Solemnity of Christ the King (Cycle A, Year II)

Community Word:   Eternal life is for those who trust and believe in Jesus Christ.

Theme:  We trust and believe in Jesus Christ when we make Him the King of our lives.

Promise:  “The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, and the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal.” (Ez 34:16)

Reflection:

This week marks the end of the 2014 Liturgical Year (Cycle A, Year II).  And what better way to end the year than to take to heart the greatest commandments taught to us by Christ, which summarize all the Scriptures – both the Old and New Testaments:  “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all you heart, with all your soul, and with all you mind.  This is the greatest and the first commandment.  The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” (Mt 22:37-38).  Indeed, love of God and love of neighbor encapsulate the Scriptures we had read and reflected on throughout the Liturgical Year.

This Sunday’s readings teach us how we can fulfill these two commandments, by imitating God’s love for His people.  In the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel written some 570 years BC, God promised the Jews held captive in Babylon and those scattered everywhere,  “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, shepherding them rightly,” (Ez 34:15-16).   As children of God, as followers of Christ, and as disciples in Community, we are exhorted to also seek the lost, to bind up the injured, and to heal the sick.  With the Lord God as our Shepherd, we are urged to be His present day under-shepherds in caring for and tending His people whoever and wherever they may be.

In the Gospel of Matthew which is sometimes called the parable of the Judgment, Jesus tells of a king who separates the sheep from the goats among his flock.  The King is Jesus, the Son of Man, who stands in judgment over His people.  The sheep are the righteous and loving who will inherit the Father’s kingdom, and the goats are the disobedient and uncaring ones who will go off to eternal punishment.

Through the parable, Jesus is telling us that we will be judged by the way we loved God and our neighbor during our lifetime.  As highlighted in the parable, to love our neighbor is to love God, because God loves all of us, especially the least among us.  “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me,” (Mt 25:40).  Christ shows His love and compassion for the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned, who He calls His brothers.  And we will be judged by whatever we have done for them and ultimately for God.

As under-shepherds of Christ, our Good Shepherd, we are exhorted to care for all those who suffer in whatever way.  We should care not just for those who are in need materially, but also for those who have strayed spiritually, who feel unloved emotionally, who are wounded psychologically, who are marginalized economically.  All the lost, the last, and the least in our society, in our community, and in the Church are beloved brothers of Christ Jesus.  Only when we love God by caring for the least of our brothers are we able to come close to embrace Jesus as our King in this life and the hope to inherit His Kingdom in the life after.

Prayer: 
Lord Jesus, You promised to seek out the lost, to bring back those who have strayed away and heal the wounded.  Use us as Your under-shepherds to fulfill this promise.  By Your grace, move us into action and guide our every step that we may abide by Your greatest commandments – to love You and to love our neighbors, especially the least among our brothers.  We ask this that we may be worthy of eternal life in Your Father’s kingdom. Amen.

Reflection Questions:
1.Reflect on how well you have translated your love for God to your love for the lost, the last, and the least among your neighbors.  Do you see Jesus in them?

2.As Christ’s under-shepherd, how can you commit to be more caring of those who need help so that they may have true joy in their lives?

3.Whom do you have difficulty in loving and caring for?  In what way can you change this attitude?

This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
November 23, 2014 (Sun)     Ez 34:11-12,15-17/Ps 23:1-2,2-3,5-6/Cor 15:20-26,28/Mt 25:31-46
November 24, 2014 (Mon)     Rv 14:1-3,4-5/Ps 24:1-2,3-4,5-6/Lk 21:1-4
November 25, 2014 (Tues)    Rv 14:14-19/Ps 96:10,11-12,13/Lk 21:5-11
November 26, 2014 (Wed)     Rv 15:1-4/Ps 98:1,2-3,7-8,9/Lk 21:12-19
November 27, 2014 (Thurs)   Rv 18:1-2,21-23;19:1-3,9/Ps 1000:1-2,3,4,5/Lk 21:20-28
November 28, 2014 (Fri)        Rv 20:1-4,11-21:2/Ps 84:3,4,5-6,8/Lk 21:29-33
November 29, 2014 (Sat)      Rv 22:1-7/Ps 95:1-2,3-5,6-7/Lk 21:34-36

“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ.  Read your Bible daily!”

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