The Solemnity of Christ the Universal King
Sunday 20th November
Ezekiel 34: 11-12. 15-17., Psalm 22:1-3, 5-6. Rv.1. 1Cor 15:20-28. Matthew 25:31-46
I shall bring back the stray, bandage the wounded, strengthen the weak strong.
Near restful waters he leads me to revive my drooping spirit.
After that the end will come so that God may be all in all.
Take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you, for you gave me food.
Gospel Mt 25:31-46
Jesus said to his disciples:
"When the Son of Man comes 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.
And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the king will say to those on his right,
'Come, you who are blessed by my Father.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.'
Then the righteous will answer him and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?'
And the king will say to them in reply,
'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Then he will say to those on his left,
'Depart from me, you accursed,
into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
a stranger and you gave me no welcome,
naked and you gave me no clothing,
ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.'
Then they will answer and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty
or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison,
and not minister to your needs?'
He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you,
what you did not do for one of these least ones,
you did not do for me.'
And these will go off to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life."
"When the Son of Man comes 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.
And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the king will say to those on his right,
'Come, you who are blessed by my Father.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.'
Then the righteous will answer him and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?'
And the king will say to them in reply,
'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Then he will say to those on his left,
'Depart from me, you accursed,
into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
a stranger and you gave me no welcome,
naked and you gave me no clothing,
ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.'
Then they will answer and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty
or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison,
and not minister to your needs?'
He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you,
what you did not do for one of these least ones,
you did not do for me.'
And these will go off to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life."
Find salvation in the market place
We have the power to decide but must answer to God for our choices. I can decide to love or to hate.
There is a theme running through life in all its forms. How have I used my gift to love? Love is the key to salvation. God looks for love. We may not have had the opportunity to know God, or Jesus Christ and we cannot love someone we have never known. We live here and it is among human beings that our salvation is found or lost.
Jesus in this parable mentions the basic physical needs of people, - food, water, clothing, housing, health, and freedom. But more than physical needs human beings need love and compassion. Jesus doesn’t talk of grandiose schemes to eliminate poverty. He talks of one human being helping another in human concern.
God is concerned about each person. He feels for them. He feels the pain of each of his children. He wants us to share the pain of others and reach out to them in a personal way. He says, “I was hungry and you gave me to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me to drink”. Our suffering neighbour is not Jesus. It is often difficult to see the face of Jesus in them. But we must remember that however rough or crude he or she may be Jesus loves them and longs to save them and so must we. We love them because Jesus loves them. We serve them because Jesus wants us to. We value them because Jesus values them.
The Israelite slaves in Egypt did not listen to Moses; “So discouraged were they by their cruel slavery”. Love will make us go out to others in their basic needs but they have other needs. Everyone needs to know Jesus. Our love should be warm and human and unconditional. If it is, it will often attract the other to the source of our love, namely to Jesus. Until we are able to give Jesus to people we haven’t really done them any lasting service. He is the real food, the real drink. He gives real freedom. He heals us and not just our sicknesses. He has prepared an eternal home for us. Pure human love is the source of all our activity. It is a love, which shows itself in word and in deed. Words without deeds are hollow but deeds without words are misunderstood.
This parable teaches the mystery of eternal punishment. We may not be able to understand the horror of an eternity of torment, but Jesus teaches it again and again. It is not for some slip but for people who have feely chosen to withhold their love. Hell is a loveless place and is for those who have no love in them, but only hatred.
Father, may I share everything I have with those who suffer.
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