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Jesus Christ The King -A November 20, 2011 Ezek 34:11-12, 15-17 Psalm: 23 1 Cor. 15:20-26, 28 Matthew 25:31-46 It is not fair. He got the bigger slice of cake. It is not right. He never smoked a cigarette in his life and he has lung cancer. In our new Roman Missal, one of the changes is the response before the preface. “Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God.” In Latin, we would respond, “Vere dignum et justum est.” It is right and just. As we celebrate the feast of Christ the King, this response will come true. In the Kingdom of God, Christ is acknowledged as King at his second coming to judge. Things will be right and just.
The Scripture Scholar, J. Jeremias has something very intriguing to say about the Sheep and the Goats. During the day, they graze together. At night, the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. The sheep can remain out in the open because they have wool to keep them warm, the goats need shelter from the cold. Furthermore the sheep are white and can easily be separated from the goats that are black in colour. This separation can be an insight, a clue to the judgment in the Kingdom. This has been the teaching of Jesus in the parables mentioned above. As we look at our lives in terms of prayer, we say each day, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done.” Perhaps we give little attention to this prayer. “King, Queen” – these words are not a part of our daily lives. We have Prime Ministers and Presidents. Kings and Queens are on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. The Queen’s face appears on our money and on postage stamps. However her power and authority is symbolic and nominal. She does not have relevance in our everyday life. When we pray, “Your kingdom come” this could be as irrelevant as the King or Queen, unless we can also sincerely pray and live out the second part: “your will be done. Our first reading from Ezekiel is a diatribe against the weak and wicked kings. Their lack of leadership and moral authority caused the People of Israel to be taken into exile. Now Ezekiel prophesizes saying that the leaders failed. As Kings, they did not provide leadership. As Shepherds they failed in taking care of the flock. - They did not lead the sheep, - they did not tend to the wounded, - they did not strengthen the weak, - they did not protect them from danger. There will be a new order that will be established. There will no longer be a monarchy, i.e. a king to lead the people, the new order would be a theocracy: God would personally take care of the People of Israel. One of the main things to notice in the new order would be a separation. As mentioned above the sheep would be protected. They would be separated from the goats. It is fitting that the response to the reading from Ezekiel is the most well know of Psalms: The Lord is my Shepherd. Once again you have a picture of “theocracy” God is in charge. The Lord himself will be taking care of the sheep
Our Gospel spells out how the Shepherd and King will care for those left in his charge.
There is an apparent contradiction both in Ezekiel, the Psalm response and the Gospel. The Kingship will be a theocracy. God in person will do the work that the earthly kings and shepherds fail to do. The apparent contradiction is that God will still use agents to care for the sheep. These will be modelled on the Davidic Kingship. These will be animated by the spirit of God and hence act as if God is acting in person. They will nevertheless be called to give an account of themselves. As Ezekiel says at the end of that first reading, God will judge sheep from sheep. Those that belong to the Sheepfold will be God’s agents in caring for the hungry, the thirsty, those in prison, those who are sick. Now we can truly say in the response at the time of the Preface of the Mass, “It is truly right and just.” May Your Kingdom Come May Your Will be Done.
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