Sunday Gospel Comment
Alberic Jacovone OSB
YEAR A CHRIST THE KING - 20.11.05 Ezek 34,11-12.15-17; 1 Cor 15,20-26.28; Mt 25,31-46 Christian life & its bottom line The
Feast of Christ the King
occurs today to conclude Church’s “Year A”. (Next Sunday we begin Advent,
Year B & Year of Mark’s Gospel). For its 2000 years history, this Feast is
very recent: it was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925, as a challenge to the
secular world of his time. Since then we’ve witnessed World War II, many other
wars, the collapse of Communism, the
rise of terrorism, the decline & fall of many kingdoms. At the same time, there is in western culture an increase of secularisation,
consumerism, capitalism & anti-religious ideologies: the number of
‘un-Church-ed’ continues to grow. May today’s Feast give meaning and energy to our Christian conviction
& witnessing. Today, we take
leave of Matthew’s Gospel, as he gives us his last prophecy: “He (the Lord)
will take his seat on his throne of glory, and he will separate people one from
another as a shepherd separates sheep from goats” (Mt 25,31-46). Beautifully,
both last Sunday’s story of the talents & today’s story of Final
Judgment, conclude with a solemn invitation into heaven. Last Sunday we heard:
‘Well done, good & faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord’.
Today we hear: ‘Come, blessed of my Father, take possession of the kingdom,
prepared for you since the foundation of the world”. Now we understand the
fullness of Jesus’ preaching about the “Kingdom of God”. In this Kingdom
Jesus is ‘King with Father & Spirit’. He will sit for Final Judgment
& then will ‘hand over the Kingdom to God the Father, so that God may be
all in all’ (1Cor, 15,20-26). The same Jesus who came from God as God’s Son
& envoy, & who gave us the highest example & best proof of his love
by dying on a cross for us will also be our Judge at the end of time. The “Christian” bottom line. Today let’s enjoy reading one of the most inspiring pages in Christian literature. After a story of account rending (last Sunday’s: ‘Well done, good & faithful servant...), we are presented today with the final vision of history: ‘Come you blessed of my Father, take possession of the kingdom..’. I find it odd that preachers of the old school (before 1950), concentrated on the negative side of Matthew’s parables: (5 ‘foolish virgins - the unprofitable servant who hid his talent - & the damned to eternal hell-fire). Far from trying to scare us, Matthew intends to give us energy, courage & perseverance, a conviction that heaven is for real, -(to people who lately challenged you to show where in the Bible there is talk of Heaven, give them to read the story of Last Judgment to start with!..)- & a desire to live for others. The bottom line & essence of Christian life is a commitment to serve those most in need, & to alleviate suffering of any kind, in response to the example that God’s Son gave us, when he chose to come among us as one who serves; & knowing that ‘whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers & sisters you do it to me’. Matthew wants us to realize that the more we do out of love (with no hope of returns!), the more capable of love we become. As indeed, the opposite is also true: the less we do out of love, (as for instance out of passion, of addiction, of hatred...), the less capable of love we become. Here too the old proverb holds true, that what we do not use, we lose, as we find out in our day to day struggle against hurts, stress & the inability to cope with disabilities. Today, savour slowly the story of Last Judgment & know that service is at the heart of Christian life - that the ‘corporal works of mercy’, which include feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick & imprisoned & burying the dead,,, are based on Jesus words: You did it to me! _____________________________________ |
