Jesus seeks us as a shepherd, will judge us as a king

Christ the King, Year A
First Reading: Ez 34:11-12, 15-17
Second Reading: 1 Cor 15:20-26, 28
Gospel Reading: Mt 25:31-46

This Sunday's Preface summarizes what we believe about Christ's kingship: "Father, ... you anointed Jesus Christ, your only Son, ... as the eternal priest and universal king .... As king he claims dominion over all creation, that he may present to you, his almighty Father, an eternal and universal kingdom: a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love, and peace."

The word “Christ” comes from the Greek translation of “Messiah,” which means "anointed." In ancient Israel, people given a special mission by God were consecrated to him by being anointed with oil. This included kings, priests, and, in rare cases, prophets.

"Christ" became part of Jesus' name because Jesus accomplished perfectly His God-given mission to "restore fallen man to his original vocation," says the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

In fact, St. Irenaeus says, the name "Christ" implies not only "he who was anointed," but also "he who anointed" and "the very anointing with which he was anointed."

"The one who anointed is the Father," he explains; "the one who was anointed is the Son; and he was anointed with the Spirit, who is the anointing." Jesus' consecration was revealed at his baptism by John, when the voice of the Father was heard from the heavens and the Holy Spirit was seen descending like a dove.

This Sunday, the Solemnity of Christ the King, the Church invites us to broaden our horizons so that we see things "in the perspective of Christ," said Pope St. John Paul II in his 1994 encyclical Tertio Millennio Adveniente. That means "in the perspective of the Father, who is in heaven, from whom the Lord was sent and to whom he has returned."

As we hear in this Sunday's liturgy, God has searched for us and cared for us throughout human history, like a shepherd with his sheep, giving us every opportunity to turn to him and every aid we need to follow him. Eventually, he will "judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats."

Christ the King will "sit on the throne of his glory," judging every man, woman, and child who has ever lived, separating people one from another "as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats." He will invite those who are "blessed" by his Father into his kingdom forever; he will banish the "accursed" into the "eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." After that, St. Paul says, he will hand over his kingdom to God the Father, "so that God may be all in all."

Thus "the whole of the Christian life is like a great pilgrimage to the house of the Father, whose unconditional love for every human creature, and in particular for the prodigal son, we discover anew each day," the Pope said. "This pilgrimage takes place in the heart of each person, extends to the believing community, and then reaches to the whole of humanity."

A priest I know often asks penitents to say the Our Father for a penance, meditating particularly on the words "thy kingdom come." Do we really want God's kingdom established here on earth? Do we really nourish "the blessed hope" of "the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ," as we say at every Mass? If so, what should we be doing to ensure that we will be counted among the "blessed" and not the "accursed"?

The Pope gives the answer in his encyclical: "The sense of being on a journey to the Father should encourage everyone to undertake, by holding fast to Christ the Redeemer of man, a journey of authentic conversion."

This Sunday, the last of the present liturgical year, let us pray, with our whole hearts, the final prayer of the Mass: "Help us to live by his Gospel and bring us to the joy of his kingdom, where he lives and reigns for ever and ever."