Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 11-24-02, Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King

Reading I
Ez 34:11-12, 15-17

Thus says the Lord GOD:
I myself will look after and tend my sheep.
As a shepherd tends his flock
when he finds himself among his scattered sheep,
so will I tend my sheep.
I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered
when it was cloudy and dark.
I myself will pasture my sheep;
I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD.
The lost I will seek out,
the strayed I will bring back,
the injured I will bind up,
the sick I will heal,
but the sleek and the strong I will destroy,
shepherding them rightly.

As for you, my sheep, says the Lord GOD,
I will judge between one sheep and another,
between rams and goats.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 23:1-2, 2-3, 5-6

R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Reading II
1 Cor 15:20-26, 28

Brothers and sisters:
Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since death came through man,
the resurrection of the dead came also through man.
For just as in Adam all die,
so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,
but each one in proper order:
Christ the firstfruits;
then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ;
then comes the end,
when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father,
when he has destroyed every sovereignty
and every authority and power.
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
When everything is subjected to him,
then the Son himself will also be subjected
to the one who subjected everything to him,
so that God may be all in all.

Gospel
Mt 25:31-46

Jesus said to his disciples:
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
he will sit upon his glorious throne,
and all the nations will be assembled before him.
And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the king will say to those on his right,
'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.'
Then the righteous will answer him and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?'
And the king will say to them in reply,
'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Then he will say to those on his left,
'Depart from me, you accursed,
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 no drink,
a stranger and you gave me no welcome,
naked and you gave me no clothing,
ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.'
Then they will answer and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty
or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison,
and not minister to your needs?'
He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you,
what you did not do for one of these least ones,
you did not do for me.'
And these will go off to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life."

The Word Among Us

Sunday, November 24, 2002

Meditation
Matthew 25:31-46

Christ the King

What does a shepherd have in common with a king? Very little, it would seem. One is a poor, solitary country herdsman, and the other a powerful national ruler. These occupations come together, however, in two of the greatest figures in the Bible. First, there is David, the humble shepherd who was plucked from his sheepfold and anointed to rule as king over Israel. Then, there is Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords, who called himself “the good shepherd” (John 10:11).

Today we celebrate Jesus as the sovereign King enthroned at the right hand of the Father. We also look forward to his further glorification after the Last Judgment. At that time, people from every nation under heaven will acknowledge his sovereignty and rejoice in his power. Jesus’ kingdom has no end! The whole world will be silent before him and his judgments. He is the magnificent, unequivocal king of glory and ruler of all creation!

Yet even in his role as king, Jesus tends his flock as a shepherd (Matthew 25:32). This is just what God promised ages earlier: “I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep” (Ezekiel 34:15). Jesus, our compassionate shepherd-king, doesn’t want to see his sheep left unattended or in need. He himself wants to bind up our wounds and lead us gently to his home.

Jesus’ roles as a king ruling with great authority and a shepherd filled with gentle compassion are not contradictions or mutually exclusive. They are one and the same thing! Jesus is King precisely because he rules with compassion. It is his very compassion and mercy that make him King and ruler of all creation. There is no other who compares to him, and no other who deserves our worship. Given these characteristics of Christ the King, what else can we do but bow down before him? What else can we do but let him lead us with his rod and his staff? Let us gratefully declare with David, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”!

“Jesus, I adore you as my king! I am thankful that you protect me, care for me, and hear me when I call to you. Grant me your goodness and mercy all the days of my life. May I dwell with you in your kingdom forever!”

From: 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28

The Basis of Our Faith (Continuation)

[20] But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits
of those who have fallen asleep. [21] For as by a man came death, by a
man has come also the resurrection of the dead. [22] For as in Adam all
die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. [23] But each in his
own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong
to Christ. [24] Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God
the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. [25]
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
[26] The last enemy to be destroyed is death. [28] When all things are
subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him
who put all things under him, that God may be everything to every one.

