DOCTRINE AND FAITH(Ezek 34,11-12.15-17; 1 Cor 15,20-26.28; Matt 25,31-46: Solemnity of Christ the King: Year A 2017)
Today, the universal Church celebrates the solemnity of Christ the King. The liturgy of today presents as the theme of our meditation, the image of God as the Good Shepherd. Further reflection will make us see Jesus as a shepherd-king and judge-king. He affirms: I am the Good Shepherd and in the gospel today, he sits in judgement to judge all people. The metaphor Good Shepherd aptly characterises both God’s concern and God’s personal intervention in shepherding his flock, the people of Israel. The first reading describes how God fulfils the role of shepherd primarily, in two ways by caring for the sheep and by separating the good from the bad. God’s first words are self-proclamation: I will tend my sheep. There is no intermediary here; God is immediately involved. Since the flock is described as scattered, he will carefully look for the sheep, implying that they must first be found before they can be cared for. Once the scattered sheep have been rescued and brought together the attentive shepherd feeds the flock and provides them with the security and rest they need. He appears to be particularly interested in the most vulnerable sheep of the flock, those that were lost or strayed and, those that are injured or sick. Even though, the sheep was formerly neglected, now the sheep is under the supervision of the owner, who is a good shepherd.
The image of God as the Shepherd is taken up by the responsorial Psalm. In order to fulfil this role well, God as the shepherd will discharge the following responsibilities: to find pasture that will provide enough grazing and abundant water for the flock, to lead them without allowing any of the sheep to stray and be lost, to guard them from predators and dangers of any kind, and to attend to their every need. The personal dimension of the psalm shifts the care given to the entire flock to concern for one individual, making God’s care a very intimate matter. Not only are the physical needs of the psalmist satisfied, but the soul, the very life force of the person, is renewed. The guidance of the shepherd is more than provident, it is moral as well. The psalmist is led in the paths of righteousness and this is done for the sake of the Lord’s name. This righteousness, because it stems from the covenant kindness (hesed), is enduring and not a passing sentiment. In addition, the Lord spreads a banquet in honour of the psalmist where even his foes are entertained. This feast, not only provides nourishment but is also a public witness to God’s high regard for the psalmist who will continue to enjoy God’s favour in God’s house.
The metaphor of the Good Shepherd elaborated above from the first reading and the responsorial psalm fits the garb of Jesus Christ, who in the gospel of John, affirmed: I am the good shepherd (Chapter 10 of the gospel of John). His coming into the world was to continue shepherding the people of God for whose sake he died on the cross. He put into practice what he enunciated in John 10,11: The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. Jesus is, therefore, the shepherd-king who is victorious over death which is the last of the enemies to be conquered as today’s second reading puts it: The last enemy to be conquered is death. The victory over death is realised by his resurrection by which Christ is the first fruit of all those who rise from the death. As the first-fruit of the dead, the risen Christ is the most forceful expression of life after death, and his resurrection contains the promise of resurrection for all who are joined to him. Christ is not king unto himself. His earthly life was a submission to God and when all things must have come under him as the king of the universe, he himself will still submit himself to God who put every thing under him. Christ does not desire the kingship for himself but for the glory and honour of the Father. He was not covetous for kingly power but had only desired to offer his life and make love take root in people’s heart for the glory of God, the Father.
Christ is a king who came into the world to inaugurate the kingdom or reign of God with his blood. Even though this kingdom has its roots in the election of Israel as the people and flock of God, the kingdom Christ founded was an inclusive kingdom. Its embrace is as comprehensive as God’s embrace. Criteria for membership are not merely based on obedience to the commandments or on conformity to ritual obligation, but also on the covenantal bonds that unite us to one another. These are bonds of love and concern, bonds that reach deep into the human heart. The gospel story lays bare the genuineness of such concern. Assistance is given whenever and wherever there is need. It is given on ordinary acts: in giving food and drink, shelter and clothing, spending time with someone who might be lonely or afraid, hospitalised or imprisoned, in thanking people for their services, in greeting and cheering up one who is depressed, in showing kindness to beggars and street children and nowadays street men and women, etc. The kingdom of God is established, brick by brick, through these simple acts of kindness. If this is the kingdom we establish during our lifetime, this will be the kingdom into which we shall be welcomed at its end.
What we do for others we do for Christ because Christ is identified with those in need. We seldom see the face of the glorified Christ in the faces of the needy. We often make the mistake of picking and choosing those whom we help, those who fit into the standards we have set. The rest we consider the refuse of the earth, the unavoidable flotsam (people or things that have been rejected or discarded as worthless) of life’s misfortune. These are precisely the ones with whom Christ is identified. He looks out to us through their eyes. It is his hands that reaches out for assistance. He is the one who tests our patience and generosity. It is through them that we enter the kingdom of God which Christ came to establish and whose eternal king he is.
In the end, Christ will have conquered all. Having entered into the frailty of human nature, having identified himself with the needy of the world, having handed himself over to death and having risen from the dead, Christ would have conquered all. It is a curious kingdom he has won. It is not a kingdom of the strong but of the weak. Hence he has turned the standards of the world upside down. He has shown that it does not take strength to ignore or to exploit the needy, but it does take strength to overcome our own selfishness in order to serve them. The kingdom Christ hands over to God is a kingdom of love and care. The one in whose hands the kingdom resides and who will act as judge, is characterised as a shepherd. These readings which contain hard themes such a Christ’s death and punishment in eternal fires, depict God as a tender and loving shepherd. The shepherd does not punish those who are lost but instead seeks them and lovingly carries them to safety. Jesus who is our king and judge, is the shepherd who has given himself for his sheep. Therefore in this Eucharistic celebration let us ask God for the grace, like Christ, to be ready always to show love and kindness to our neighbours. Happy Solemnity of Christ, the King! Happy Sunday. +John I. Okoye
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