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22 nov 2020
22/11/2020 -  Our Lord Jesus Christ King of the Universe - A 

 

22/11/2020 -  Our Lord Jesus Christ King of the Universe - A 

Reading 1 EZ 34,11-12.15-17 * Psalm 22 * Reading 2 1COR 15,20-26.28 * Gospel MT 25,31-46

 

I myself will look after and tend my sheep”. This is how the Lord speaks in the prophet Ezekiel's book. How does the Lord our God look after for His sheep? We can find the answer in the text from the Gospel: “the Son of Man comes in his glory…”. The Messiah fulfills all the works that God promises to do in men’s favour. He behaves like a shepherd: first of all He gathers the sheep and makes sure all of them are there. His eye is careful and truthful: He clearly knows who are His own and who are not. He does not like confusion. They who He does not own  will be cared for separately.

How the Son of Men can make the distinction? He is also King, the king of the kingdom prepared since the beginning, thought of for men who are faithful to Him, a kingdom in which good and evil are not mixed, union with Him and rejection, obedience to the Father and disobedience, similarity with God and dissimilarity. There it is, the Son of Men, the son of the Father too, and king, after having gathered all peoples, begins judging. What is this king looking at in order to judge the people, so the members of society, from every religious background? We might find weird that He is not taking into account the hours of prayer or the great works, and we are amazed that He Himself feels benefitted by men and is identifying Himself with those in need of the most basic things. Whoever does not have food, drinks, clothes, health, shelter and fullness of humanity, these are the body of Christ, God's image that needs to be completed. These are the sign that marks good as opposed to evil: who loves them, loves also the one who gave His life for them, loves the one who has been sent for them; they who love them taking care of them is appreciated by God.

The “sign that will be opposed” that divides men is always and only Jesus, the Son of the living God: but He hides Himself, making Himself available to meet in all ages and places, hidden in those who need attentions, care, love. Whoever leans over them for healing them, mend them, feed them, visit them, welcome them, is fulfilling the Father’s love, the love that Ezekiel describes in the page we have heard today read. They, therefore, are the cooperators of the Messiah, of the one sent by God, they are Christ's tender hand, they can be recognised as pieces of His body which brings in the world the love of the living God. By loving with the love which the Father has kindled in His children's heart, they show the real face of God.

We might be surprised by the second part of the parable: the king, good and generous, behaves in a really hard way towards those who were only interested in loving themselves, cared only for their earthly affairs, closing their eyes in front of the needs of men. The latter do not behave like brothers, and therefore cannot be welcomed and mixed with the sons. Their destiny is the one coming from selfishness: selfishness creates suffering, breaks all communion, creates solitude, provokes tears and throws into anguish even its benefactors. Those who close their eyes and hands will experience these sufferings as eternal fire.

Today we are often talking about God’s mercy. Nobody is as merciful as He is, who keeps an open heart towards everyone and is ready to forgive even the most serious sins that the man could commit. Jesus' parable is telling us however that we cannot live in selfishness, in case we would not be able to see and receive the Father’s mercy, even if it is great. He cannot treat men like you treat puppets: He respects our choices. If we choose selfishness, we will receive at the end the fruit of selfishness, the final and eternal suffering, and deprivation of the communion of love.

The fact that God is merciful is opening our heart to receive His forgiveness, but  also is putting our eyes, our hands, our heart and our wealth at the service of His heart, caring for every person that is suffering for wanting of life, wanting of the bread for the body and the bread for the soul.

In this way the victory of the Lord of life begins, risen from the dead, over that enemy who keeps us always in fear and in suffering. Begins Jesus' victory over death, and moreover, with our concrete love for the suffering death continues to be defeated.  United to Jesus we too are victorious: our joy becomes hope for many, anticipation of future benefits, demonstration that God is love, is love for all of those who are waiting for Him.

 

Jesus, king of the universe, king of my heart, I adore you, I love you, I want to serve you and follow you!