“Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:38)
We come to the end of this liturgical year, a year with Christ, living with him in the events of his birth, public ministry, death and resurrection and learning from his teachings and his healings. And, dear friends, I come to the end of my weekly reflections with you. For the past fifty-two weeks I have invited you to reflect on the scripture readings of each Sunday. It is time for me to hand my pen to Father Richard. I will continue to follow the work of A Faith That Does Justice, grateful for their work to live the events of Christ’s life in today’s world.
In the thirty-four ordinary Sundays of this year, we have gone through the gospel of Matthew. We began with the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) and heard the Beatitudes proclaimed as our guiding value system in trying to follow Christ. Today we end with Matthew’s dramatic portrayal of the last judgement. Last January we read Matthew’s account of the great sermon and the beatitudes which proclaimed who we ought to strive to be if we are to follow Christ – poor, meek, merciful, peacemakers, mourners, seekers of righteousness, peacemakers, willing to accept persecution for the sake of the kingdom. Today we see what this looks like in our everyday existence – feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome strangers, give clothing to the naked, take care of the sick, visit prisoners.
Our living with Christ through a liturgical year is not an effort to learn the rules to keep and memorize our beliefs. These may lie underneath the above expectations but does not seem to be what the final judge will ask of us. The love in our hearts and the humility to follow Christ’s example must show itself in how we live.
This last Sunday is dedicated to Christ the King. Pope Pius XI instituted this feast, originally on the last Sunday of October, to stand up to the communist threat of his day. I personally do not like this image of Christ. I don’t like the regal, dominative, authoritarian, patriarchal Jesus that it portrays. The other image of today’s readings is the shepherd. The shepherd feeds his flock, seeks out those who stray, even lays down his life for them. The reading from the prophet Ezekiel bemoans the false shepherds who are concerned with their own power and image. Paul to the Corinthians, our second reading today, praises Christ, the first fruits from the dead in his resurrection, who shows us all the way to new life. How beautiful and inspiring! I am thankful for the Word of God in Matthew, Paul and the prophets this year. Thanks be to God!