Our King Is Come

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, November 26th, 2023:
The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

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Matthew
25.31-46

Jesus said to his disciples: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the Angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.

“Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that 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 something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’

“Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me 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 nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’

“Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

This Sunday (the last Sunday of Ordinary Time) we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King, a reminder that earthly authorities and governments will rise and fall but the kingship of Christ our Lord is eternal! The beauty of this Solemnity is that it leads us to Advent and our time to prepare for the coming of the true king. 

The Gospel reminds us very clearly that this kingship is not about the pomp and circumstance we generally attribute to monarchy. Rather this kingship is about love, and how I live the reality of love in this life will determine how I live eternity with my king! We never want to forget the love and mercy that God has for His people, but we cannot forget that we will be judged on the life we live here, the love we live here. What does that mean? This Gospel tells us: feed the hungry, give drink to those who thirst, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and visit the imprisoned. This is the love God calls me to live out in my daily life. I will not be judged on my pius reflections, my holy prayers, or my great organizational skills. These are good things but, at the end of this life, I will be judged on the love I have shown my neighbours: my family, friends, enemies, and strangers. 

St Teresa of Calcutta said, “We cannot do great things in this world; we can only do small things with great love.” It is not my job to feed every hungry person but to feed the one God puts before me and to do it in the way I am able in my circumstances. I may have time to volunteer somewhere, or I may be able only to hand out little care packages to those who panhandle at the stoplight but, both of these are a response of love for the person God has brought before me. My life here and now is to be lived in such a way that, one day, I may stand before the king and hear him say, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Amen.


​Sr. Teresa MacDonald

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