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“Jesus Christ King of the Universe”
artist and date are unknown |
Readings for the Solemnity of Christ the King [2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
Readings and Commentary: [4]
Reading 1: Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17
Thus says the Lord GOD:
I myself will look after and tend my sheep.
As a shepherd tends his flock
when he finds himself among his scattered sheep,
so will I tend my sheep.
I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered
when it was cloudy and dark.
I myself will pasture my sheep;
I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD.
The lost I will seek out,
the strayed I will bring back,
the injured I will bind up,
the sick I will heal,
but the sleek and the strong I will destroy,
shepherding them rightly.
As for you, my sheep, says the Lord GOD,
I will judge between one sheep and another,
between rams and goats.
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Commentary on Ez 34:11-12, 15-17
The prophet presents the allegory of God, the shepherd. In this oracle the vision is that God the Father, like a shepherd, will gather the people of Israel from the foreign lands to which they have been driven, and bring them back to “the mountains of Israel.”
"This beautiful oracle resounds in our Lord's parable of the Good Shepherd who takes care of his sheep (cf. John 10:1-21), in what he says about the Father's joy on finding the lost sheep (cf. Matthew 18: 12-14; Luke 15:4-7), and in things he has to say about the Last Judgment as reported by St Matthew (Matthew 25:31-46)." [5]
The tenderness shown by the good shepherd toward the sheep is especially comforting on a feast day where we celebrate the intense love of Christ for the people of the world. However, we are reminded in v. 17 that the each person will be held accountable for their actions.
CCC: Ez 34:11-31 754
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 23:1-2, 2-3, 5-6
R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
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Commentary on Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
Psalm 23 is one of the most familiar songs in the entire psalter. “God's loving care for the psalmist is portrayed under the figures of a shepherd for the flock (Psalm 23:1-4) and a host's generosity toward a guest (Psalm 23:5-6). The imagery of both sections is drawn from traditions of the exodus (Isaiah 40:11; 49:10; Jeremiah 31:10).” [6] While the theme of shepherd is mentioned in the first strophe, the psalm really speaks to the peace given to those who follow the Lord and place their trust in Him, even into the “dark valley.”
The reference in the third strophe above: “'You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes' occurs in an exodus context in Psalm 78:19. As my enemies watch: my enemies see that I am God's friend and guest. Oil: a perfumed ointment made from olive oil, used especially at banquets (Psalm 104:15; Matthew 26:7; Luke 7:37, 46; John 12:2).” [7]
CCC: Ps 23:5 1293
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Reading II: 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28
Brothers and sisters:
Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since death came through man,
the resurrection of the dead came also through man.
For just as in Adam all die,
so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,
but each one in proper order:
Christ the firstfruits;
then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ;
then comes the end,
when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father,
when he has destroyed every sovereignty
and every authority and power.
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
When everything is subjected to him,
then the Son himself will also be subjected
to the one who subjected everything to him,
so that God may be all in all.
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Commentary on 1 Cor 15:20-26, 28
St. Paul reminds us that Christ is the King in heaven and on earth, and that all things are subject to him. An important theological element contained in v. 28 is the unity between God and Christ which is implicit in St. Paul’s argument about Christ as King of Heaven (“so that God may be all in all”).
In his continuing apologetic discourse, he states that Christ has been raised from the dead. It is imperative that this truth be at the heart of all Christian belief, for if he had not been raised, the Christian faith is fruitless. Death through sin came to humankind through the sin of Adam; life comes through the defeat of death in Christ’s resurrection. He must first rise, defeating death, so that all who sleep in death may come to the Heavenly Father who first sent him.
“In the liturgy of ancient Israel the first portion of a crop was offered to God in the temple as a means of consecrating the whole of the expected harvest (Exodus 23:19; Leviticus 23:10-14). So too, Christ is not only the first to be raised in glory, but his resurrected humanity is an offering that insures the entire harvest of believers will be raised as he was (Acts 26:23; Romans 11:15-16).” [8]
In the omitted v.27, the evangelist says: “’ he subjected everything under his feet,’" quoting Psalm 8:7. It is placed in parenthesis because St. Paul notes that God is excluded from the Son’s subjugation. The Son, once victorious, returns all things to the Father. Just as Christ dies and rises, completing the circle of re-creation, so in returning the fruits of his victory to the Father, he completes the creative will of the Father who made man in his own image free from sin.
