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HOMILY: 34TH (LAST) SUNDAY YEAR A. CHRIST THE KING
By: Rev Fr Stephen ‘Dayo Osinkoya
Ezekiel 34:11-12.15-17
Psalm 23
1Corinthians 15:20-26.28
Mathew 25:31-46
Today is the 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time and is the Last Sunday of the Liturgical Year A. Next Sunday we will start a new Liturgical Year B with the First Sunday in Advent. As is the custom now, on this Last Sunday the Church solemnly celebrates the feast of “Christ the King.” In this celebration we recognize and honour Christ as ruler and universal shepherd. Also, just before we throw our emotions to the full anticipation of Christmas and New Year festivities, this feast calls us all to a deep reflection on what would be our lot if the end comes for us now? When Jesus will return in glory for the final judgment and award reward or punishment, are we going to be rewarded or punished? Hence, today’s Scripture Readings revolve around the final judgment of Jesus Christ when he comes in glory and power.
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The kingship of Christ is one that is reflects the mercy of God and His desire to reunite to Himself all that belongs to Him. Despite His mercy, the Gospel of today reminds us again that He is a just God who would not fail to give to each what is conduct deserves (Cf. Matt. 25:31-46 & Jer. 17:10).
And like a shepherd, who cares gently and tenderly for his sheep, our Lord’s kingship is one of service and love. He guides His sheep, that is, all of us into the right paths and provides us all that we need. We need not fear the powers of evil and death if we stick closely to our Lord. Though the powers of this world may be able to harm our body, they cannot do anything to harm our soul.
If Christ the king of the universe is thus presented as a shepherd king who would separate the goats from the sheep, then our attention is drawn to the nature of sin. The most common sin known to us, is the sin of action, that is why when many of us approach the priest to confess our sins, we tend to often mention how many times we have told lies, missed mass, got angry etc. that is, we confess those sins we commit by doing things abhorrent and wicked before God and men, such as stealing, murder, jealousy and others. However, many of us often do not realise or maybe we forget that there is another type of sin that is equally bad, and this is the sin of omission.
What is the sin of omission? As the name said, it is sin committed when we are perfectly in place and capable of doing something good, and yet we consciously choose not to do so, and instead, we often care for ourselves first, succumbing to our ego, pride and greed.
From the gospel passage of today it is quite obvious that our judgement will be in relation to the Law of Love – how we have served someone else. We are called to be messengers of peace in our world through actions of love. This is how we can build this kingdom of peace in which Christ is king.
Like Jesus, our king of peace, we the messengers of peace of His kingdom must begin a journey. We must journey, but not with the might of war or the force of power. For it is not with power, force or violence that Christ’s kingdom of peace grows, but with the giving of self, with love carried to its extreme consequences, even towards our enemies. Jesus does not conquer the world by force of arms but by the power of the Cross, which is the true guarantee of victory.
My homily today is short. Yes! It is so because I really want us to reflect and ask ourselves “Have we saved enough in our bank account of love to merit us a sheep card when the King of the universe shall call us to account on that day?”
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