It is 22nd November 2020. We celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Christ the King. The readings are from Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17; the second reading is from 1Corinthians 15:20-26, 28; and the Gospel from Matthew 25:31-46.
We are at the crown of all celebration at the liturgical year inviting us to examine our selfless charitable dealings with the other. Is Jesus the King? Yes, He is.
“He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Lk.1:33).
The wise men enquired, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? (Lk.2:2)
“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Lk. 19:38)
The robber confessed from his cross, “And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into[a] your kingdom.” (Lk.23:42)
A young prince was sent to a master to get trained to become a good ruler. The master sent him alone to the forest for a year. On return the master asked him to describe what he had heard. He replied, “I could hear the cuckoos sing, the leaves rustle, the crickets chirp etc.” The master sent the prince again to the forest. Upon his return, the prince said, “ I heard the sound of flowers opening, the sound of the sun warming the earth, and the sound of the grass drinking the morning dew and the cry of the poor afar.” The master said “To hear the unheard, is a necessary discipline to be a good ruler to listen intimately the uncommunicated, unexpressed, and unspoken. Meeting the true needs of the other is what needed for a king.
God’s model of kingship is completely opposed to all that we have witnessed so far in our leaders. The readings talk about sheep not about glory, might, and crown. As the sheep needs the shepherd so we need God to journey safe.
It is the kingdom of justice, peace and love. This kingdom begins to bloom whenever justice is served to the hungry, thirsty, naked and oppressed. How do we promote the kingdom of love and justice? By living a simple life.
In today’s newspaper, we read a man Mohammad Dawood, 64, in Sharjah is winning hearts by distributing free bottled water, disposable prayer mats, face masks and hand sanitizers to people outside his villa at Al Montazah Road. He said, “The water cartons, biscuit packets and prayer mats costs just a few dirhams, the blessings I get in return are priceless.” To recognize God in others, we do not need to become another god but to be humane to the core.
As we are waiting for the second coming of the Lord, we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King.
It is the day we promise our allegiance, loyalty and respect to Jesus, the King.
We are invited to reflect on Christ the King, the Lord, the Second and Final Coming of Christ, the Last Judgment, and the end of the world during this last Sunday of the liturgical year.
Though the feast began in a particular historical situation right after the World War I, the rapid emergence of dictators and secularism, it has the meaning even today amidst leaders who care for themselves and personal agenda over people.
How Christ would look like on the final judgement and on what basis would He judge us all are clearly dealt in the readings.
The first reading from Ezekiel narrates the qualities of God who shepherds God’s people. The prophet holds the unjust and uncaring shepherds of Israel for its failures and proposing God as the ever caring, loving, leading Shepherd.
Your shepherds are asleep, your nobles slumber. Your people are scattered on the mountains with none to gather them. (Nahum 3:18)
The Shepherd King go after the scattered and strayed ones, shattered ones, and the battered ones. God assures us that God becomes the Shepherd who will seek, lead, feed, bind and heal wounds.
“I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy.” (Ez.34:16).
In the second reading, St. Paul teaches us that Christ the king will deal with all evil especially death. “For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (1 Cor.15:25). The last enemy to conquer is death by His sacrifice and through His body.
How will the world come to an end? None of us know. When God’s sovereignty is extended to all people, the mediation of Christ to the Body of Christ, the Church began, Christ is the first fruits of the Resurrection, the end is near.
Affectionate and loving Shepherd God takes a stand for the marginalized people of our community and willing to go after those who made themselves wealthy using them as sandals.
The responsorial Psalm praises, “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.” (Ps.23:1).
In the Gospel, we are presented with the scene of the last Judgement. Jesus will separate the fruitful from the fruitless, the loving from the unloving, the caring from the uncaring and indifferent, the good from the bad, and place them far apart from each other before giving His verdict.
God is conducting the final exam releasing the required question to be answered by life. When I am hungry, did you give me food to eat? When I was thirsty did you give me water to drink? When I was a stranger did you welcome me? When I was naked, did you clothe me? When I was sick, or in prison, did you think of me and pay a loving visit?
And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ (Mt.25:40).
Everything depends on the way we have handled, treated, loved, shared and protected the most vulnerable, the hungry, the naked, the thirsty and the stranger. Not surely on the basis of our prayer life and fasting alone but coupled with the charity we have demonstrated in every walks of our life. failure to recognize Christ in others will be taken seriously over anything we treasure most. It is all at the end we will come to know that those acts we did it to others without any expectation, notice brings us a different judgement and treatment from the Lord. Every day is an opportunity meet Christ in others especially those who are broken and bruised by the community. However insignificant is the act when it is done with love makes a lot of difference.
If I ask how many of you know the corporal works of mercy from your memory, there will be many to raise the hands. But if I ask you, how many corporal works of mercy you do, will there be many.
Feeding the hungry, visiting the imprisoned, burying the dead, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, giving shelter to travelers, and offering drink to the thirsty. Only on this basis we will be judged by the Lord not by our familiarity with famous people, sacred places, and some routine rituals. Our money, wealth, status and education cannot take us to Heaven only by living the values of the Kingdom of God.
Closing our eyes to the pain and affliction of the poor and the needy is to close our hearts to God.
Everyone has to face death and the final judgement. No one will be spared from this. All of us have to face God’s son as the judge. The criteria for judgement include the quality of doing little things heart full of love. So, it is good to emulate the loving Shepherd in doing the best we can to the least of our brothers and sisters without any strings attached, before we face Him. We are to face the persons in need before we face Him in person.
The accountability on all our actions. We will be asked in detailed how we treated the others especially Jesus, the homeless, the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the poor and naked, the sick and those in prison. We do not need to know the reasons for their conditions but rather to share our love towards the other.
We will be judged by what we do to Jesus not for Jesus. We need to stop using people for our purpose. It is not obligation but oblation. Not rituals but building relationships.
When Pilot enquired him about his kingship. “Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.” (John 18:37)
A king was in disguise in the night walking outside the palace. One old man mistakenly dashed on the king and he fell. With so much irritation and anger, he questioned the old man. He replied that he was a king. Immediately the king in disguise asked him for which country he was a king. The old man told the king that his body is the kingdom, and he was trying to rule the body.
By using the kingship of Jesus, some of us are misleading others in controlling and dominating but to have control our body, and desire is the true kingship.
Jesus is the Son of God and so the Church rightly calls Him the King. “Nathan′ael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49). Christ the king would go after the one leaving the ninety-nine. There will be equality, fraternity, respect for all and served with justice.
Let us not politicize our charity and use the poor for our ladder of glory, and fame. We always need to remember we handle God while relating with the others. May we be sensitively charitable without any advertisement and personal agenda towards those who are less fortunate than us. Have a lovely day.