Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe. Jesus is our king. Yet a king like no other. He is a shepherd king, a servant king, a king that loved us so much that he was willing to leave his heavenly throne and not only become one of us in our humanity, he was willing to die for each and every one of us. Every one of us, past, present, and future. Not in some abstract way, but in a very concrete, personal, and intimate way. Jesus died for you and for me.
Jesus, as Paul points out in our second reading, conquered the last enemy, death. In his willingness to die, he was not defeated by but destroyed death for each of us and for all time, so that now “God can be all in all.”
The imagery of our readings shows not only the wonder of who Jesus is for us but who and whose we are and our responsibility as not only his subjects, but his brothers and sisters, for we are all children of God. The God of Jesus Christ, who is his and our Father.
The prophet, Ezekiel, in the first reading, compares God to a shepherd who pastures and tends his flock, gives them rest, will seek them out and bring back the stray, he will bind up the injured and heal the sick, and he will judge between the sheep and the goats.
Jesus makes clear that just as God cares for us, we are to care for each other. In the Gospel of Matthew, he builds on the image of Ezekiel in that not only God cares, be we are to do so as well for one another. We are to provide food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, welcome for the stranger, clothing for the naked, and care for those who are ill and in prison. What we do for each other we do also for Jesus. The opposite is also true (See Matthew 25:31-46).
Jesus is making this point clear in the context regarding how we will be judged. We will be judged on how we treat one another. We are to love one another as Jesus loves us. Just as subjects follow their king, so we are to follow Jesus, the king of the universe.
Jesus wants us to live a life of meaning, fulfillment, and love.
Each and every one of us have been created in the image and likeness of God and have dignity and worth by that very fact and reality. We are loved just as we are by God because we are his beloved children. This is an important truth that we need to ponder and savor and take in. As we do so, and start to really believe that, we will start to realize and live as children of God and be moved to treat each other as brothers and sisters.
This is why when we pray the Our Father together in Mass or even alone, we say Our Father. God is our Father. This is a reminder to all of us who and whose we are. We are his sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, we are the Body of Christ. What we do or do not do, we do to each other and we do to Jesus.
We are interconnected, we are one, whether we like it or not, whether we believe it or not. We are at our best as Catholics, as human beings, when we strive to love as we have been loved. We are unique and special. There has never nor will ever be again someone like you or me. We need to receive the message of that truth and share it. Once we believe it and really start living it, our lives will change. We will be transformed by his love. Our insecurities will begin to heal, we will begin to trust more, and be able to breathe because we know we are loved and that we belong.
It is this truth that has made the saints. When experienced and realized God’s love for them, opened their hearts and minds and whole being to, received, and abided in God’s love they would never be the same. They then did the only thing they could do which was to express the love they received in their time and place in their own unique ways.
St. Mother Teresa called Jesus’ teaching from Matthew her five-finger gospel. She would hold out her hand, point to each finger and say, “You did it to me.” That is how she lived her life. Her call was to help the poorest of the poor.
Each of us have our own unique call to help and to be of service to one another in this time, in our place, right where we are. We too are called to be holy, to be saints. Which means to be open and willing to follow the inspiration and lead of the Holy Spirit. The best place to begin is to respect the dignity of each person we encounter and start there. Be open and allow God to touch our hearts and to be moved with compassion. Jesus will let us know what we are to do and how we are to do it. Resist the temptation of looking to do big things. Again, Mother Teresa, guides us here: “Do little things with great love.”
We can start with our present relationships, family members, friends, co-workers, classmates, fellow parishioners, the cashier, waiter or waitress, or the homeless person asking for money on the off-ramp. A few days ago, I gave a gentleman a few dollars and asked his name. He told me it was Luke. Turns out he was confirmed at St. Peter Catholic Church my home parish. He shook my hand and moved on as the light changed. It would have been nice to have a little more time with him.
JoAnn used to make time to get to know the people at Publix, the cashier, people in the deli, bakery, those stocking the shelves. She would simply take a few minutes each time to say hello and get to know them, about their lives and their families.
These small interactions are like pebbles tossed into the pond and the ripples of kindness and caring go out. They counter the madness we see going on all over the world. They matter because that is how we can change our little corner of the world by encountering Jesus in those we meet, and he becomes more realized in our lives.
When we attend Mass, we are given a special gift in that Jesus, the King of the Universe is made present to us again. As we receive him, in the word proclaimed, in the Eucharist, as well as in our times of personal prayer in and outside of Mass, let us open our hearts and minds to allow him to love us in that moment of encounter, and let us ask him how he would like us to share his love today and with whom. This is how we can help to bring God’s kingdom to earth, prayer by prayer and person to person.
As Thomas Merton wrote: “For each one of us, there is only one thing necessary: to fulfill our own destiny, according to God’s will, to be what God wants us to be.”
Photo: Rosary walk, St. Peter Catholic Church, Jupiter, FL.
Spiritual Stepping Stones 