Nov. 26, 2017: Christ the King A
Nov. 26, 2017: Christ the King A
Click to hear Audio Homily
Earlier this week as we approached Thanksgiving Day, I posted on Facebook, “For what are you thankful?” One person wrote, “For my relationship with Jesus and the amazing journey I have traveled with Him, for his Divine Plan to place me in the family I was born to, in the country I live and all the special people He has crossed my path with.” Many of the people who responded to my question wrote about faith and their relationship with Christ. On this last Sunday of our liturgical year, the Church asks us to consider our special relationship with Jesus as our Lord and King.
Most of us have not experienced a rule under a king. Since the independence from Great Britain in 1776 and severing ties from King George III, this country has never been under an earthly king. The little that we know about kings, we learned from history about kings who govern with an iron fist, caring little for the welfare of the people. The scriptures have a different kind of king in mind for Our Lord.
Prophet Ezekiel, in the First Reading, envisions God as the Good Shepherd who rescues, pastures, seeks, brings back, and heals his sheep. St. Paul, in our Second Reading, presents Christ as the all-powerful ruler-king who raises the dead and to whom every form of power and authority must eventually give way. Since we profess that Our Lord is alive among us by his resurrection, then he must affect our lives in a concrete way.
Our Lord himself, in today’s Gospel, teaches us that He will come in his Heavenly glory to judge us on how we have shared our love and blessings with others through genuine acts of charity in our lives. Our Lord says that he will be present to us now, dwelling in those for whom we care. As Pope Francis observed, “It would mean very little, if we believed Jesus was King of the universe, but did not make him Lord of our lives: all this is empty if we do not personally accept Jesus and if we do not also accept his way of being King.” Therefore, everyone to whom we give ourselves whether they are hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, in prison, or a stranger, we are treating in reality this risen Jesus in the needy.
How can we make this relationship with Jesus part of our daily lives? When Mother Teresa was a young girl, her mother taught her a lesson that she never forgot. Her mother took her hand saying that the following reminder would help her remember the entire Gospel. Her mother held up her five fingers and counted off a word on each one: “You. Did. It. To. Me.” These five simple words taken from Matthew Chapter 25 contained everything that Mother Teresa’s own mother felt she needed to know in order to live a life in accordance with the teaching of Jesus, for he himself said in today’s Gospel, “Whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did to me.” As we approach the season of Advent, let us strive to put into practice in our daily lives this simple teaching. The best of preparing for Our Lord’s coming in Advent is to answer His daily call to make our lives a life of service and love.
Click to hear Audio Homily
Earlier this week as we approached Thanksgiving Day, I posted on Facebook, “For what are you thankful?” One person wrote, “For my relationship with Jesus and the amazing journey I have traveled with Him, for his Divine Plan to place me in the family I was born to, in the country I live and all the special people He has crossed my path with.” Many of the people who responded to my question wrote about faith and their relationship with Christ. On this last Sunday of our liturgical year, the Church asks us to consider our special relationship with Jesus as our Lord and King.
Most of us have not experienced a rule under a king. Since the independence from Great Britain in 1776 and severing ties from King George III, this country has never been under an earthly king. The little that we know about kings, we learned from history about kings who govern with an iron fist, caring little for the welfare of the people. The scriptures have a different kind of king in mind for Our Lord.
Prophet Ezekiel, in the First Reading, envisions God as the Good Shepherd who rescues, pastures, seeks, brings back, and heals his sheep. St. Paul, in our Second Reading, presents Christ as the all-powerful ruler-king who raises the dead and to whom every form of power and authority must eventually give way. Since we profess that Our Lord is alive among us by his resurrection, then he must affect our lives in a concrete way.
Our Lord himself, in today’s Gospel, teaches us that He will come in his Heavenly glory to judge us on how we have shared our love and blessings with others through genuine acts of charity in our lives. Our Lord says that he will be present to us now, dwelling in those for whom we care. As Pope Francis observed, “It would mean very little, if we believed Jesus was King of the universe, but did not make him Lord of our lives: all this is empty if we do not personally accept Jesus and if we do not also accept his way of being King.” Therefore, everyone to whom we give ourselves whether they are hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, in prison, or a stranger, we are treating in reality this risen Jesus in the needy.
How can we make this relationship with Jesus part of our daily lives? When Mother Teresa was a young girl, her mother taught her a lesson that she never forgot. Her mother took her hand saying that the following reminder would help her remember the entire Gospel. Her mother held up her five fingers and counted off a word on each one: “You. Did. It. To. Me.” These five simple words taken from Matthew Chapter 25 contained everything that Mother Teresa’s own mother felt she needed to know in order to live a life in accordance with the teaching of Jesus, for he himself said in today’s Gospel, “Whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did to me.” As we approach the season of Advent, let us strive to put into practice in our daily lives this simple teaching. The best of preparing for Our Lord’s coming in Advent is to answer His daily call to make our lives a life of service and love.
