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.”
Homily: There’s still time to make it right.
Today we begin the final week of our liturgical year. Today we say goodbye to St Matthew, who, as our Sunday evangelist for Cycle A, has taught us and guided us through our salvation history for the last twelve months. Next weekend a new liturgical year begins, Cycle B, and St Mark will take over this sacred duty of teaching and guiding us. How appropriate then, as we come to the final Sunday of our liturgical year, that we have this final reading from Matthew that describes the final day of human history, when all will stand before the Throne of Christ, the King, for the final judgment.
The Solemnity of Christ the King is a fairly new celebration in our liturgical calendar. It was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925—so it’s less than a hundred years old. In his encyclical, Quas primas, he explains why we need this celebration. He wrote it at a time when the world was still trying to recover from the devastation of World War I, which had thrown Europe into chaos and shattered the world’s hope for unlimited progress and peace based solely on science and human reason. It was also a few years after the Russian Revolution, that had given birth to the world’s first explicitly atheist totalitarian regime: Soviet communism. Everywhere the pope looked, he saw societies abandoning their Christian values and heritage, while they tried to build a paradise on earth without God. Today’s celebration reminds us that the human race needs a powerful King who is just and merciful, who alone can bring us peace and fulfillment, and who will make all things right at the end of time.
The lesson we learn today from Matthew’s Gospel is that the best way to honor the King of the Universe is by helping him alleviate the pain and suffering of others. Why is it so good to help the needy and so wrong to deny them help? Because, according to Christ, our King and our Judge, what is done, or not done, to the needy is done, or not done, to him. When we neglect someone in need, we are neglecting God. When we ease someone’s suffering, we are easing God’s suffering. This surprising message helps all of us pay attention to those who suffer. There’s no true religion, no progressive politics, no responsible proclamation of human rights if they’re not defending the needy, easing their suffering and restoring their dignity. In each person who is suffering, Jesus himself comes to meet us; he looks at us; he questions us; and he challenges us. Nothing brings us closer to God than when we learn to gaze with compassion on the face of one who is suffering. There’s no other place we can recognize more truly the face of Jesus.
Having offered this truth to you today, I also feel compelled to remind you to be wise and prudent in your desire to help those in need. In Matthew 10:16, Jesus tells us to “be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.” This means that we’re always supposed to have a heart full of compassion and mercy toward those in need, but we’re also supposed to be smart about it. For example, if you see a person on a street corner begging for money, and he has a cigarette in one hand and the latest iPhone in the other, you might want to think twice before handing him your cash. It’s a fact that when people are desperate they will do desperate things—just be smart about helping others.
Finally, by giving us this liturgical celebration, Holy Mother Church reminds us that there will come a day when human history will end, and the entire human race will all stand before the Throne of Christ, the King of the Universe to be judged. At that final judgment, I imagine the Lord asking each of us only one question: “How did you show your love for me?” If we respond, “By serving you in the poor and the suffering,” then we will hear these words from Christ that were offered in last week’s Gospel, “Well done good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master.” If you don’t think you’re ready to answer this question correctly, well, there’s still time to make it right.