Solemnity of Christ the King Thirty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time ‘A’

We honor Christ as the King of the Universe by allowing Him to take control of our lives. This feast challenges us to see Christ the King in everyone, especially those whom our society considers the least important, and to treat each person with love, mercy and compassion as Jesus did. Scripture lessons:

The First Reading from Ezekiel introduces God as a Shepherd reminding us of Christ’s claim that he is the good-shepherd-king, leading, feeding and protecting his sheep.

In the Second Reading, St. Paul presents Christ as the all-powerful ruler-king Who raises the dead and to whom every form of power and authority must eventually give way.

Today’s Gospel describes Christ the King coming in His Heavenly glory to judge us, based on how we have shared our love and blessings with others through genuine acts of charity in our lives. Jesus is present to us now, not only as our good shepherd leading, feeding and healing his sheep, but also as dwelling in those for whom we care. In the Parable of the Separation of the Sheep from the Goats at the Last Judgment, every person to whom we give ourselves, "whether hungry, thirsty or a stranger, naked, sick or in prison," is revealed to us as having been the risen Jesus. Our reward or punishment depends on how we have recognized and treated this risen Jesus in the needy.

We need to recognize and appreciate Christ’s presence within us and surrender our lives to Christ’s rule. Christ, our King, lives in our hearts and fills our souls with His grace; and so we need to learn to live in His Presence do God's will by sharing His forgiving love with others. Being aware of His presence in the Bible, in the Sacraments and in the worshipping community we need to listen and talk to Him. We also need to learn to be servers. This feast is an invitation to all those who have power or authority in the public or the private realms to bear witness to Him by the way we live. Parents are expected to use their God-given authority to train their children in the ways of committed Christian living.

Jesus came to proclaim to all of us the Good News of God’s love and salvation, gave us His new Commandment of Love: “Love one another as I have loved you,” (Jn 13:34), and demonstrated that love by dying for us sinners. We accept Jesus as our King of love when we love others as Jesus loved, unconditionally, sacrificially and with agape love.