Ez. 34:11-12, 15-17; Ps. 23:1-3, 5-6; 1 Cor. 15:20-26, 28; Mt. 25:31-46
Viva Christ the King! We come to the end of the liturgical calendar year in celebration of the Lord’s victory over death and the coming of the kingdom of heaven. It is a day of judgment, the separation of the sheep from the goat, the righteous from the accursed. Our celebration is a reminder that we are to live with the end in mind. We are to live our God given purpose for being called a son or daughter of the living God. If in baptism we have died in Christ and today we are reminded to live in service of our baptismal promises?
Last Sunday we were reminded of our responsibilities that come with all the gifts of the Lord in the parable of the “talents”. Today we are reminded the end is coming and we are to be ready to receive the Lord. Readiness requires action just as faith requires trust. We can say “I have faith” but respond in fear. When Peter called on Jesus so he could walk on the sea, he stepped out in faith but began to sink for lack of trust. We often see faith as an act of the mind, to believe in something. Believing is only the first step of faith, then comes to trust in the Lord. Trusting is an act of the will, to step out on the waters of life and take the next right step is true faith.
Just as there is an end of time to come there is also an end of our time as mortals for there is but one human death and then comes judgement. So also, as there is a kingdom of God to come their is a kingdom of God that is already with us in Jesus Christ. When we receive Jesus in the Eucharist we receive the kingdom of God to transform our lives. What our mortal bodies cannot contain is yet to come in the glorified state of heaven. We live and we love in anticipation of something greater that awaits those who live their faith in action.
St. Augustine in a discourse preached we are all to sing to the Lord “not with our lips but with our lives.” It is how we live our lives that makes the most beautiful music to the Lord. The perfect song is sung by our love of God and neighbor. We don’t all have the prefect pitch of voice or can play a musical instrument but we are all given the gift of silence to sing by our actions our faith and trust in God. The Lord leads us today in the gospel where we are to walk in the Lord.
The next right step of faith God calls us is to act in the care of those in need. The love of God is seen in the love of neighbor. Even among the faithful today we see in the reading that the Lord “will judge between one sheep and another”. What does this mean? The Lord’s judgment at death is immediate between the souls of the just all according to how we served the Lord. We have this idea that heaven is this one place we all go to and some even believe there is no hell. Wrong! That is the first separation to come.
We also see in the angels that there are different levels of angelic choirs. Jesus tells us “In my Father’s house are many dwelling places” he is going to prepare for us. Not all are the same place as we have not all lived the same virtuous life. God promises a new body one where the flesh is no longer resistant to the spirit. Today the spirit desires to come to church but the flesh wants to stay in bed and sleep. The resurrected body will be one with the spirit giving glory to God.
Christ’s victory over death was not for himself but for all humanity. We recall that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was made flesh. Jesus victory over death is also a victory over the cause of death which is sin. It is a victory over the spiritual death of sin and the mortal death of the body to give us an eternal incorruptible body that desires the glorified state of heaven. In the glorified state we will each shine with the light according to the virtues we lived on this earth. There is nothing I shall want of this world when we give ourselves over to our King.
Psalm 23 is one of the most read at funerals. It reminds us that we are to live for the Lord. It also reminds us that we don’t take anything of this world with us when we die. Our desire is for the riches of heaven. The riches come when we follow Christ our shepherd and king. These are the spiritual riches that bring us joy, peace, and love.
I sometimes share the story of the death of my mother who died December 12, 1997, the day of the apparition of the Virgen de Guadalupe. I was working at the hospital when I got the call that she did not look well and to come home. We had been taking care of her at home expecting these to be her final days. When I arrived at home, she was awake and alert but in cold sweat and in agony. Suddenly she sat up and pointed to the ceiling and said “look, look!” I asked her what did she see but she only responded “look!”. I asked again, do you see angels, Blessed Mary, Jesus? She just said “Yes, look”. Then she laid back in bed and died.
As soon as she died snow started falling outside her window. This was Harlingen Texas and we all know snow is rare for us. The news reported that just for a few hours it had snowed in Harlingen before it melted away. For Harlingen it was an anomaly, but for us it was a moment in which heaven touched earth and gave us a sign from heaven.
“Ground Zero” is taken as a place where many innocent people died a tragic death. It becomes a place that is memorialized for generations to come and remember. Our “ground zero” is the Mass where we recall the death of Christ for all his people. Here we memorialize the death of Christ and celebrate the victory over death through Christ. Here we bring our humanity to die to self and rise to God’s divinity. Here is our victory.
Viva Christ the King.
Recent Comments