Feast of Christ the King - Sunday Gospel Reflection

November 22^nd 2020. Feast of Christ the King.

GOSPEL: Matthew 25: 31-46

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Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini broadcast on Vatican Radio

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Don Fabio’s homily follows the Gospel and summary

GOSPEL: Matthew 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 GOSPEL OF THE LORD: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Summary . . . On this feast of Christ the King, the parable proclaimed by Jesus speaks of a curious sort of universal judgement. It is a judgement on those who never knew Christ during their earthly lives. Christians often worry about how those who don’t know Christ might be redeemed. This parable shows us that those who show compassion towards the poor and needy will be saved. During the Great Jubilee of 2000, St John Paul II asked the wealthy nations of the world to forgive the debts of the poorer nations. This appeal to human solidarity, to the human heart, is something that can be addressed to any human being. The poor of the earth are an entrance ticket to heaven for all of humanity, regardless of religious profession! However, this leaves us with a question. Where do Christians stand in all of this? Matthew’s Gospel has five great discourses. This one here is the last, and the very next verse is the beginning of the Passion! The first discourse – the Sermon on the Mount – begins with the Beatitudes, and this is all about the poor in spirit, the meek, those who mourn. Then, during the Passion, it is Christ himself who becomes the one who thirsts, the one who is stripped naked, the one who is imprisoned and abandoned. As Christians, we are called to follow Christ, to resemble him, to become the least for the sake of the Kingdom. IN SUMMARY: When we show solidarity to the little ones, we minister to Christ. We are all called to this, Christians and non-Christians alike. But Christians are called to something more, to identify with Christ, to take up our crosses and abandon ourselves to his providence. Then we become little ones ourselves, united to Christ and sharing in his life.

The entrance ticket to the Kingdom of God

Many people will only meet Christ at the end of time, when He will be the authentic measure of every person. At that time, he will show himself for what he is, the King, having already met them and being treated well by them. And they will object, “But no, it can't be, we've never seen you before!” He will reply, "In truth I tell you, everything you did to one of these least of my brothers, you did to me". Many times we have asked ourselves how people who do not know the Lord are saved, but the answer is in this text. Our basic humanity tells us that the hungry and thirsty must be helped; all the poor of the earth must be cared for. It is not necessary to be a Christian to do these things, it is enough to be human. And if it is true that loving God and loving neighbor are the same command, here is a reflection of it. The disadvantaged of the earth are our ticket to heaven. To despise them is to despise heaven, but people often do not realise this until they find themselves in the next world.

Jesus begins his first discourse speaking about the little ones, and he finishes his last discourse speaking about the little ones.

One thing remains to be clarified: what about Christians? Where are they in this text? Christians are those who were made into God’s children by baptism. They are the little brothers and sisters of Jesus, the firstborn of those who overcome death. In the parable, Jesus talks about the “least of my brothers”. These brothers - the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the imprisoned - are really Christ's disciples. We can see this more clearly if we consider that the Gospel of Matthew is built on the five great discourses of Jesus. Sunday’s passage is the last of the discourses, and the verse immediately following this text, is the first line of the account of the Passion! What were the opening words of the first discourse? We know them well, we heard them recently on the feast of All Saints: they are the Beatitudes. In this discourse, the poor, the hungry, the thirsty, the mourners, the persecuted, all are proclaimed blessed. We are talking about the same people. In the first discourse of Jesus, these little ones are the ones who possess the Kingdom of Heaven, and in the last discourse they are the passport to heaven.

Through the Cross, we become the “least of Christ’s brothers”. In other words, we become united to him by taking up our cross and following him. So, if non-Christians can minister to Christ by their care of the least, we Christians can be united to Christ by becoming the least.

But why are these people considered the “least” brothers of Jesus? Because they are like their master, Jesus. In the passion - which begins a verse later – he will be mistreated, stripped, be reduced to thirst and weakness, be imprisoned ... and through all of this he will open the Kingdom of Heaven. Let's summarize: if we act out of our basic humanity, performing the corporal works of mercy, these works will decide the character of our life. By caring for and looking after the poor of this world, we come into contact with the Lord. These works don’t make us a Christian, but human. We become Christian through the cross. The things that cause horror, poverty, sickness, persecution - these are the places that manifest the life that Christ has given us. A life that is stronger than the void. Our humanity is a call to solidarity. Our cross is the place where we become one with Christ. There, in abandonment, we become a piece of heaven. We become Christians.