Commentary:

20-28. The Apostle insists on the solidarity that exists between Christ
and Christians: as members of one single body, of which Christ is the
head, they form as it were one organism (cf. Rom 6:3-11; Gal 3:28).
Therefore, once the resurrection of Christ is affirmed, the
resurrection of the just necessarily follows. Adam's disobedience
brought death for all; Jesus, the new Adam, has merited that all should
rise (cf. Rom 5:12-21). "Again, the resurrection of Christ effects for
us the resurrection of our bodies not only because it was the efficient
cause of this mystery, but also because we all ought to arise after the
example of the Lord. For with regard to the resurrection of the body we
have this testimony of the Apostle: 'As by a man came death, by a man
has come also the resurrection of the dead' (1 Cor 15:21). In all that
God did to accomplish the mystery of our redemption he made use of the
humanity of Christ as an effective instrument, and hence his
resurrection was, as it were, an instrument for the accomplishment of
our resurrection" ("St Pius V Catechism", I, 6, 13).

Although St Paul here is referring only to the resurrection of the just
(v. 23), he does speak elsewhere of the resurrection of all mankind
(cf. Acts 24:15). The doctrine of the resurrection of the bodies of all
at the end of time, when Jesus will come in glory to judge everyone,
has always been part of the faith of the Church; "he [Christ] will come
at the end of the world, he will judge the living and the dead; and he
will reward all, both the lost and the elect, according to their works.
And all those will rise with their own bodies which they now have so
that they may receive according to their works, whether good or bad;
the wicked, a perpetual punishment with the devil; the good, eternal
glory with 'Christ" (Fourth Lateran Council, "De Fide Catholica", chap.
1).

23-28. St Paul outlines very succinctly the entire messianic and
redemptive work of Christ: by decree of the Father, Christ has been
made Lord of the universe (cf. Mt 28:18), in fulfillment of Ps 110:1
and Ps 8:7. When it says here that "the Son himself will also be
subjected to him who put all things under him", this must be understood
as referring to Christ in his capacity of Messiah and head of the
Church; not Christ as God, because the Son is "begotten, not created,
consubstantial with the Father" ("Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed").

Christ's sovereignty over all creation comes about in history, but it
will achieve its final, complete, form after the Last Judgment. The
Apostle presents that last event--a mystery to us--as a solemn act of
homage to the Father. Christ will offer all creation to his Father as
a kind of trophy, offering him the Kingdom which up to then had been
confided to his care. From that moment on, the sovereignty of God and
Christ will be absolute, they will have no enemies, no rivals; the
stage of combat will have given way to that of contemplation, as St
Augustine puts it (cf. "De Trinitate", 1, 8).

The Parousia or second coming of Christ in glory at the end of time,
when he establishes the new heaven and the new earth (cf. Rev 21:1-2),
will mean definitive victory over the devil, over sin, suffering and
death. A Christian's hope in this victory is not something passive:
rather, it is something that spurs him on to ensure that even in this
present life Christ's teaching and spirit imbue all human activities.
"Far from diminishing our concern to develop this earth," Vatican II
teaches, "the expectancy of a new earth should spur us on, for it is
here that the body of a new human family grows, foreshadowing in some
way the age which is to come. That is why, although we must be careful
to distinguish earthly progress clearly from the increase of the
Kingdom of Christ, such progress is of vital concern to the Kingdom of
God, insofar as it can contribute to the better ordering of human
society.

"When we have spread on earth the fruits of our nature and our
enterprise--human dignity, brotherly communion, and freedom--according
to the command of the Lord and in his Spirit, we will find them once
again, cleansed this time from the stain of sin, illuminated and
transfigured, when Christ presents to his Father an eternal and
universal kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a
kingdom of justice, love and peace ("Roman Missal", preface for the
solemnity of Christ the King). Here on earth the Kingdom is
mysteriously present; when the Lord comes it will enter into its
perfection" ("Gaudium Et Spes", 39).

