The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe_A - Sheep to the Right; Goats on the ..._112623

 

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Deacon Tom Writes,
“Sheep to the Right; Goats on the...”

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Year A

 

By way of history, Pope Pius XI established the Feast of Christ the King in 1925 to counterbalance the growing movement toward secularism that arose in the early 20th century. In Germany there was a rise in exaggerated nationalism and the emergence of Nazism. At the same time there was a rising tide of Communism, atheism, totalitarian governments that demanded total sovereignty over people, substituting a nation or an ideology in place of God. This led Pius XI instituting today’s Feast as a way to make us aware that nations can never have complete sovereignty over what belongs to God.

Yet, we know from Sacred Scripture that Jesus rejected the notion of being a King. St. John tells us that when asked by Pilate if He was a King, Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.”

So, just what does Jesus’ Kingdom that is “not of this earth” look like and how do we show our fidelity to it? The answer is explicitly revealed in today’s gospel from the twenty-fifth chapter of St. Matthew’s gospel. The image is stunning. All the people who have ever lived throughout time, the inhabitants of “all the nations”, are gathered before the “Son of Man”, that is, the King, who separates them into two groups, “the sheep on his right and the goats on his left”. Those on His right He finds favor with because they have acted justly; they have fed the hungry, given water to the thirsty, clothed their neighbor, visited the sick and imprisoned. In other words, they were able to show mercy and compassion to others during their lifetime by helping them with the necessities of life. Those on His left, however, are damned for they had no sense of the needs of the other. All their efforts were self-directed. They had no consideration for the suffering and wanton deprivation of their neighbors. They cared not for the widow and the orphan; they commoditized and victimized the weak and the vulnerable. Each group goes on to share in the joy or suffering they helped create in this life.

Given the outcome from this “judgment” scene that St. Matthew depicts, we can easily conclude that the King ruled over a kingdom that required its citizens to care for one another’s material, emotional and spiritual well-being; a kingdom whose people were instructed to see to it that no one suffered from want of food, clothing, shelter, or loneliness, or fear of being forgotten, or of being a stranger. We can deduct from Matthew’s text that the Kingdom of God favors those whose suffering and poverty go unnoticed by the world. In God’s eyes they are the “blessed” who will inherit the earth.

We do well to reflect on today’s readings, the last of our Liturgical Year. They speak of a time to come when, as we hear, all will stand in judgment and render an account for our actions and attitudes. They invite us to reflect seriously on how we have treated the poor and marginalized around us and, if needed, to make any changes the whisper of the Holy Spirit may direct. At the least, today’s readings should remind us that Christ is our King who calls us to: live the beatitudes, stand besides our brothers and sisters who suffer injustice, persecution, victimization, or deprivation, work alongside those trying to bring a sliver of hope to our world where hope is so desperately needed.

It is fitting that the Feast of Christ the King marks the end of our liturgical year. It enables us to move into the Season of Advent anticipating the day when God’s justice and peace will break forth upon the earth. That time when all the kings and prime ministers and presidents, all the rulers who have ever ruled this world, will pay homage and tribute to the one from whom they received their power and to whom they must eventually render an account.

Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

 

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