Homily for November 20, 2011 (Solemnity of Christ the King)

Homily for November 20, 2011 (Solemnity of Christ the King)

Ez. 34:11-12, 15-17; Ps. 23; 1 Cor. 15:20-26, 28; Mt. 25:31-46

Scepter or Staff?

Allen Emery, a man experienced in the wool business, wanted to better understand all of the people and different aspects of the operation. So he decided to spend a night with a shepherd and his flock on the Texas prairie. During the course of the night Emery heard the long and haunting wail of coyotes. In response, the sheepdogs growled and peered into the darkness with a new alertness and urgency. Meanwhile the sheep, startled by the coyotes’ howls, came to their feet and began to bleat anxiously and plaintively.

For his part, the grizzled shepherd merely nodded in the direction of the howls and threw some more logs on the campfire. As the flames shot up, Emery peered beyond their glow and saw thousands of little lights—the reflections of those flames in the eyes of the sheep who had gathered at the edge of the campsite.

In the midst of danger, Emery recalled, the sheep were not looking out anxiously into the darkness. Instead, they set their eyes in the direction of the light, safety, and most importantly, their shepherd. As we come to the end of another liturgical year, the Church invites in today’s scripture readings to do what those sheep did and look toward a Shepherd who is also a King: Christ Jesus.

We are also asked to reflect on our own roles as shepherds of others. As the recent scandals at Penn State University have reminded us, these roles and responsibilities go well beyond the Church; and as the scandals that have rocked the Church in the past and present have also demonstrated, when people fail in those roles the consequences can be profound, tragic, lasting, and even criminal.

This Solemnity of Christ the King is relatively new in the Church—by that I mean less than a century old! One of our venerable Capuchin friars, Fr. Alexis Luzi recently noted:

The feast of Christ the King was instituted as recently as 1925 by Pope Pius XI. He was battling with various kings. He was fighting anticlericalism in Mexico, and the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. In his own backyard, he was quarreling with the Italian State which had wrested Italy back from the popes. The newly instituted feast seemed to say: “We have a King who is greater than all your kings. He is Jesus of Nazareth -- the ‘King of Kings and the Lord of Lords’” (Rev 19: 26) (The Title John XXIII Liked Best of All, homily for Christ the King 2011).

Whether we’re parents or pastors, coaches or congressmen, CEO’s or supervisors, teachers or team captains, we’re all called to shepherd rather than rule over those entrusted to our care. What are the signs of true shepherding? Today’s readings give us many of them.

In Ezekiel 34, God promises to shepherd his people himself after their own religious and political leaders prove to be not up to the job. A true shepherd, God reveals: tends to people in their need; rescues those in peril; pastures those seeking nourishment; gives rest to the weary; seeks out the lost and brings them back; and binds up the wounds of the hurting. In Psalm 23, God the Shepherd brings his sheep to verdant pastures, leads and guides us, refreshes our souls, anoints us and spreads a wonderful banquet before us.

In one of the most memorable passages of the Bible, Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus gets even more concrete; and he tells any who would follow him that discipleship means showing a shepherd’s compassion and care especially to those who are suffering and in need. In our Catholic tradition, that means practicing the Corporal Works of Mercy, including feeding the hungry and giving drink to the thirsty; welcoming the stranger (including the immigrant); clothing the naked; and visiting and caring for the sick and those imprisoned.

Jesus doesn’t just talk about these things. He does them and in fact goes “above and beyond” what anyone has done or could do. He not only feeds the hungry and gives drink to the thirsty; he gives us his Body and Blood. He not only welcomes the stranger; he’s in communion with sinners like us. He not only clothes the naked, he gives us a new identity in Baptism. He doesn’t just visit us in times of need but gives us the Holy Spirit to be with us and guide us.

That’s what makes Christ our King, as well as the Good Shepherd who bids us to follow him, not only as members of his flock but also when we are called to serve as shepherds for others. Even in the darkness—especially in the darkness—our eyes look to him. +