24. "When he delivers the kingdom to God the Father": this does not
quite catch the beauty of the Greek which literally means "when he
delivers the kingdom to the God and Father". In New Testament Greek,
when the word "Theos" (God) is preceded by the definite article ("ho
Theos") the first person of the Blessed Trinity is being referred to.

25. "He must reign": every year, on the last Sunday of ordinary time,
the Church celebrates the solemnity of Christ the King, to acknowledge
his absolute sovereignty over all created things. On instituting this
feast, Pius XI pointed out that "He must reign in our minds, which
should assent with perfect submission and firm belief to revealed
truths and to the teachings of Christ. He must reign in our wills,
which should obey the laws and precepts of God. He must reign in our
hearts, which should spurn natural desires and love God above all
things, and cleave to him alone. He must reign in our bodies and in
our members, which should serve as instruments for the interior
sanctification of our souls, or, to use the words of the Apostle Paul,
as instruments of righteousness unto God (Rom 6:13)" ("Quas Primas").

28. The subjection of the son which St Paul speaks of here is in no
way opposed to his divinity. He is referring to what will happen when
Christ's mission as Redeemer and Messiah comes to an end, that is,
once final victory is won over the devil, sin and its consequences.
The final victory of Jesus Christ will restore to all creation its
original harmony, which sin destroyed.

"Who can realize", St Bernard comments, "the indescribable sweetness
contained in these few words: God will be everything to everyone? Not
to speak of the body, I see three things in the soul--mind, will and
memory; and these three are one and the same. Everyone who lives
according to the spirit senses in this present life how far he falls
short of wholeness and perfection. Why is this, if not because God is
not yet everything to everyone? That is why ones' mind is so often
mistaken in the judgment it makes, that is why one's will experiences
such restlessness, why one's memory is thrown into confusion by many
things. The noble person is, without wanting to be, at the mercy of
this triple vanity, yet he does not lose hope. For he who responds so
generously to the desires of the soul must also provide the mind with
fullness and light, the will with abundance of peace, and the memory
with visions of eternity. O truth, O charity, O eternity, O blessed and
blessing Trinity! This wretched trinity of mine, sighs for thee, for it
is unfortunately still far from thee" ("Sermon on the Song of Songs",
11).

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

From: Matthew 25:31-46

The Last Judgment

[31] "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with
Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. [32] Before Him will be
gathered all the nations, and He will separate them one from another as
a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, [33] and He will place
the sheep at His right hand, but the goats at the left. [34] Then the
King will say to those at His right hand, `Come, O blessed of My
Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
world; [35] for I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and
you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me, [36] I was
naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in
prison and you came to Me.' [37] Then the righteous will answer Him,
`Lord, when did we see Thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give
thee drink? [38] And when did we see Thee a stranger and welcome Thee,
or naked and clothe Thee? [39] And when did we see Thee sick or in
prison and visit Thee?' [40] And the King will answer them, `Truly I
say to you, as you did it to one of the least of My brethren, you did
it to Me.' [41] Then He will say to those at His left hand, `Depart
from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and
his angels; [42] for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was
thirsty and you gave Me no drink, [43] I was a stranger and you did not
welcome Me, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you
did not visit Me.' [44] Then they also will answer, `Lord, when did we
see Thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison,
and did not minister to Thee?' [45] Then He will answer them, `Truly,
I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did
it not to Me.' [46] And they will go away into eternal punishment, but
the righteous into eternal life."

Commentary:

31-46. The three parables (Matthew 24:42-51; 25:1-13; and 25:14-30) are
completed by the announcement of a rigorous last judgment, a last act
in a drama, in which all matters of justice are resolved. Christian
tradition calls it the Last Judgment, to distinguish it from the
"Particular Judgment" which everyone undergoes immediately after
death. The sentence pronounced at the end of time will simply be a
public, formal confirmation of that already passed on the good and the
evil, the elect and the reprobate.

