A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 25:31-46)
Jesus said to his disciples: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.'”
In today’s Gospel for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus identifies himself as the Son of Man and the king who will sit upon the throne in the final judgment. There is no doubt in this self-reference that he is the Son of God, Emmanuel, in the person of Christ. In his healing and preaching ministry on earth, this is the one who performed miracles, saying “rise and walk” and “your faith has saved you.” With a word, he restored hearing to the deaf, sight to the blind, cured myriad physical ailments, and drove out demons. At the final judgment, the compassion Jesus modeled as he encountered people of all needs and all walks of life will be brought to bear at the final judgment. Isn’t now the time to long to hear the king say at his coming: “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.”
God, help me see the urgency in imitating Christ today so that I can be ready for his return in glory. As I hear the words hungry, thirsty, stranger, ill, naked, imprisoned, I feel far removed from all of it. These are physical needs that I don’t lack and those around me don’t lack. Yet, it doesn’t take great effort to see in those closest to me spiritual hunger, thirst, isolation, illness, vulnerability, and, confinement. Jesus cured both physical and spiritual ailments. In my imitation of your Son, give me the grace despite my own brokenness to put on Christ for the sake of lifting up my brother or sister and caring for their needs. I have the words and actions of Jesus, the Gospel, and the sacraments of the Church to help me hear the voice of the shepherd and follow him. Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, lead me.
From the Gospel acclamation: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come!”
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.