CHRIST THE KING OF PEACE REIGNS IN OUR VIRTUOUS HEARTS
There is nowhere Christ the King can reign more than in our hearts and over our lives. The truth is that Christ does not want to be a proclaimed King on the lips of men and women. He wants to be enthroned in our lives, marriages, families, churches, communities and everyday affairs but above all in our hearts.
This Feast of Christ, the King was instituted in 1925 by Pope Pius XI when he proclaimed: “Pax Christi in Regno Christi” (the peace of Christ in the reign of Christ).
This means that we live in the peace of Christ when we surrender our lives to him daily, accepting him as our God, Lord, Saviour, and King and allowing him to reign over and in our lives.
The irony of our faith and this celebration is: that if Christ and his kingdom are not in us or do not reign over us, then, it is prettily much insignificant if we shout him out as king to all. Hence, the feast of today is a timely call to renew our loyalty to Jesus our Saviour and King and commit our love for him the way we love others.
OUR THEME
The readings of this Sunday describe the enthronement of Christ as the victorious King of heaven and earth in glory. Yes, Christ reigns in the world, in heaven and earth, however, he must reign in our hearts and over our lives. It is only then that lasting and enduring peace will be ours.
It is a feast on which to renew our loyalty to Jesus our Saviour, our Lord and our King. However, Christ the King of our lives cannot reign anywhere today more than in our hearts.
The heart that lives with empathetic love towards the needy, poor, sick, foreigners, prisoners, oppressed, abandoned, lonely marginalized, immigrants, naked, hungry, or thirsty. Equally, those abused sexually, economically, culturally, socially, emotionally and authoritatively in families, societies, religious institutions and churches.
FIRST READING: EZEKIEL 34:11-12, 15-17
God through Prophet Ezekiel consoled the Jews exiled in Babylonia. Their exile had been caused by infidelity and disloyalty to God on the part of their Kings and religious leaders who used their power and authority to exalt themselves.
As well as misleading the people to follow them. However, He did assure them of being an eternal shepherd to his sheep. Leading them to green and good pastures, caring for them and protecting them against bad and abusive shepherds who feed on them and take advantage of them.
In the first reading, the Prophet Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17 reminds us of God’s kingship and kingdom as the Good Shepherd of his people. A lovely, tender, warm, humble and committed shepherd to his flock. One who seeks, rescues, unites, feeds, leads, heals, strengthens and assures the well-being and safety of his flock.
Here, there is a clear distinction between the kingship of God and the human kingship. It is also a fulfilment of the gospel text of today: the judgment call on Christian behavioural patterns.
Psalm 23, one of the coolest psalms of God as our shepherd reminds us that with God on our side providence, protection and blessedness are ours. We shall not lack anything in our lives. God’s Kingship is one of abundance, peace, security and prosperity, something worldly kings and rulers can never give us.
SECOND READING: 1 CORINTHIANS 15:20-26, 28
St. Paul presents the eschatological vision of Christ’s reign as the Universal King of all. A King that overcomes all powers, rulers, principalities, evil, sins and even death, the last enemy of man. This universal sovereignty of Christ is above everything and yet summits everything in Christ Jesus to God. Where God will be everything to everyone. The virtuous lives in eternal victory with Christ, king of the virtuous.
Hence, St. Paul in the second reading of his First letter to the Corinthians emphatically demonstrates to us; that Christ: was a Victorious and all-overcoming King including the death of the last of his enemies.
THE GOSPEL: MATTHEW 25:31-46
St. Matthew´s account of the judgement day emphasis ends part of the Prophecy of Ezekiel in the first reading of today. Where our behavioural attitude towards one another is called to question and scrutiny.
The imagery of this parable of the final judgment is one of sheep and goat. Where the sheep represents the righteous and the goat, the wicked. This imagery of the sheep and the goat did not come as an accident. It stems from the basic qualities or characteristics of these two animals. The sheep is a docile, submissive and obedient animal who follows the shepherd.
Hence, it is used to depict the blessed or gifted of God for eternal life. On the other hand, the goat is an animal known for its stubbornness, disobedience and pride with no need for a shepherd or a pastoral guide. There are the wicked or cursed who rebel against God like the devil and his fallen angels.
