Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17; 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28; Matthew 25:31-46

St. Augustine said, “I beg you, join with me in love. Run with me in faith. Let us yearn for our heavenly home. Let us sigh for it. Let us realize that we are strangers here below.” We know our true home is heaven. We know this and we hope and pray that we “will be granted entrance when the time comes.” This is a distraction that Satan puts into our minds. Jesus has guaranteed that we will be in heaven if we have faith and follow the commandments and His triple command of love. How are we doing with this? Do we ask the Lord for help living our daily lives? Do we give up on ourselves? Fact: We are tempted and we sin, and we will continue to be weak and sin until we die. But what about that same old sin I keep committing? I do try, but I keep on slipping when I’m weak and unable to resist. I seem to condemn myself. Does God condemn me? Is there a checklist I can use on my journey to heaven? Today’s readings help us immensely in keeping us on Jesus’ path to heaven. Are we listening?

God appoints Ezekiel to serve His people as a prophet. Like Jeremiah, Ezekiel is a priest in addition to being the first prophet to receive the call outside the Holy Land. Jerusalem has already been captured. Ezekiel's first task is to prepare his fellow countrymen, now in Babylon, for the final destruction of Jerusalem which they feel is sacrosanct. Their leaders have prospered at the expense of the people. They have neglected the people spiritually and temporally. Now, God says through Ezekiel, “I will do Myself what you did not do.” God will care for the neglected and abused and those allowed to “go astray.” Those who take advantage of them will be held accountable. But some will resist God’s teachings, proving they are in it for themselves. These are not part of God’s flock (of sheep), but goats and rams.

Some of the Corinthian Christians deny there is life after death [resurrection] yet still hold onto Christ’s role in God’s redemption. Paul tells them if there is no resurrection and Christ was not raised from the dead, the gospel message is false and meaningless because they are still in their sins and have no hope beyond this life. Since Christ has been raised from the dead … so will we be raised and those who believe in Him and life His way will be brought to life with Him in heaven. Paul is telling us that God is the source and end of all that is. Everything is according to God’s plan. Do I want to interject myself into this? Or do I have faith in God’s way?

The gospel’s final judgment scene has to be understood against Jesus’ teaching on how hard it is to enter the “… kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” [Matthew 25:34] The passage begins in Chapter 24, which is the last of five discourses found in Matthew’s gospel. It is called “eschatological” because it explains to the disciples how to prepare for life without Jesus and the end times. They have to — we have to — reform our lives and live according to Jesus’ way of love and the commandments. How am I living this life now? Am I listening to Jesus? This passage leaves no room for us to wonder who Jesus really is: Either He is the Lord of all or He is mentally deranged, and the testimony of the last 21 centuries of the Church is a sham. If He is God as He proved, am I living my life in accordance to His rule, God’s way? His way is the substance of this passage and is a type of final exam, in fact the only exam that really matters.

God's way is not about how much I've accomplish in my life, or how much money I’ve made. What matters in the end is what I've done for Christ and my “neighbor.” It boils down to one question from God: What have you done for Me in your neighbor? “Only self giving — the mark of authentic love — counteracts the epidemic of self-centeredness, self-indulgence, and self-sufficiency that has scourged the human family ever since the fall.” (Fr. John Bartunek, The Better Part) We are evaluated on love: God’s love for us and our love for others. Pope Francis sums this up in his latest encyclical Fratelli Tutti, On Fraternity and Social Friendship (October 2020): “For Christians, the words of Jesus have an even deeper meaning. They compel us to recognize Christ Himself in each of our abandoned or excluded brothers and sisters (cf Matthew 25:40-45). Faith has untold power to inspire and sustain our respect for others, for believers come to know that God loves every man and woman with infinite love and 'thereby confers infinite dignity’ upon all humanity.”  

I am gifted and loved. I have capability to smile that touches … kind and complementary words which affirm and pick up … helping hands that help tired bodies … eyes that show one is valued and important … embraces that show deep love and send the message that God loves all more deeply.

The Kingdom of heaven is the main content of Jesus’ preaching in Matthew’s gospel. Jesus is not talking about the place of heaven but rather a process by which each person comes to realize that God is in their life … that God created and loves each person individually, and that this love is what God is … love … and God needs each person to be love so others can see that is only through love that God’s kingdom is realized, and others can see God and live God.

So I reflect on:

• How often do I surrender judgment to God? How much do I reserve for myself? Why?
• The corporal works of mercy originate in this passage, addressing the physical needs of the poor: feeding the hungry, visiting the imprisoned, burying the dead, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, giving shelter to travelers, offering drink to the thirsty. How am I doing?
  

Sacred Space 2020 states:

“This long and exciting parable has a simple message: ‘Minister to the needy around you, or else you are missing the whole point of living!’ Saint Matthew’s hearers had difficulty with what would happen to non-Jews, since they themselves were the Chosen People. Jesus says that with His coming into the world, everyone is a ‘chosen person.’ Everyone is to be treated with limitless respect. This is the way to get ready for God’s final community of love. Jesus is already present but in disguise, in every person. Only at the end will He and they be revealed ‘in glory.’

“What do I see when I see the needy? Do I focus on the hidden glory of others? How would I fare if human history were to be terminated today?”