Our Lord
Jesus Christ the King
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| Stained Glass Window Assumption Church Fairfield CT* |
The feast of Christ the King
marks the end of the church year. Although Christians have always believed in
the Kingship of Christ, the feast is a relatively recent one dating only from
1925. At a time when the very idea of Kingship was on the way out, the Pope
chose to emphasize the Kingship of Christ.The Second Vatican Council
re-emphasized the importance of the feast when it moved it from the last Sunday
in October to the very last Sunday of the church year.
Naturally, the theme of
today's readings is Kingship. The first reading from the prophet Ezekiel
compares the role of a leader to that of a shepherd. The reading makes clear
that a true king exists to serve his people, and not to be served by them.
Thus
says the Lord God,
I
myself will look after and tend my sheep.
In America we have never been
partial to kings or the idea of Kingship. We pride ourselves on being a
government "of the people, for the people, and by the people." It
wasn't only that our founding fathers revolted against King George III of
England but their aversion to kingship went even deeper.
Kings were supposed to be
God's divinely appointed representatives on earth. Their coronations were
religious ceremonies where the new king would be anointed with holy oils by a
religious leader. Political philosophers spoke of the "divine right of
kings" to justify their power. Old traditions held that the king even
possessed miraculous healing powers. It was believed that merely touching his
cloak could cure many physical maladies.
By the time of our Revolution
it was clear that most kings were not what they were supposed to be. Many had
come to their thrones not by divine right or election but through violence and
usurpation. Many did not behave like representatives of God especially when it
came to being good shepherds. A king was supposed to be the best and noblest
man in the nation but often he seemed to be the worst. Even if they started out
with good intentions, power corrupted them.
But what if there was a person
whose teaching was both simpler and wiser than any of the world's great
philosophers? What if this same teacher was able to calm storms at sea and even
walk on the angry waters? What if there was a person who did indeed possess
miraculous healing powers? -- if merely touching his cloak could cure both
physical and spiritual ailments? What if there was a person who could feed the
multitudes not only with bread for a day but with the bread of everlasting
life? What if there was a person whose power was so great that he could even
bring the dead back to life? Finally, what if there was a person who rather
than being corrupted by power, surrendered his own life for his people?
Shouldn't we call that person our King?
Today's
gospel reading from the 25th chapter of St. Matthew is one of the
most famous in all of scripture. Here we have the image of our Lord in His
glory, surrounded by angels, and sitting on His throne at the final or last judgement.
He says:
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.
We know the response. When
the blessed ask when they did all these things, the King replies, “whatever you
did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.” What a King! He
does not ask us to sacrifice ourselves for Him but only to follow His example
and give our lives for others. Continually in the gospels Jesus diverts our
attention from Himself and tells us that we must care for others. We can only
come into His kingdom if we see Him in our neighbor.
Today’s second reading from
St. Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians seems to be all about death but it is
really about life. St. Paul believed that originally we were not meant to die,
that we had been created, every single one of us, to live forever in Paradise.
But then sin entered the world and death followed sin. This is why St. Paul
thought the Resurrection of our Lord was the central event in History. Our King
has defeated death and because of that we can follow Him to everlasting life.
We merely have to feed and cloth and visit all those who have been entrusted to
our care.
The scene of the Last
Judgement where the sheep are separated from the goats has been immortalized by
Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Even before that time innumerable
churches had put this image high up in their beautiful west windows. Usually in the back of the church, the
west faced the setting sun which was identified with the end of the world or
the final judgement. As they left the church the congregation could look up and
see the Lamb of God in the center surrounded by Apostles and Prophets
representing all the blessed.
On this last Sunday of the
Church year we can also look up at the Risen Lamb and think of the words from
the Book of Revelation.
The
Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them,
And
will guide them to the fountains of the waters of life,
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
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| Stained Glass Window Assumption Church Fairfield CT* |
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Reading 1: Ezekiel 34: 11-12, 15-17
Reading II: 1 Corinthians15: 20-26, 28
Gospel: Matthew 25: 31-46 (Inherit the Kingdom).
* Photographic images by Melissa DeStefano. Click on image to enlarge.
