Sunday Readings in Brief 34 A
Solemnity of Christ the King
Ezekiel 34:11-12,15-17; Psalms 22(23); 1 Corinthians 15:20-26,28;
Mathew 25: 31-46
Who is a king?
My dear friends, today is the last Sunday of the liturgical year A and on this day, we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King. Next Sunday will be the first Sunday of Advent and the beginning of the liturgical year B. The feast was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925, the sixteenth centenary of the Council of Nicaea which defined the doctrine of the consubstantiality of Christ with the Father. Jesus came to institute the Kingdom of God on earth so that the world could be liberated from the kingdom of the evil one who had corrupted men and women and deviated them from the path of truth, justice, and righteousness. In Baptism, we are made heirs of a King, God our Father.
However, when we hear about a king, we think of prestige, power, wealth, palaces, influence, etc. In our society, everybody wants to be a king, which is one of the major causes of conflict among the people. In the family, while the parents fight about who makes decisions, the children fight about who inherits what when their parents are no more. In politics, people are willing even to kill to rise to positions of power because of the economic opportunities these positions bring. In the Church too “people of God” are using even unholy means to get to the top of the hierarchy. Elections in Small Christian Communities, Parishes, and religious congregations are a cut-throat affair. even the disciples of Jesus themselves were arguing about who would be the first when Jesus announced that he was going to be crucified (Luke 22:24-27)
In our day just as during the time of Jesus, people look for leadership positions not to serve but to get power to manipulate the systems for their selfish interests and those of their kin. The lay people want to be leaders so that they can offer themselves Church tenders. Religious men and women want to be leaders so that they can control the Church’s wealth. All this is because the world misunderstands what being a king means.
Jesus is the personification of a true King and with his life; he is teaching us the proper attitude, character, and values of the kingdom of God. God made himself a man in Christ Jesus to show us what God intended us to be when he created us. “He, though he was in the form of God, Jesus did not count equality with God, a thing to be grasped; instead, he humbled himself taking the form of a servant…” (Phil 2:5-8).
The people who followed Jesus also found it difficult to disassociate kingship with prestige, power, and wealth. In fact, this is one of the major reasons why they rejected him to be messiah. From infancy, Herod felt threatened by a newborn king. The Jews thought he was the one to restore the kingdom to the Jews. His disciples thought of positions when Jesus would become a King (Mark 10:35-45). Even today, many have not yet understood the concept of kingship and leadership that Jesus taught and conferred to us in baptism. Even those who know, they would rather ignore it because it does not cater to worldly interests.
In the first reading, the Prophet Ezekiel prophesied about a king who gathers what is scattered, feeds them, and makes them rest. He is one who finds the lost and uplifts those who are cast aside and broken. The Psalmist compares him with a shepherd who provides and protects his sheep. What we have instead in our society today are kings who trample over those they are supposed to lead, shepherds who devour their own sheep, and leaders who suffocate their critics and disgrace those who oppose their criteria.
A good king fights and even loses his life to protect his subjects from harm. He or she is never violent or vindictive toward those opposed to him or her. Jesus gave his own life as a ransom for our lives so he could deliver us from the slavery of sin and death (Matthew 20:28). He leads us from the front, making a way for us.
In the Gospel reading, Jesus tells us about the final judgment and the criteria to measure our worthiness to inherit the kingdom of God. Many think that it is the big acts of charity that are devoid of love and dignity towards the needy, and huge contributions to Churches that will secure for them a place in the kingdom of God. Instead, Jesus tells us that it is rather the little ordinary day-to-day acts of charity that matter. It is not the once-in-a-blue-moon visit to the orphanage that we publish in the media that shows how concerned we are for the poor but rather the little things we do for our closest neighbors. When we do these things to those around us quietly with love and respect, we are doing it to Jesus himself. How often do I share my food, clothes, time, and energy with those who need them? How often do I visit or even pray for the sick and suffering? How am I using my position to better the lives of others?
My dear friends, today I invite us to evaluate how we use the leadership opportunities we are given. Do we use them to uplift others or ourselves and our kin? If the wealth we have is the fruit of our positions and not our handiwork, then we could be called robbers of public property. This kind of wealth does not bring joy and happiness, rather it corrupts even what we have to sweat for. How many people have all that the money can buy yet have no true peace and happiness in their families? How many wealthy people died, and their wealth turned out to be the source of conflict to their kin? What is wealth for, if it cannot make one sleep peacefully? Think about it, will you?
Have a blessed Feast.
Fr. Lawrence Muthee, SVD
SVD JAMBO KENTAN 