November 26, 2017 - Homily for Solemnity of Christ the King – Last Sunday of the Liturgical Year - Matthew 25:31-46, Ezekiel 34: 11-12, 15-17

        If one thinks about the great emperors or kings who have governed throughout history, perhaps Alexander the Great comes to mind, even though he lived 4 centuries before Christ.   Alexander wanted to rule the world; he even called himself the “King of Kings”.  His empire eventually included a great deal of the ancient world, from his native Greece to India, Egypt, and the Holy Land.  Alexander had a great intellect, with the renowned philosopher Aristotle serving as a tutor.  Alexander’s military strategy is still studied by military leaders today.  He was very good at rallying his troops and gaining their loyalty.  There is a story told of Alexander’s travels in the deserts of Persia.  His army ran out of water; an intolerable thirst seized them as they traveled under the hot desert sun.  Some of Alexander’s lieutenants captured some precious water from a caravan passing through the desert.  They brought the water to Alexander in one of the soldier’s helmet.  Alexander asked if there was enough water to give to the troops, but he was told that there was only enough for him alone to have a drink.  Alexander lifted up the helmet as his men watched him intently, but instead of drinking the precious water, he poured the water on the ground. His men let out a great shout, knowing that Alexander would not allow them to suffer anything he was unwilling to suffer himself.  Alexander the Great proved many times why he was viewed as such a great king. 

       In our modern world, we think of a king as someone having great power and strength. But all the kings and emperors who led the great empires and kingdoms here on earth, including Alexander the Great, pale in comparison to Christ, the true King of Kings. Yet, as we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King today at the end of our Church’s liturgical year, we don’t have readings about Christ’s power and might, but rather we hear about a leader who is a humble shepherd who tends his flock and gathers his scattered sheep.  A lot of the values of our world call out to us to acquire wealth, to seek power, to assert ourselves over others. Yet, Christ offers us another way.  We follow a leader who wore a crown of thorns, who sought to love rather than to dominate, who sought out solidarity with the poor rather than alliances with the rich and powerful, who led a group of 12 humble apostles rather than a powerful army.  It is by these values that Jesus lived on earth that we will be judged at the end of days: by how we gave Jesus something to eat when he was hungry, how we clothed him in his time of need, how we visited him when he was ill or in prison, how we welcomed him when he was a stranger. 

      There is so much about our faith that perhaps we struggle to understand. Even with some doctrines and teachings of the Church that we understand on the surface, we sometimes have a hard time applying them to the real life situations that confront us in life. The great 11th century philosopher, St Anselm of Canterbury, called it faith seeking understanding, meaning that out of the active love we have for God, we seek a deeper understanding of God as we live out our faith in our lives.  Out of our faith, we are to seek a personal experience of God, a personal encounter in which we can truly say that Christ is our king and shepherd.  In that way, Jesus to be more than a noun in our lives – Jesus needs to be a verb, an action word that we live out.  Yes, there is so much we search for in our faith, so much we don’t understand, but Jesus as our shepherd and king is a verb of action that calls us to a way of life.  Jesus calls us to an active, life-giving relationship with him as our Lord and Savior.  In living out the spirit of Christ’s presence, the spirit of the Eucharist that nurtures our faith, we are to bring our faith into action, to reach out and serve our brothers and sisters, especially the least in our society.  We are called to be welcoming and hospitable, to be a good listeners, to be witnesses who are willing to share our own story and who encourage others to tell their stories.  We are called to share the concerns of our hearts with others, to follow the ways that the Spirit calls us, to make the connection between Jesus’ life and ministry with our own lives. 
       We may see a child on the streets who is hungry and uncared for, but we may think, “Well, that’s not my child.”  We may be confronted with the widow or the elder who is lonely and crying out in a time of loss, but we may think, “Well, that’s not my mom.”  We may see the homeless man who is all dirty and unshaven, standing in line at the soup kitchen to get something to eat, mumbling some incomprehensible words, but we may think, “Well, that’s not my dad.”  It is easy in our busy daily lives to not see these things, to not care, to be oblivious to the hurt, pain, and misery around us. In the Gospel, both the righteous and the unsaved ask the same question, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, sick, imprisoned, or naked?”  Jesus asks us to see the world through the lens of our faith. Jesus asks us to respond out of our faith.  We can do so through the grace of God.  We can do so only with Jesus as the Good Shepherd, and the King of Kings.