My Sisters and Brothers:
Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, a day also known as the Feast of Christ the King. St. Paul tells us this king “must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet, of which death is the last to be destroyed” (see 1 Corinthians 15:25-26). Hence it might be easy to imagine we are compelled to worship a literally untouchable and omnipotent and heavenly king who is robed in splendor, and who sits on a high throne. We might then think about photos we’ve seen of earthly kings and queens; they sit upon fancy thrones and wear elaborate vestments and they have armies of servants around them and wield mighty power. In fact, many images of Christ the King depict him just so. But I believe our Scriptures today encourage us to instead focus on an image of Christ the King as a “Shepherd” and “Servant King.” This was highlighted by the Prophet Ezekiel in our first reading with the words: “I the Lord will look after and tend my sheep, as a shepherd tends his flock” (see Ezekiel 34:11-12).
Even though Jesus told his disciples “the Son of Man will come in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him” (see Matthew 25:31-32), he immediately noted this king would first judge others based on how they had placed themselves “in service” to “the least” of their sisters and brothers. The King would divide the people between “the sheep and the goats.” The “sheep” were those who during their lives had served the Kingdom because they had fed the hungry, given drink to the thirsty, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked, cared for the sick and visited prisoners. Jesus said such true servants, whom he called “the righteous,” would inherit “eternal life,” but those who failed to live such lives would “be sent off to eternal punishment.” For Christians then, the obligation to serve the needy and the marginalized is not an option.
But how do we put this mandate of Christian service into practice in our own lives? Certainly that part of our faith about respecting, loving, and forgiving our neighbors is an important part of the answer. On this note, I would think it a contradiction for a Christian to volunteer to serve the hungry and the homeless (or any similarly “challenged” community), but at the same time to harbor resentments and ill feelings toward those being served. Our service to the needy must be done with complete deference to them and with care for them as fellow human beings. If not, then we’ve simply done whatever we’ve done with nothing more than egoistic self-satisfaction. This obviously isn’t what we are called to do!
Jesus himself modeled the call to service by the way he lived his entire existence on earth. Although he did promise “to put all his enemies under his feet,” he did not present himself as an untouchable and omnipotent earthly king. And so I believe it is good for us to think of Jesus as our “Shepherd” and our “Servant King” because he was quick to forgive sinners, eager to welcome foreigners, zealous about giving sight to the blind and healing lepers, vocal in his opposition to injustices, and always ready to do countless other things to lift up “the least” of his sisters and brothers. And as his faithful disciples, we must do the same however we are able. And then we too will be called “the righteous,” and will inherit the promised “eternal life!”
Praise God! Friar Timothy
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