Feast of Christ the King (Mt. 25:31-46) “Can I See Christ In Need?”
Feast of Christ the King (Mt. 25:31-46) “Can I See Christ In Need?”
During the last few weeks, we have read a series of parables from the Gospel of Matthew to end the church year. Parables are stories with mysterious meanings. The meaning of the parable we read today seems clear. The parable is about Christ our King.
The church has various ways to explain how Christ is our King. We think of him as a messiah who is a suffering servant. Jesus was proclaimed a King by Pilate as he went through his passion. He was mocked by Roman soldiers. He was then crowned with thorns before he was enthroned on the cross. Jesus is a king because he went through his passion for us. Another way to look at the kingship of Christ is to say that he came to establish a new type of kingdom in the world. As the preface in our Mass says today: “Jesus came to establish a new and universal kingdom, a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace.”
The final way we look at Jesus is that he is an eschatological king, in other words, he will come to us when the world ends. When he arrives, he will preside over a final judgement. The righteous will be rewarded for all eternity. Notorious sinners will be punished. What are the criteria for judgement. The Gospel of Matthew says that all of us will be judged on how well we practiced the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. All this seems simple. If we give to those in most need, we don’t have to worry about our future. But it is a lot more complicated than that.
But is there something more we should be aware of. If we dig into the Greek, we find that the words sheep and goat can be translated in a variety of ways. The word translated as sheep really means a mature animal ready for harvesting. The animals might be cattle as well as sheep. The word for goat could be translated as woolly little immature animals. The implication is that sheep have fully developed faith. The goat-like animals don’t.
What do the goats say to Jesus when he challenges their selfishness? We didn’t recognize you. If only we had known that the beggars that we ignored, were you, we would have done something. The poor are always unimportant in the world. The attitude of the spiritually immature says that if someone cannot repay a favor, they aren’t worth helping. Or, if we won’t receive recognition for our charity for giving to the needy, it isn’t in our interest to help. The poor, as many a saint has said, are Jesus in disguise. How often we forget.
The sheep have a different mentality. What is their stance? We might explain it with an example. In the 1930’s, our country suffered from a great depression. Many people wandered from place to place looking for food, clothing, and shelter. In my home parish there was a priest of our diocese named Msgr. Tom. He was a scholar who was a parish priest. He never led a large congregation but served smaller poorer parishes. He was known for his eccentricities. Once he pulled up to a gas pump in Bradford where he was pastor. He started to fill his car with gasoline. He forgot and drove away pulling the hose out of the pump. The gasoline ran into the street. The fire department had to be called.
Msgr. Cleary forgot about practical things. He also forgot about his own needs. The poor would come to the rectory door. Some would need food. He would empty his refrigerator. If a man came to the door who didn’t have adequate clothing to shield against the cold Fr. Cleary would give him his winter coat, not thinking about what he needed. One day, a man came to the door who wore a pair of shoes that were riddled with holes. Msgr. Cleary sat down to take off his only pair of shoes. The housekeeper had to stop him and assure him that she had an extra pair at home. Msgr. Cleary exemplified the sheep who Jesus will reward.
We might know such people in our life. The people I refer to don’t calculate before they give, but they see a need and respond. Such Christians see others as being just as important as themselves. For them living the golden rule is automatic. No thought crosses their mind about repayment. And it makes no difference if they have an audience watching their charity. Life is a series of personal encounters with those in need.
Our world would call these people fools. Jesus, our king, would say that these foolish Christians are the ones who understand what he taught deep in their bones. We wouldn’t label such Christians as smart, practical, clever, or shrewd. We say they are people filled with grace. How many of us operate with this mentality every minute of every day? I know I don’t. If we strive to be this way that is what makes our Christian faith stimulating. Stretching for this goal is what makes Christianity the life changing religion it is. If we quickly say living like the sheep is impossible, we miss an opportunity to serve Jesus. Our prayer this day is that we will strive each day to set aside our ego so that we can serve Christ our King with a pure heart.
Reflection Questions:
1. Do I have purity of heart? What do I lack?
2. Have I met someone like Msgr. Cleary? Who was it?
Dear Parishioners,
On December 3rd our church will be draped in purple. A wreath will be in the sanctuary with four candles. Advent will begin. A priest friend of mine pointed out that usually lighting each candle is like a countdown as we go through the four weeks of Advent. But this year, we will light the fourth candle and it will be a sign that Christmas is here. We celebrate our savior’s birth on Monday this year. Advent will be abbreviated. I personally need as much time as I can get so this is not my favorite Advent scenario.
How will we spend this shortened Advent? Hopefully, there will be a religious component to what we do. Each year pastors try to emphasize the importance of taking some quiet time for prayer. Usually, we sound like cranks who are like Scrooge, unable to get into the spirit of Christmas. There is a joy that comes with simplifying things though. I would encourage everyone to try to drop one “have to” activity this Advent. What better year to do it? Since Advent is short, let’s give ourselves permission to simplify. We have a perfect excuse.
May Our Lady who waited with patience for the advent of her son pray for us.
Fr. Mark