King Of The Universe

Today is the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.  That’s quite a title.  The Universe is immense and beyond any description that is comprehensible.  There are billions of galaxies with billions of stars in each.   Nevertheless, for all of us our universe is not so large.  For most of us, it is our family and friends, perhaps our parish and hopefully the World we call planet Earth.  

Today’s reading from Ezekiel (34:11-12, 15-17) is salient. Ezekiel said: Thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will look after and tend my sheep. As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep. I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark.  I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD. The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy, shepherding them rightly. As for you, my sheep, says the Lord GOD, I will judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats.

According to the New Jerome Biblical Commentary, these passages from Ezekiel identify God as Israel’s shepherd with God reversing the evil done by the bad human shepherds.  The bad shepherds were Sumerian kings in the third millennium on, rulers of the ancient near East who referred to themselves as the shepherds of their people.  The lost, wounded, and strayed sheep were the Israelites defeated and exiled.  

But God knows there are good and bad sheep that must be separated.   Our Gospel (Matthew 25:31-46) continues that theme: Jesus said to his disciples: "When the Son of Man comes in  his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 

Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ 

Then the righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ 

Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ 

Then they will answer and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

So, how are we divided? Where do we sit: on the left or on the right?  Are we goats or sheep?  For those gloating that we are on the right, we must remember that, according to Ezekiel speaking for God, there are good and bad sheep.  There are good and bad shepherds.  To judge where we really sit and how we can be classified, let’s listen to our King of the Universe: “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.”

Deacon David Pierce