Matthew´s articulation of the eschatological judgement at the end of time. When Christ Jesus comes as the sovereign King of all is a paradigm shift in living the Christian life.
1. Our judgment is based more on the sin of omission than the sin of commission with emphasis on the practice of the corporal works of mercy. This implies our negligence to love, serve or help others is worse in God´s sight.
2. It also means that any act of charity done to the poor, needy and disadvantaged is charity done to Christ himself. This is because of the Christian spirituality of the poor and needy as members of the mystical body of Christ: the Church.
3. There will be judgment over us at the end of our life on earth. A judgment is not based on our observance of rules, regulations and laws but on how well we treat others in life.
4. The lesson of the parable is crystal clear–that God will judge us by our reaction to human needs. His judgment does not depend on the knowledge we have amassed, or the fame that we have acquired, or the fortune that we have gained, the time and effort we spend in the church, splendour or beauty of our liturgical celebrations but on the help that we have given.
5. These bits of help are not in complicated things but in simple things like giving a hungry man a meal, or a thirsty man a drink or welcoming a stranger, immigrants. It is in cheering the sick, depressed and afflicted, visiting the prisoner, the lonely, or the abandoned.
A hearty smile shared with the saddened, a lovely thought towards others, some kind words about others or an empathetic connection to the needy–are things which anyone can do. It is not a question of giving away thousands of money, or of writing our names in the annals of history. It is a case of giving simple help to the people we meet every day.
6. It is not a calculated help to boost the notice-me or eye-service mentality for fame, promotion, camera or social media. It is an uncalculating help or assistance for shared humanity and unknowing done to Christ in our brothers and sisters.
7. Jesus confronts us with the wonderful truth that all help given to a needy brother or sister is given to Him. At the same time, the hardest truth is that all such help is withheld from Him
8. Finally, judgment in the Christian faith and life is decided and the principle or doctrine by which we live our lives. Failure to love the poor or the needy is a failure to love God or Christ too.
God´s kingdom is a kingdom of abundance and providence to all. However, it is a kingdom of co-responsibility to care for each other in Christ Jesus too. It is a Kingdom of love, joy, peace, happiness, justice, truth, and goodness among us.
CHRIST, KING OF OUR VIRTUOUS HEARTS
In the Gospel of Matthew 25: 31-46, Jesus presents a Kingship of service and self-donation and a kingdom of love, peace, justice and service as well.
3. It is a kingdom of love, peace, justice and service.
1. The kingdom of God is something worked for by Christians in this present time.
2. It is a kingdom in our midst and within us.
4. It is a kingdom of freedom and liberation
5. It is a kingdom of seeking, restoring, healing and salving.
6. It is a kingdom of God´s presence, mercy and grace.
7. It is a kingdom of emptiness, self-giving or self-donation to serve.
OUR JUDGMENT
It is amazing how we are to be judged by God at the end of our lives. It is not by our knowledge of the bible, theological dogmas or doctrines. It is not by our observance of rules, regulations or commandments. It is not by the projects buildings or work we have done for God or in the name of God. It is not by the beautiful or melodic liturgies we have celebrated for or with God.
It is simply by the qualities of our treats to our brothers and sisters in need. It is how we treat the poor, the less privileged, the vulnerable and the abused among us. The Christian life is all about whatever we do or fail to do to the least of our needy brothers and sisters. Hence, God in Christ is the king of the virtuous.
Our prayer point is that Christ, the King of the virtuous should help us to be conscious that the little significant help we render to our needy brothers and sisters, it is to God we render them as well. We always see and help consciously Christ in the lonely, abandoned, oppressed, depressed, abused, poor, thirsty, hungry, naked, immigrants, sick, aged and needy.
OUR PRAYER OF THE WEEK
Lord Jesus Christ, Our Shepherd-King of all time and place, there is no exception to your rule among us and within us. Help us with your grace to be subjects of a kingdom that transforms fear into courage, darkness to light, falsehood into truth, sadness to joy, blindness to seeing and self-importance to service of our brothers and sisters by the quality of Christian living. Amen
