First reading: Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17
Responsorial: Psalm 23:1-2, 2-3, 5-6
Second reading: 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28
Gospel passage: Matthew 25:31-46

'In Christ all shall be brought to life'
By Bishop Richard Henning

Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King, which dates to the first part of the 20th century, when governments were becoming increasingly hostile to the faith. Set against the background of secular ideologies that denied God, this feast celebrated the sovereignty of God and of His only Son, Jesus Christ. For Christian believers, the feast served to remind of their devotion to the Lord above and before any other claim to authority. For oppressive leaders, it was a reminder of their accountability to a higher power. The feast is placed at the end of the liturgical year where is must be considered against a scriptural background of the last things.
 
To speak of sovereignty is to assert the authority and independence of a person or entity. Of course, the Lord is the only true sovereign, the ultimate authority wielded with absolute freedom – the King of kings. But it is also important to attend to the way in which God rules, for there are real differences between the behavior of God and that of human rulers.
 
The first reading makes use of the shepherd metaphor in speaking of God’s exercise of power. Ezekiel compares God’s leadership with that of Israel’s human rulers who had become corrupt and selfish. Rather than care for the sheep, they had taken advantage. In this passage, we hear the Lord speak in very personal terms of his tender care for the flock. He will never use his power to exploit but will seek out and protect the lost and vulnerable. It does not take a very long reading of history to realize how rare this kind of shepherding is in our world where power confers advantage. Here we see God’s authentic leadership and a note of warning to the false leaders who may find themselves among the goats.
 
The words of Psalm 23 provide an excellent response to this passage from Ezekiel. In the much beloved words of this Psalm, we reflect upon this miraculous fact of God’s tender, loving, and providential care for his own. It is a song of confidence in the grace of God and bespeaks the transformation that can occur in those who give themselves over to the sovereignty of the Lord.
 
The Gospel passage from Matthew picks up on the hint of judgment at the end of the Ezekiel verses. This well-known passage serves as the conclusion to Jesus’ final discourse. As we saw last week, this discourse concerns the behavior and attitude of disciples in the time between  the passion death and resurrection but before the final return of the Lord. The passage provides a beautiful call to concrete everyday charitable living and the identification of this concrete charity with the life of faith. Our relationship with the Lord is intimately bound to our relationship with one another.
 
It may be tempting to see this passage as a matter of social justice or of proper moral behavior, but in truth it goes deeper to the very identity of God and that of human beings. The Triune God is by nature communion. We see in God a sharing that overflows with the gift of self. This truth of God’s life finds expression in the unselfish care that God provides across history. This is why the letter of John can assert “God is love” rather than “God loves.” Love is not merely what God does, but is of the very nature of the divine communion.
 
St. Paul speaks of this truth when he writes so movingly of the grace of God which saves and transforms humanity. In this passage from the Letter to the Corinthians, Paul praises God for the gift that has been given in Christ. Here too. Paul will address the end and speak of the Lord’s return, but he is also exhorting the Corinthians in the present. The Christ event begins something new and extraordinary. There is new way of living made possible by the grace of Christ. Death is defeated by more than the hope of eternal life, it is defeated here and now as human beings enter into the communion of the divine life.
 
As we profess our fidelity to the Lord of life in this Feast of Christ the King, we celebrate the identity of our God Who is Shepherd to His people. And we hear our Shepherd teach us to pay attention, as He does, to “the least.” Far from being a new entry in the rule book, this teaching is reminding us of our privileged place in the divine communion. Our care of one another is participation in the life of God. It too is prayer and worship. It is more than a summons to help others, it is a chance to be brought to life in Christ, now and in the kingdom.