OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, KING OF THE UNIVERSE A

[cappie]

In Matthew’s Gospel today, we read of a king sitting on his throne who is busy executing judgment. First, this is not a story about the judgment of individuals, but rather a story of judgment of the nations. What is being judged are the attitudes that lead either to apathy and neglect to those in need or to compassion and service. Jesus makes clear that the attitudes that devalue those most in need among us must be eliminated. As with all change, change must start with us, with our own attitudes, choices, and behaviours.

Next, we notice the kind of kingdom Jesus describes. Service is Jesus’ calling and mission. Likewise, service is the calling and mission of those who would follow him. In Jesus’ vision and description of God’s Kingdom, the following occurs:

 Everyone who is poor, hungry, outcast, sick, or despised is treated with love and dignity in real, tangible ways. This is God’s Kingdom, and this is, in large part, what we pray for whenever we say, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.”

The biggest surprise in Jesus’ description is that whenever those things occur the “least of these” (as Jesus calls them) are cared for, we learn that we’re not caring for them, we’re caring for Jesus. And whenever we don’t do those things, we’re neglecting Jesus.

Each of us will be judged upon our performance of the simple works of mercy we hear in the Gospel today. These works, as Jesus explains today, are reflections or measures of our love for Him, our faithfulness to His commandment that we love God with all our might and our neighbour as ourselves

This concept was at the heart of Mother Teresa of Calcutta’s ministry. Many of her admirers asked her, “How can you keep serving the poor, the sick, and the dying, what’s your secret?”

Mother Teresa responded many times saying, “Whenever I meet someone in need, it’s really Jesus in his most distressing disguise. It’s him I help.”

The king we claim to follow tells us that we will see him in the people we least expect, and he won’t look anything like an earthly king or ruler. If we can’t see the image of Christ in these unexpected people, then we’re missing something essential, because our king is the kind of king who shows up in these surprising ways.

 When we look at any image of Jesus, if we do not also see the poor, the hurting, the hungry, the sick, the lonely, the prisoner, and the despised: then perhaps we’re not seeing Jesus. And when we see the poor, the hurting, the hungry, the sick, the lonely, the prisoner, and the despised: if we’re not seeing Jesus in them, then we’re not really seeing Jesus. In fact, we are missing out on God’s presence among us in a crucial way.

It is a powerful spiritual practice to begin to take the time to look at our fellow humans, particularly those on the margins of our society, and to say to ourselves, “There is Jesus.”  

One man who took this concept seriously and was changed forever by it is St. Francis of Assisi. Francis had long experienced extreme revulsion every time he saw someone suffering from leprosy. Leprosy still exists today in parts of our world and those who suffer from it are often missing fingers, toes, or even limbs, and their faces can become severely disfigured. But Francis knew he was called to push against this natural response he had until one day he was moved to approach and embrace a man with leprosy and show him sincere affection. It was then that Francis experienced an intense conversion that altered the course of his life. St. Francis’ early ministry was actually working with those who had leprosy in a leprosarium in which he could daily show tenderness, meet their needs, and dress their wounds, as though they were Christ himself. Not only did this service benefit those Francis served, but in serving them, Francis himself came to find true peace and perfectness of joy.

Our king calls us to see and serve him in the least of these. We can start today by making a spiritual practice of seeing Jesus in his most distressing disguises and then serving Christ in those in need. In doing so, we will discover that we are changed and blessed. As St. Francis reminds us in the well-known prayer ascribed to him, “It is in giving that we receive.”