“A Kingship of Care and Service”
Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
King of the Universe
Today’s responsorial psalm reminds me of the Sunday School teacher who decided to have her young class memorize Psalm 23 and gave them a month to do so. Little Johnny, one the boys in the class, was very excited about the task but he just could not remember the Psalm. After much practice, he could barely get past the first line. On the day that the kids were scheduled to recite Psalm 23 in front of the whole congregation, Johnny was very nervous. When it was his turn, he stepped to the microphone and said proudly, “The Lord is my shepherd, and that’s all I need to know.”
In the most basic sense, Johnny got it! All we really need to know is that the Lord is our shepherd. And that he cares for us. The first reading from Ezekiel is filled with words and phrases that exhibit this care: “look after”; “tend”; “rescue”; “pasture”; “give them rest”; “seek out”; “bring back”; “bind up the injured”; “heal the sick”.
The kingship of Christ that we celebrate today is a kingship of care. Care for all but particularly for the least ones: the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the ill, the ones in prison. The disciples are invited to care for these because in doing so they care for Jesus who identifies with these least ones. Today’s feast both consoles as well as challenges us. We are consoled by the Lord’s care for us; the good and the bad, which is indeed comforting during these days of the pandemic. At the same time, we are reminded that we are called to care for one another, particularly the least among us.
Every year, the archbishop asks a great deal from us in relation to the Catholic Services Appeal Campaign, and with all those other special collections, and all the other endeavors; the Food Pantry collection, Bounty of Hope, Angel tree, etc. But it is these endeavors that we unite ourselves with this Caring King, Jesus Christ, with whom we align ourselves each time we gather at this table.
Christ represented the ideal human being, the best of what human beings can be. God created the universe, of whom Jesus is named King, to share divine life and love.
In this model of creation, human beings came into existence so that there would be creatures with the ability to experience what it is to love and to be loved. But a vital part of that ability to love is freedom, for love can never be forced. The highest example of love is freely accepted self-sacrifice of the sort shown by parents for their children and lovers for one another
On the cross, Christ became the ideal, the greatest example of self-sacrifice freely accepted out of love, not for one or two or a few people, but for every human being in history.
As the King of the Universe, Christ taught us to judge by our service, especially our service to those most in need. Hunger, thirst, nakedness are immediate needs requiring immediate action, and Christ asks what we are doing right now for those suffering.
If we wish to grow close to Christ, our King, who laid aside the glory of heaven to grow close to us, then we must sacrifice out of care and concern for our neighbor. So as we pull a tag off of our Angel Tree and buy those gifts, and as we reflect on how much we can afford to donate to the Catholic Services Appeal, let us first remember that “God so loved the world that He sent his only Son to be our King, and show us the way.”
God bless you all, and thank you for the many sacrifices you make.