Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
(Ezekiel 34:11-12.15-17; I Corinthians 15:20-26.28; Matthew
25:31-46)
The prophet Ezekiel draws our attention for several reasons.
He uses exotic images like the dry bones that form a new people. Also,
Ezekiel's prophecies are almost always narratives of his personal relations with
God. Furthermore, Ezekiel speaks of the new Temple in Jerusalem as the focus of
the encounter with God. Finally, Ezekiel reveals that God will not judge
nations but individuals according to their deeds. This last thing is the
message of the first reading today.
Ezekiel speaks of the personal care that God provides for
his sheep. He says that God will seek out the lost and bind up the wounded.
More to the point of the gospel, he emphasizes that God will judge his sheep,
one by one. He will not reward or punish the whole nation for the sum of their deeds. Rather, as a judge in court judges one for
one’s personal crimes, God will judge each man and woman according to his and
her own acts.
In the gospel Jesus indicates that at the end of time this
prophecy of Ezekiel will be fulfilled. He himself will come as the
shepherd-king. As king, one of his duties will be to act as the final arbiter
in the affairs of his subjects. Therefore, he will judge everyone in his
kingdom which now includes the entire world. He will use our good works as
individuals as the criterion of his judgment. If you have continually fed the
hungry and given drink to the thirsty, if you have welcomed strangers and
clothed the naked, and if you have visited the sick and the imprisoned, you
will be rewarded with a place in the Kingdom. But if you have ignored those in these
and other precarious situations, you will be thrown into hell.
In his coming Jesus will not only fulfill the prophecy of
Ezekiel but also the parables that we have heard the last two Sundays. We
remember how only the young women who kept their lamps lit signifying their
good works participated in the Lord's wedding. Also last Sunday Jesus spoke
about the servants who used their talents for the good of the Kingdom as
entering into the joy of the Lord.
We should be relieved that Jesus is not going to judge
everyone globally because our generation would likely be judged among the most
depraved. An example of the depravity that exists today is our profanation of
the Incarnation of the Lord. During the Christmas season, many do not share the
peace and joy of having the Savior of the world in our midst. Rather they make
it a time of greed and overindulgence. “Black Friday” fully indicates the corruption.
On this day people mostly think about new acquisitions for their own homes. May
we rather show good to all with our mind’s eye fixed on the baby born in the
stable and adored by the shepherds.
With this passage about the final judgment we finish our
reading of the Gospel according to Matthew on Sundays. We have learned how
Jesus is the Son of God, who has come to save all men and women from sin. We
have also seen how he founded his Church to be a righteous and egalitarian
community with Peter as its principal mainstay and the apostles and their
successors as its leaders. Finally we have heard his command for us to go
throughout the world as the light of his truth and his love.
