Christ - a King who cares

Homily for Christ the King Sunday Year A 2014

Ezekiel 34:11-12; 1 Corinthians 15:20-26,28; Matthew 25:31-46

Introduction

As we celebrate Christ the King Sunday today, we might be asking ourselves: “Why does the Church propose the image of Christ the King to us?”

·        After all, kings aren’t out of fashion?  Just think of the bad kings of the Bible like Ahab, Ahaz and Herod!  Just think of the authoritarian kings of the Middle Ages!  Just think of King George of England, against whom this country fought for its independence!

·        And so we might ask, isn’t kingship a spent image, now used only for the ceremonial Prom King and Queen and the Mardi Gras kings and queens?

But we shouldn’t throw out the baby with the bath water.  In celebrating this feast of Christ the King, we focus on the kingship of the Lord, a kingship that cares.

Scripture and Theology

Ezekiel told us in the first reading that this is how the Lord will rule his people.

·        I myself will look after and tend my sheep.

·        I myself will give them rest.

·        The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal.

And then we heard the Psalmist in Psalm 23 taking the Lord at his word, saying:

·        The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. In green pastures he gives me repose. Beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul.

·        He guides me in right paths for his name's sake.

·        You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

What a great shepherd to have, one who provides the things we need: food, water, spiritual guidance.  That is why the Psalmist can express the hope that given all this care from the Lord, “Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for years to come.”   Only a king who cares can provide such total contentment.

A few years ago I was fortunate to see The Lion King on stage, when they were touring New Orleans.  In that movie, there are three kings:

1.    There is Mufasa, the King of the Pride Lands, whose fights hard for the animals of his kingdom.

2.    There is Scar, the jealous brother of the King, who usurps the throne after killing his brother.

3.    Then there is Simba, the prince, the second in line to the throne.

Clearly only Mufasa comes close to being the kind of king that Christ is.

·        Mufasa is concerned about the protecting the Pride lands from the marauding hyenas, so that his subjects will have enough to eat and drink and survive.  He truly believes in the circle of life, in which each creature has a part to play in sustaining the whole Kingdom.

·        Jesus too was very concerned about the welfare of his people, healing and even feeding them with loaves and fishes.  And we read in the gospel of John that the people were so happy that he had fed them with free food and they wanted to “come and take him by force to make him king”, but “Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself” (John 6:15).

But King Mufasa is even more like Christ, because he gives up his life for his subjects.

·        King Muafasa is killed while fighting the ravenous hyenas, who allying with his brother, are attacking his kingdom and destroying it.

·        For Jesus, the only time he accepts the title of king is at the Passion, when he is in chains.  Pilate asks him if he is the King of the Jews and he admits that he is a King.  For his kingship consists, above all, in dying for his people on the cross.

Christian Life

On this feast of Christ the King, we must renew our devotion to the Christ the King.  We must make him once again the King of our lives; for he is a true King, who as we heard in the gospel, will return to sit on the throne of judgement.  Our fate will depend on what kind of subjects we have been, on how devoted we have been to our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.

But being the truly humble king that Christ is, he asks that our devotion to him be channelled through the least of his brothers and sisters.

·        We revere Christ our King when we give food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty and welcome to the stranger; for Christ is these lowly people.

·        We adore Christ our King when we clothe the naked, care for the sick and visit the prisoner; for Christ is all these needy people.

And for this devotion, we shall be rewarded accordingly.

Jesus warns us against failing to give him the attention fit for a King.

·        We fail to worship Christ the King when we deny food to the hungry, refuse drink to the thirsty and send the stranger away; for Christ is these people.

·        We fail to venerate Christ the King when we don’t clothe the naked, don’t care for the sick and don’t visit the prisoner.

And for being bad subjects in this way, for being like King Scar, the King will punish us accordingly.

But Scar is not the only bad Lion King whose example we must avoid.  Simba, the young prince is not that exemplary either.

·        When as a young cub he hears that one day he will be a king, he says “I just can’t wait to be king,” but for all the wrong reasons. He can’t wait to be King to do what he wants, free to do it his way.  But Christ the King is not a dictator.  He proposes his teaching and way to us; he does not impose it.  He wants us to do the same.

·        And then as an adult lion, when Simba is asked to return home and rescue his kingdom, he is very reluctant to step up to the plate.  But Christ the King is not a coward.  He knows his mission and does not shy away from it.  He wants us his subjects to be just as courageous.

Conclusion

And so, today’s feast of Christ the King, should remind us of two kingships: the great Kingship of Christ, and our little Kingship based on his own.

·        Like Jesus was a king who cared for others, we must also care for others, especially the needy.

·        Like Jesus was a courageous king, speaking and acting without fear, we must also stand up for the Kingdom of God without fear.

·        Like Jesus was a king who gave himself unto death, we must be kings who give ourselves completely for others.

In exercising our kingship in small acts of devotion and charity, we honour the Great King of the world, Jesus the Lord.  And as a result, at the Resurrection, he will say to you and me:  “Come, you who are blessed by my Father.   Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”