Mgr Enrique Díaz Díaz shares with the readers of Exaudi his reflection on the Gospel for this Sunday, 26 November 2023, entitled: “He will sit on his glorious throne and turn one away from another.”
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Ezekiel 34, 11-12. 15-17: “I will judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats“.
Psalm 22: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”
I Corinthians 15:20-26. 28: “Christ will give the kingdom to his Father so that God may be all in all things“.
Matthew 25, 31-46: “He will sit on his glorious throne and will separate one from the other“.
Strong, challenging and of paramount importance is the Gospel of this day. It is the last Sunday of the liturgical year and is given a sense of completeness, crowning it with the most important and central part of the whole teaching of Jesus. That is why it culminates with this feast of Christ the King, which specifies and highlights the centrality of his message. When Jesus was asked what was most important for the Kingdom, he always gave a clear answer, which today highlights it in a special way. Christ had already stated which was the greatest of the commandments, he had already referred to the law and the prophets, but now, in a description of the final judgement, he comes to point out that all the other commandments will have no foundation if love for the least and insignificant is not discovered. So great is this commandment that Jesus does not hesitate to identify Himself and point out that the love or contempt that has been had with them, with Himself, has been had. The astonishment and bewilderment of those who have been judged favourably or those who have been condemned can give us an idea of how difficult it is to fulfil this commandment at that time, but especially in our world today.
The feast of Christ the King stands in stark contrast to a people celebrating their quest for freedom, equality and justice, far removed from concepts of kingship or aristocratic government. Far removed from the concept of the Kingdom of God is anyone who seeks to compare Christ with the kings who thus rule the world. In fact, the Gospel narrative leads us to a constant interchange between the figure of the king and the shepherd. At certain moments it is not clear whether it is the Son of Man who leads and separates, or whether it is the shepherd who judges, condemns and rewards. And shepherd in the full sense: the one who goes before the sheep, the one who lays down his life for them, the one who knows each one by name. We should leave behind the false concept of king applied to Jesus, sometimes with good intentions, and remember each of his words and actions in order to understand his true kingship. The times he accepted to be king or to be proclaimed as king, never had the political sense of power or wealth that many would like to give him. He speaks of another kingship, far removed from the way of kings and rulers who oppress the people. He manifests himself as the king who gives life, who hastens to be the first to serve, and who appears as the least.
Our senses can dazzle us and obscure the true face of this King. And Jesus reminds us of this in a dramatic way in this narrative. The King, God, can only be reached through the concrete faces of our brothers and sisters. The faces of the poor – the poor in bread, the poor in health, the poor in love – are the most beautiful manifestation of the face of God. Today, we must let the Spirit speak from within us and help us to discover the true face of Jesus. Applying the parable to our world today, it is clear that Jesus is not only referring to works of charity that appease our conscience: a glass of water here; a loaf of bread left over for the hungry; a piece of old cloth for a charity. The Spirit will help us to discover the face of Jesus-brother in each person who suffers and will impel us to seek not only to alleviate a momentary need but to become seriously involved in the building of his kingdom. The true disciple of the Kingdom will not be dazzled by appearances but will seek to build a free, democratic, just and fraternal society. In the final and decisive moment to know whether we are faithful to the Gospel of Jesus, the parameters on which we will be judged are very clear. If we have truly started from the contemplation of Christ, we must know how to discover this, especially in the faces of those with whom he himself wished to identify himself.
The criterion or measure Jesus uses to distinguish who are his own is very clear: it is the attitude of love or indifference towards those most in need. The Church of recent times has realised that it will be faithful to Jesus only when it takes this commitment seriously. All its action and mission are at stake in the love of the poor. The option for the poor springs from this demand of Jesus and is the best way to formulate for our society and our world the words of Jesus. Is it difficult to discover Jesus in the poor, the hungry and the needy? Do we keep them out of our sight so that they do not hurt our feelings? There are those who, seeking to appear to be a progressive, clean and welcoming society, “hide” and marginalise them, so that they are not seen and recognised. Are we not hiding and marginalising Jesus so that he does not touch our hearts? Jesus’ commandment and his selection criteria are not arbitrary or accommodating, they spring from the depths of his mission. If he was sent to speak to us of a loving Father, if he teaches us that the life of a little one is worth his own life, if the sign will be love, we ourselves are condemning ourselves for our short-sightedness which does not allow us to discover the face of God in every brother. We will have to get used to discovering the face of a king in every brother who suffers and to treat him as a king, because in that face Jesus is revealed.
It is the last day of the liturgical year, and we are invited to think about the final day. Now we have to review our lives very well, if they have the meaning and the look that Jesus asks of us to be truly his disciples. Do we recognise him in our brothers and sisters? Do we look at his face in the tired and unenthusiastic faces of the poor? Are we building the Kingdom with and from the poor? Are we capable of recognising the face of Jesus in the least of these? If not, we will be missing the point in our discipleship and following of Jesus. It is not enough to shout Long live Christ the King! We have to recognise Him where He tells us that He is most present: in the poor.
Good Father, who willed to found all things on your beloved Son, King of the universe, and who has left us in the poor a presence of his, grant that every creature, freed from slavery, may serve your majesty and praise you eternally. Amen
