Saturday, November 25, 2017
34th and Last Sunday in Ordinary Time
November 26, 2017 - 34th and Last Sunday in Ordinary Time
CHRIST THE KING
Solemnity, White
Ez 34: 11 - 12, 15 - 17 / 1 Cor 15: 20 - 26, 28 / Mt 25: 31 – 46
Originally instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925 on the last Sunday of October, the Solemnity of Christ the King was transferred to the last Sunday of the liturgical year by Bl. Pope Paul VI in 1969.
FROM THE FIRST READING: Ez 34: 15- 17
I myself will tend my sheep and let them rest, word of Yahweh. I will search for the lost and lead back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the fat and strong will be eliminated. I will shepherd my flock with justice. As for you, my flock, says Yahweh, I will distinguish one sheep and another, and set apart rams and goats
From the GOSPEL READING: Mt 25: 31 - 40
Jesus said, "When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all his angels, he will sit on the throne of his Glory. All the nations will be brought before him, and as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, so will he do with them, placing the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
"The King will say to those on his right: 'Come, blessed of my Father! Take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. For I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me into your house. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to see me.'
"Then the good people will ask him: 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you food; thirsty and give you drink; or a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to see you?' The King will answer, 'Truly, I say to you: whenever you did this to these little ones who are my brothers and sisters, you did it to me."
REFLECTION
Reading Ezekiel and Matthew, I was intrigued with the repetition of "I" and "you."
Several verses before our Ezekiel reading, the Lord criticizes the shepherds of Jerusalem: "You consumed [your flock's] milk, wore wool, and slaughtered fatlings, but the flock you did not pasture. You did not strengthen the weak nor heal the sick nor bind up the injured. You did not bring back the stray or seek the lost but ruled them harshly and brutally.'' The repeated word is "You."
And in our present reading, because you, shepherds of Jerusalem, did not do your duty, therefore I, the Lord, (and I is mentioned repeatedly) will be the shepherd for my flock! God himself, not human shepherds, will be the shepherd. The human shepherds are left out!
In Matthew we similarly find the repetition of "I" and "you" "I" refers to Jesus; "you" refers to the audience of Jesus: For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, etc.
And at the end, Jesus says, "whenever you did this to these little ones who are my brothers and sisters, you did it to me."
The "I" referring to Jesus is mystically and sacramentally identified with the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, and prisoner, and for as long as "you" - anyone who feeds the hungry, gives drink to the thirsty, visits the sick, "you," anyone, does it to Jesus, in reality to God himself.
And so unlike in Ezekiel where human shepherds are put aside, in Matthew, both God and man are re-connected, made one, as in "atonement," that is "at-one-ment." Be at one with God and with others on this Solemnity of Christ the King, be with him and others always and forever.
WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER INTENTIONS:
BIRTHDAY
ANTONIO C. CHOA
CHERRY RICANOR
FLYNN DOMINIC A. SAW
PAUL CUYEGKENG
WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
CARLOS & CARREN J. PINEDA
IN MEMORIAM (†)
CHAN TAT MIN
REMEDIOS PUN
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
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