31-33. In the Prophets and in the Book of Revelation the Messiah is
depicted on a throne, like a judge. This is how Jesus will come at the
end of the world, to judge the living and the dead.

The Last Judgment is a truth spelled out in the very earliest credal
statements of the Church and dogma of faith solemnly defined by
Benedict XII in the Constitution "Benedictus Deus" (29 January 1336).

35-46. All the various things listed in this passage (giving people
food and drink, clothing them, visiting them) become works of Christian
charity when the person doing them sees Christ in these "least" of His
brethren.

Here we can see the seriousness of sins of omission. Failure to do
something which one should do means leaving Christ unattended.

"We must learn to recognize Christ when He comes out to meet us in our
brothers, the people around us. No human life is ever isolated. It is
bound up with other lives. No man or woman is a single verse; we all
make up one divine poem which God writes with the cooperation of our
freedom" ([Blessed] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 111).

We will be judged on the degree and quality of our love (cf. St. John
of the Cross, "Spiritual Sentences and Maxims", 57). Our Lord will ask
us to account not only for the evil we have done but also for the good
we have omitted. We can see that sins of omission are a very serious
matter and that the basis of love of neighbor is Christ's presence in
the least of our brothers and sisters.

St. Teresa of Avila writes: "Here the Lord asks only two things of us:
love for His Majesty and love of our neighbor. It is for these two
virtues that we must strive, and if we attain them perfectly we are
doing His will [...]. The surest sign that we are keeping these two
commandments is, I think, that we should really be loving our neighbor;
for we cannot be sure if we are loving God, although we may have good
reasons for believing that we are, but we can know quite well if we are
loving our neighbor. And be certain that, the farther advanced you
find you are in this, the greater the love you will have for God; for
so dearly does His Majesty love us that He will reward our love for our
neighbor by increasing the love which we bear to Himself, and that in a
thousand ways: this I cannot doubt" ("Interior Castle", V, 3).

This parable clearly shows that Christianity cannot be reduced to a
kind of agency for "doing good". Service of our neighbor acquires
supernatural value when it is done out of love for Christ, when we see
Christ in the person in need. This is why St. Paul asserts that "if I
give away all I have...but have not love, I gain nothing" (1
Corinthians 13:3). Any interpretation of Jesus' teaching on the Last
Judgment would be wide of the mark if it gave it a materialistic
meaning or confused mere philanthropy with genuine Christian charity.

40-45. In describing the exigencies of Christian charity which gives
meaning to "social aid", the Second Vatican Council says: "Wishing to
come to topics that are practical and of some urgency, the Council lays
stress on respect for the human person: everyone should look upon his
neighbor (without any exception) as another self, bearing in mind,
above all, his life and the means necessary for living it in a
dignified way, `lest he follow the example of the rich man who ignored
Lazarus, the poor man' (cf. Luke 16:18-31).

"Today there is an inescapable duty to make ourselves the neighbor of
every man, no matter who he is, and if we meet him, to come to his aid
in a positive way, whether he is an aged person abandoned by all, a
foreign worker despised without reason, a refugee, an illegitimate
child wrongly suffering for a sin he did not commit, or a starving
human being who awakens our conscience by calling to mind the words of
Christ: `As you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you
did it to Me.'" ("Gaudium Et Spes," 27).

46. The eternal punishment of the reprobate and the eternal reward of
the elect are a dogma of faith solemnly defined by the Magisterium of
the Church in the Fourth Lateran Council (1215): "He [Christ] will come
at the end of the world; He will judge the living and the dead; and He
will reward all, both the lost and the elect, according to their
works. And all these will rise with their own bodies which they now
have so that they may receive according to their works, whether good or
bad; the wicked, a perpetual punishment with the devil; the good,
eternal glory with Christ."

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Prayer for the Solemnity of Christ the King