.
Lord Jesus, be
the Master and Ruler of my life. May your love rule in my heart that I may only
think, act, and speak with charity and goodwill for all.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Gathering
and Separating, by an anonymous early author from the Greek church
"And he
will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the
goats." So then, people on earth are intermingled, and not only
intermingled in that the righteous live side by side with the wicked, but they
are also indistinguishable. Between the righteous and the wicked, there is no
apparent difference. Even in wintertime, you cannot tell the healthy trees
apart from the withered trees in beautiful springtime, you can tell the
difference, so too each person according to his faith and his works will be
exposed. The wicked will not have any leaves or show any fruit, but the
righteous will be clothed with the leaves of eternal life and adorned with the
fruit of glory. In this way, they will be separated by the heavenly shepherd
and Lord. The earthly shepherd separates animals by their type of body, whereas
Christ separates people by their type of soul. The sheep signify righteous
people by reason of their gentleness because they harm no one, and by reason of
their patience, because when they are harmed by others, they bear it without
resistance. He refers to sinners as goats, however, because these vices
characterize goats - capriciousness toward other animals, pride, and
belligerence." (excerpt from INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY
54, the Greek fathers).
AT THE KING’S FEET
“Christ must
reign until God has put all enemies under His feet.” —1 Corinthians 15:25.
The Old
Testament describes God’s plan as making His enemies His footstool (Ps 110:1). Reigning kings in Old Testament days placed
their feet on the prone bodies of their enemies as a sign of bringing them to
submission. God’s vanquished enemies would likewise be subject to His will (1 Cor 15:27-28).
In the New
Testament, God’s enemies are described as humbled beneath Jesus’ feet (Mt 22:44). Jesus, God Himself, died on His cross for all
His enemies (Rm 5:8). He reigns on His cross as crucified King (Jn 19:19).
We all were
enemies of Christ the King as we lived in sin (Rm 5:10). Then we came to know Jesus as Savior, Lord,
God, and King, and we repented. We came to the foot of His cross and were
shocked speechless when we realized how much Jesus, King of the Universe,
suffered out of love for us (Is 52:15). We humbled ourselves at His crucified feet (Mt 22:44), and we fell at His feet to worship, thank, and
praise Him (Lk 17:16).
King Jesus
washed our feet; now we “must wash each other’s feet” (Jn 13:14). We wash King Jesus’ feet by feeding the
hungry, welcoming strangers, visiting prisoners, and comforting the ill, etc. (Mt 25:35ff).
Have you
subjected everything to King Jesus? Give Him your all. Place “all things under
His feet” (1 Cor 15:27).
Prayer: Jesus,
“King of kings” (Rv 19:16), I rejoice to be Your subject. To You “be honor
and everlasting rule!” (1 Tm 6:16). “Thus says the Lord God: I Myself will look
after and tend My sheep.” —Ez 34:11. Lord Jesus, risen King of the Universe, how
beautiful are Your feet, which bring Good News to the world (Is 52:7).
The personal action for today: How have I grown spiritually during the last twelve
months? Do I feel closer to GOD now than a year ago? Have I sensed my
relationship with GOD becoming stronger as I have reached out to others in
need? Do I see myself ministering to the Lord Jesus as I serve those who have
asked for my help? What more can I do to the least of the Lord Jesus’ brothers
and sisters as a sign of my relationship with the Lord Jesus and His
Abba-Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit?