Solemnity of Christ the King – 2014

Ezek.34:11-12, 15-17; 1Cor.15:20-26, 28; Mt.25:31-46

The Church celebrates the feast of Christ the King on the last Sunday (34th Sunday), of her liturgical year. It was Pope Pius XI who introduced this feast in the liturgy in 1925. Although Emperors and Kings now exist mostly in history books, we still honor Christ as the King of the Universe by enthroning him in our hearts and allowing him to take control of our lives. Today the Church presents Jesus as our King and Lord who was and is the visible presence of God in our midst.

A young woman teacher with obvious liberal tendencies explains to her class of small children that she is an atheist: that she doesn’t believe in the existence of God. She asks her class if they are atheists too. Not really knowing what atheism is, but wanting to be like their teacher, their hands explode into the air like flashy fireworks. There is, however, one exception. A beautiful girl named Lucy has not gone along the crowd.

The teacher asks her why she has decided to be different. “Because, I’m not an atheist.” Then teacher asks, “What are you?” “I’m a Christian.” The teacher is little perturbed now, her face slightly red. She asks Lucy why she is a Christian. “Well, I was brought up knowing and loving Jesus. My mom is a Christian, and my dad is a Christian, so I am a Christian.”

The teacher is now angry. “That’s no reason,” she says loudly. “What if your mom was an idiot and your dad an idiot, what would you be then?” Lucy paused, smiled and said, “Then, I’d be an atheist!” The first reading introduces God as a Shepherd reminding us of Christ’s claim that he is the true shepherd. In the second reading, St. Paul presents Christ as the all-powerful ruler who raises the dead and to whom every other power and authority must eventually give way.

Today’s Gospel describes Christ the King coming in his Heavenly glory to judge us, based on how we have shared our love and blessings with others through genuine acts of charity in our lives. Jesus is present to us now, not only as our good shepherd leading, feeding and healing his sheep, but also as dwelling in those for whom we care.

The New Testament tells us that Jesus is the long-awaited king of the Jews. In the Annunciation, recorded in Lk.1:32-33, we read: “The Lord God will make him a King, as his ancestor David was, and he will be the King of the descendants of Jacob forever and his Kingdom will never end.” The magi from the Far East came to Jerusalem and asked the question: (Mt.2:2) “Where is the baby born to be the King of the Jews? We saw his star… and we have come to worship him.”

During the royal reception given to Jesus on Palm Sunday, the Jews shouted: (Lk.19:38) “God bless the King, who comes in the name of the Lord.” When Pilate asked the question: (Jn.18:37) “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus made his assertion, “You say that I am a King,” then went on, “For this I was born and came into this world to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

Luke’s Gospel tells us (19:19), that the board hung over Jesus’ head on the cross read: “Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews,” and Jesus (Lk.23:42-43) promised Paradise to the repentant thief on the cross, who made the request: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” Before his Ascension into Heaven, Jesus declared: (Mt.28:18) “I have been given all authority in Heaven and on earth.”

Today’s Gospel on the Last Judgment presents Christ the King coming in his Heavenly glory to judge us. Christ is a unique King with a unique Kingdom. Jesus Christ still lives as King in thousands of human hearts all over the world. The cross is his throne and the Sermon on the Mount is his rule of law. His citizens need to obey only one major law: “Love one another.”

His love is selfless, sacrificial, kind, compassionate, forgiving and unconditional. That is why the preface in today’s Mass describes Jesus’ Kingdom as “a Kingdom of truth and life, a Kingdom of holiness and grace, a Kingdom of justice, love and peace.” He is a King with a saving and liberating mission: to free mankind from all types of bondage, and to enable us to live peacefully and happily on earth and to inherit eternal life in heaven.

Jesus says that there is only one right way to exercise power in this world, and that is for the sake of the powerless. Those with food and drink should share it. Those who are on the inside should be hospitable to those on the outside. If someone is cold, someone with clothes should keep him or her warm. If someone is sick, those who are well should be in attendance.

If people are oppressed, those who have their liberty should look to their needs. If we live by these kingdom rules during our time in this world, we will slip pretty easy into the next one. Take up your pen and write a check for the poor Christ. Jesus Christ comes to us in the form of victims of wars, hurricane victims, earthquake victims, refugees and accident victims.

Put on your jacket and go visit the sick Christ. Christ is sick in the hospitals and apartments. Set a place at your table for the lonely Christ. Forgive, support, or lift up the burdened Christ. When we do these things, the kingdom is ours. We have to choose between love of power and the power of love.

One of the first lessons that grow out of this parable of the Last Judgment is that our God is a hidden God. He hides himself and he goes incognito wearing a mask. When our God is being crucified today in the suffering millions, He is the most hidden God. Hence, the real message of today’s parable is to seek God hiding behind the faces and in the places of suffering people.

In the parable about the separation of the sheep from the goats at the Last Judgment, Jesus reminds us to get ready to answer “yes” to his six questions based on our corporal and spiritual acts of mercy. “I was hungry, thirsty, naked, homeless, sick, imprisoned; did you help Me?”

When God threatens us with punishment or the withholding of rewards, it is His way of motivating us to do what He wants us to do, just as mature parents have always done. We are reminded that when we care for the hungry, thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the imprisoned, we are actually taking care of Jesus who lives behind the faces of these people.

Mother Teresa explains that they are, “hungry, not only for bread, but hungry for love; naked not only for clothing, but for human dignity and respect; homeless not only for want of a room of bricks, but homeless because of rejection. This is Christ in distressing disguise.” Jesus lives within these hurting people, behind their eyes, their tears, and their pain.

All the Sacraments and prayers in the Church are meant to make us truly compassionate toward them all and so make us eligible to be rewarded on the day of the Last Judgment by our King and Lord Jesus Christ Whom we have thus helped.

We start forgetting ourselves in loving and caring for another person. This quality of love then spreads from our home to the neighbor down the street. This love is amplified when I begin to feel that it is my brother who is starving in Asia and Africa and my sister who is starving in Latin America. I reach out to help because we are a family.

Every person to whom we give ourselves, “whether hungry, thirsty or a stranger, naked, sick or in prison,” is revealed to us as having been the risen Jesus. Our reward or punishment depends on how we have treated this risen Jesus in the needy.