Our Lord Jesus Christ, Universal King (Year A) 

Ezekiel 34.11-12, 15-17;  
I Cor 15.20-26, 28;  
Mt 25.31-46

JESUS CHRIST IS THE KING OF THE UNIVERSE AND THE SHEPHERD OF SOULS
 
The feast of Christ the King brings to a close the Church’s liturgical calendar year. On this solemn occasion, we remind ourselves of the fact that Christ our Lord is the true King of the universe. He is the beginning and end of all life.  This feast was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925, as a response to the yeast of secularism and atheism. With the institution of the feast, our minds are drawn towards Christ the eternal judge who will judge the world with his justice and charity having the final things in life in the background; death, judgment, hell, or heaven.
At Christmas we shall celebrate His first coming among us as the infant king while today, the Church directs our gaze to His second coming, in majesty, at the end of time, and what that final appearance of His will mean for each of us.    
 
Today’s passage is a continuation of what we have heard over the past couple of weeks.  Perhaps we recall: forth nights ago we had the parable of the wise and foolish virgins at the wedding feast, and then last week the parable of the servants entrusted with their master’s goods while he was away.  Taken in isolation, those two parables could give a rather false impression of what the Lord expects of us.  They seem rather calculating.  The wise virgins were sharp, sharp enough to make sure that they had sufficient oil for their lamps.  The faithful servants were shrewd enough to have made some good investments. The message almost seems to be one of a quid pro quo transaction; services rendered and rewards received.

Today’s gospel passage adds another important dimension.  Christ’s words are very clear: “Inherit the kingdom, for I was hungry and you gave me food” and so on.  ‘When did we see you hungry and feed you?’  “As you did it to one of the least of my brethren, you did it to me.”  No suggestion here of any calculating transaction, or rewards received for services rendered.  The ones commended and who gain eternal life, are those loyal subjects whose love is too spontaneous and too generous to weigh the benefit to themselves of what they did for the King.  They served Christ without thought for what they might get in return.  The good deeds that are listed – feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick – are certainly good works in themselves, but that is not what is being commended. From being simply good deeds they become works of charity when they are done because Christ is seen in the least of His brethren.
 
The lives of the saints are full of examples.  Let’s recall just one, from the life of St Martin of Tours, whose feast we celebrated a few days ago.  Martin was a Roman soldier in the early fourth century. In the army, he became a Christian and decided to give up his military career. When he left the army he had nothing except the great cloak which all Roman soldiers received when they were demobbed from the ranks. Soon after he had left the army, he was walking along a road when he saw a poor man begging.  Martin himself had next to nothing, just the clothes he stood up in, but he gave the beggar his warm cloak.  He saw Christ in that destitute man.  Martin the ex-soldier later became a monk, and then Bishop of Tours, renowned for his works of charity. His biographer tells us, “Martin, who was poor and humble, entered heaven a wealthy man.”
 
When Christ returns in glory, He will not judge us on carefully calculated quantities written down on a balance sheet.  He will judge us on the quality of our love.  “As you did it to one of the least of my brethren, you did it to me.”  And from His stern words in today’s gospel, it is clear that we will be held to account not only for the evil we have done but also for the good we have failed to do, our sins of omission.  “As you did it not unto the least of these my brethren, you did it not to me.”  Those condemned were too blind even to notice that they had failed in their duty.  They failed to recognize Christ the King when He appeared in a manner that did not match their narrow expectations.  We can recall various other episodes in the gospels when our King was not recognized; as a baby in the stable at Bethlehem; as a child instructing the teachers in the temple; as a healer of the sick; as a criminal hanging on the Cross.   During His earthly life, many saw Him, but very few recognized Him.  

Very soon, we shall all stand to profess our faith. In the profession of faith, only a few people are mentioned and one of them is Pontius Pilate. He was the Roman administrator at the time of Jesus. After his discussion and judgement though passed on swiftly, he did something important that no one on earth has done. He purposely wrote the inscription above the cross of Christ in three important languages, Hebrew, Latin, and Greek that Jesus is the King of the Jews. Even though, the religious leaders said something different, even though the people had shouted Crucify Him. What he had written has been written and it is a great testament to the One who was hung on the tree. Jesus is the king of all time and era. Is he the king of your heart and soul? Do you place him at the center of your life, your decisions, and your concerns? We are better off and are privileged to have the evidence of the gospels, and the hindsight of the Church’s teaching.  We who have the light of the gospels and the teaching of the Church to guide us will have very little excuse for our blindness when our King returns in glory, on the last day, to judge the living and the dead.
 
On the feast of Christ the King, we are bidden again to discern Him in the poor and the needy.  Just one word of caution.  We should not mistake the laws of our King for the laws of the welfare state.  His Kingdom is not merely a branch of the social services.  Social/humanitarian services are a vital part of any truly humane society, and we should do all we can to support and develop them, but they are not of themselves the Kingdom.  Following the teachings of Christ is not a matter of joining a “charity”.  Being a disciple means living the life of charity: service of our neighbor done for the love of Christ, when we discern Christ Himself, truly present, though hidden, in that stranger who is hungry, cold, lonely, abused, sick, or in prison.  
On today’s feast, therefore, as we end another liturgical year in the Church, let us renew our dedication to live more faithfully as Christ’s subjects in the future. Let us resolve to live by His law of charity, in His State of love.  Then, when our period of apprenticeship is over, perhaps we may hear addressed to us those  merciful words:  “Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world.”

Fr Joseph Osho