Christ the King
“And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,[a] you did it to me””
Summary
It is pretty easy to distinguish a sheep from a goat. It is also pretty easy to distinguish a king from his subjects, one with power from one with no power: those being served have power and authority, those serving them do not. It’s all pretty binary and straightforward. But what happens when the sheep start acting like goats and the goats like sheep? Today we celebrate the feast of Christ the King. At first sight, the Kingdom of God looks pretty binary too: the sheep are in, the goats are out, those who serve are in and those who do not are out. Jesus has just given power to those who do not have it and taken it from those who do. But Jesus never takes power from anyone or exerts power over anyone. Instead, he offers everyone the opportunity to use their own power. When we choose to use our power to serve, not those with power but those without power; when we give voice to the voiceless, champion the weak and care for those in need, we become part of the Kingdom of God.
GOSPEL
Matthew 22:31-46
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that 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 something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’