CCC: 1 Cor 15:20-22 655; 1 Cor 15:20 632, 991; 1 Cor 15:21-22 411; 1 Cor 15:24-28 2855; 1 Cor 15:24 668; 1 Cor 15:26 1008; 1 Cor 15:27-28 668
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Gospel: Matthew 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."
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Commentary on Mt 25:31-46
In this reading, Jesus is telling his disciples and us what will be judged at the end times, the Eschaton. The Lord’s vision echo’s Daniel’s “night visions” (Daniel 7:13-14 “One like a son of man […] He received dominion, splendor, and kingship.”) but the tone is more immediate. The reading gives us a vision of what will be asked and how judgment will be passed. This image is used as a teaching tool, to focus those who wish to follow Jesus on loving those who are in need of help: the hungry, the stranger, the naked, the ill, the imprisoned. Unlike Daniel’s vision, Jesus speaks with an immediacy that makes his coming kingship a historical reality, set in the future. There is no ambiguity. Not “One like a son of man,” but “When the Son of Man comes in his glory.” In this intimate setting, speaking quietly with his friends, Jesus tells them what will come, a path already set out, inevitable. [9]
This reading provides yet one more example of how Christ intends the Great Commandment to be lived. Loving God and loving neighbor would be judged by: “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.” We note that while the general theme is broadly applied to all people, there is special emphasis placed upon the poor and marginalized. The concluding answer expands upon the Hebrew definition in Leviticus (Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18) as St. Matthew defines "neighbor" in a more inclusive sense.
CCC: Mt 25:31-46 544, 1033, 1373, 2447, 2831; Mt 25:31-36 2443; Mt 25:31 331, 671, 679, 1038; Mt 25:32 1038; Mt 25:36 1503; Mt 25:40 678, 1397, 1825, 1932, 2449; Mt 25:41 1034; Mt 25:45 598, 1825, 2463; Mt 25:46 1038
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Reflection:
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King. It is the last Sunday of the liturgical year. The authors of the Roman Missal who prayerfully assembled the liturgy and readings for our common worship ended the year’s Sunday celebrations on this particular note, suggesting that we have been building towards it for a full year. We have recalled the Lord’s nativity in our Advent and Christmas celebrations. We have remembered Christ’s struggle as our own in our Lenten observances. We have rejoiced in the Easter of our year, celebrating once more as Christ’s own resurrection brought us hope and joy. And in these past months we have looked at the life and teaching of Jesus, building our interior faith in him to this point.
Today we celebrate Christ as King, King of Heaven, and King in our lives on earth. As people living in a democratic society, the idea of having a monarch in our lives does not have the visceral impact it did in centuries past when there were active monarchs, and it was the standard form of governance. We consider for a moment the impact of naming a king would have, using that ancient vision of kingship.
The first thing we would understand would be that we owe the king our allegiance. If there were outside threats to the kingdom, we would be eligible for conscription into the king’s army to defend the kingdom against its enemies. Next, we would owe the king fealty, the dictionary defines this word as “the obligation or the engagement to be faithful to a lord, usually sworn to by a vassal.” Another word sometimes used in its place is fidelity. We owe that constant loyalty to our king. Betrayal is treason!
We understand that a kingship is a totalitarian form of governance. We cannot ourselves make new laws because we don’t like the old ones. The word of the king is law, and we are expected to follow that law if we are to be in his kingdom. Part of what we swear in allegiance and fealty is to accept the king’s authority over us and commit ourselves to follow his word, to defend it as law, to die for it if asked.
Now that we understand what subjecting ourselves to the rule of a king, as those in Jesus' time understood that subjugation to mean, we must ask ourselves, are we ready? Will we be the faithful nobility in the kingdom of God who chivalrously pledge our honor and life to our liege Lord, ready to defend the kingdom of God (on earth)? Or are we the surly peasant, who stands in the crowd because it is a social requirement; who would not lift a finger in the cause of the king unless compelled to do so or if it was in their own interests? We see both ends of the spectrum and know that at times we have been in each place.
Today we pray, as we pledge our allegiance to Christ the King in the creed, that our faith will always be strong, and our hearts will be full of zeal for the kingdom of God whose citizens we hope to become.
Pax
[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, Published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.[2] The picture is “Jesus Christ King of the Universe” artist and date are unknown.[3] S.S. Commemoratio[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.[5] The Navarre Bible: “Major Prophets”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, p.733.[6] NAB footnote on Psalm 23.[7] Ibid.[8] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. p. 307.[9] Fire of Mercy Heart of the Word Volume III, Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA, © 2012 p. 823.
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