MATTHEW 2 25:34-46
Dear Friends, This feast of Christ the King is a bridge between the year that is ending and the year that is coming. It is more related to our life in a passing world where the tyranny of the clock gives way to the hope of a future that will transcend our mortality. These Sundays of ending and beginning are all about the transition from mortality to eternal life that is the ultimate human reality.
We have the majestic scene of Christ before us in judgement. We are confronted with a very surprising declaration. It has little to say about our ethical behavior. Likewise, we will not be judged whether we were believers or non-believers, Christians or non-Christians or even faithful Catholics. The criteria are only whether we responded to the urgent and basic needs of our brothers and sisters in their desperation. Mercy is the measure of the verdict in the eyes of the Crucified and Risen Judge.
The main message of the King who sits in judgement is the plight of the least of our brothers and sisters who stand in need in our presence.
Jesus is the King who sits in glory, but He is among us in the poor and needy. “What you have done to the least, you have done unto me.” (Mt 25:40) This truth further enriches Matthew’s constant theme of Emmanuel, God is with us. In loving and serving the poor, we are loving and serving Christ. In serving and loving Christ, we are serving and loving God. This draws us into the great commandment of the Torah, to love God and to love our neighbor.
The prophet Micah captured the deepest sense of this Gospel scene centuries before. He expressed it succinctly as the growing insight of the prophetic movement. He proclaimed, “He has shown you O mortal what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8) slowly
To act justly and to love mercy we need to know our reality. This will help us see the injustice in our world. As this frightening situation unfolds before us, the hidden poverty in our midst will challenge us to act. We will see the necessity to open our heart and our minds to move beyond the blinding and numbing power of our consumer society. If we do this, we will overcome the feeling of impotence in the face of so much evil. It is so natural to say, what can one person do? It is just too much! The temptation is great to go back to our TV or smart phone.
Our call is to begin where we are. We must reach out to the possible and concrete however small in our view. There is a phrase that can be very helpful to us: “We need to think globally and act locally.”
“To act justly and love mercy and walk humbly before our God” involves a long process of enlightenment. It starts with one act however small. It is good to write a check but then do something that costs us our comfort and convenience. This will slowly draw us into deep analysis and reflection and prayer. Gradually, we will discover our true potential “to act justly and love mercy and walk humbly before our God.”
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