SOLEMNITY OF 0UR LORD JESUS CHRIST, THE KING OF THE UNIVERSE (2023)
Readings:
Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17
Psalms 23:1-3, 5-6
1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28
Matthew 25:31-46
Sr. Mary McGlone, in her commentary for this solemnity, reminds her readers what Pope Francis did before the much anticipated Synod on Synodality – he visited Mongolia, a small, dare we say tiny country, situated between two of the largest infamously non-Christian countries in the world: Russia and China. Of the three million inhabitants of Mongolia, only a little more that 1,400 are Catholic, a proportionally minuscule number to deserve a visit from the elderly head of the world’s Catholics, let alone the privilege of boasting of one of the world’s youngest Cardinals. But as Mary McGlone points out, that was precisely the point of Pope Francis’ visit.
Since 1925, as a result of what Pope Pius XI promulgated, Catholics have been celebrating this rather ostentatious sounding feast, which for us marks the end of our liturgical year. “Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe” hardly sounds like a celebration for a shepherd, and yet that is the direction our readings tend to focus on. Indeed, that is also why the chief shepherd of the Catholic Church chose, in a largely symbolic act, to visit a small number of Catholics on the other side of the world. Jesus reigns over that small number of Mongolians as much as He reigns over large metropolitan centers of worldly power (where being a GOAT, “Greatest of All Time,” is sought after and longed for). In His tensions with the Scribes and Pharisees, Jesus taught His disciples that true power is found, not by lording it over those without power. Rather, true power is found in serving others, just as it is so beautifully illustrated in Jesus’ actions at His Last Supper with His disciples in the Gospel of John: Jesus got up from table and washed the feet of the apostles, something even Peter’s protests could not prevent.
On this final Sunday of the Church’s year, it is appropriate that Matthew’s final words before the beginning of his Passion Narrative is about the Last Judgement. It is also fitting that Matthew places Jesus as king in this discourse about the last days, for, although He sits on a throne, His kingship is that of a shepherd, who is surrounded by sheep and goats. The prophet Ezekiel sets today’s tone by speaking of the Lord God as a “shepherd who tends his flock,” who comes at the end of time, rescuing the “scattered sheep,” and binding the wounds of those who have been injured. In closing our passage makes it clear that at the end of time it is all about judgment: “As for you, my sheep, says he Lord God, I will judge between one sheep and another.”
The image of the shepherd who comes as king at the end of time is further softened by the inclusion of Psalm 23, the most chosen psalm for funerals because of its tender approach to shepherding. It is just such a shepherd who will come at the end of time who separates the sheep from the goats. The “greatest of all time” (“GOAT”) don’t fare well; perhaps they missed Jesus’ teaching on what makes a person truly great. It is not going to be about worldly accomplishments or the praise of others. It is going to be about the world’s hungry, the world’s naked, and the world’s thirsty. For most, they will be all but invisible, for they stand on the fringes of society, where the world takes little noice of them. The actions of the sheep were not done for show or the adulation of others! Neither the sheep nor the goats knew their good deeds had any connection to the God who will come to judge all people. That is the challenge Jesus leaves His disciples before He is handed over to be crucified. And it is this noteworthy challenge He leaves us on this last Sunday of the liturgical year.
Jesus imparted to our Church a certain predilection for the poor, the ostracized, the hungry, and all those standing on the fringes of society. By his actions that is what Pope Francis showed to the people of Mongolia, and to the world, by his visit. No one is beyond the reach of a loving God, who has come and will come again as a shepherd to seek out what was lost. Since His Ascension, we are Jesus’ arms that will embrace the people on the fringes, we are His hands who will feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, give clothing to the naked. Jesus couldn’t make it any clearer at the end of Matthew’s gospel. Let us do everything we can to insure that we are standing on Jesus’ right side when He comes again in glory at the end of time. Like our Lord and Shepherd, let us never forget those at the fringes.
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