The Shepherd King

Today is the last Sunday of the liturgical year. Next week Advent begins and we start all over again with Cycle B and the Gospel of Mark. The Church ends the year by putting everything in its proper place: Christ is King of the Universe. After a whole year of following Jesus through his birth, ministry, death, and resurrection, we finish by looking at who he really is and what kind of king he is.

And it is a very different kind of king than we might expect. In Ezekiel (Ez 34:11-12, 15-17), God says, “I myself will look after and tend my sheep.” God doesn’t send someone else. Godgoes out personally to find the lost, bring back the strays, bandage the injured, and heal the sick. The people had been scattered by leaders who looked out for themselves, and God’s answer is simple: I’ll do it myself.

In the second reading (1 Cor 15:20-26, 28), Paul adds that Christ’s reign is also a fight against everything that harms us, and the last enemy is death. Christ is the “firstfruits,” the first of a harvest still to come, and he keeps reigning until nothing is left that can hurt us. Then he hands everything back to the Father, “so that God may be all in all.” It is a fitting thought for the end of the year, since the whole story of the liturgical year is heading toward this.

Then the Gospel (Mt 25:31-46) tells us what this King cares about most. All the nations are gathered before him, and he divides them into two groups, as a shepherd separates sheep from goats. Those on his right inherit the kingdom; those on his left are sent away. And the dividing line isn’t their achievements. He asks whether they fed the hungry, welcomed the stranger, and visited the sick and the imprisoned. He says, “Whatever you did for one of the least of my brothers, you did for me.” What is striking is that both groups are surprised. Nobody realized they were meeting the King in those ordinary moments.

The year ends with Christ on the throne, and it begins next week with Christ in a manger. The same King who rules the universe is the one who comes to us, small and close, asking only that we make room.

Faith Sharing Questions:

1.When you hear “Christ the King,” what image comes to mind? How do today’s readings support or challenge that image?

2.Which of the shepherd’s actions speaks to you most right now: seeking the lost, bringing back the strayed, binding up the injured, or healing the sick? Why?

3.In the Gospel, both the sheep and the goats are surprised that Christ was in the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, etc. Why do you think neither group recognized Christ in the people around them?