Christ the King A
One of the ordinary facts of life is judgment. Judgment--We are constantly being evaluated, aren’t we? Whether it is how we did on an exam (what did you score?), a job review (how did you rate?), or even last night’s supper, each of us faces continual observation and measure of performance. Likewise, if we break the laws of society, the community judges us. Or if we personally overindulge, our bodies will judge us! We might call all of this a kind of natural law, and it’s been going throughout all of human history. Even in OT times, when a king was known as the shepherd of his people, Ezekiel reminds us that he might have to judge between two things, like a shepherd might have to divide his flock between sheep and goats. Here, a natural standard of judgment was used to divide livestock by appearance, and this was simply something practical and convenient.
Beyond all this judgment going on within our human lives, however, is the extraordinary fact presented by the Matthew 25 gospel today: there will be an eternal judgment. Jesus Christ the King is here imaged upon a throne separating sheep and goats, but his division of them is based upon a supernatural standard; a standard that we come to see is all about COMPASSION and kindness. Such a means of judging is probably not like you or I may humanly decide things, but rather is God’s way of recognizing who belongs in the Kingdom of Heaven. God’s standard of judgment, then, depends not on appearances, or skills, or wealth, but rather upon how we actually are, that is, what we DO, or express by merciful works.
Here then, is where I think that most of us can take better measure of ourselves: How do we rate on God’s scale of compassion toward others? Do we express in our actions basic human kindness to those who hurt, or are we too concerned with the demands of self that we become insensitive?
Moreover, how can we tip the scales of God’s justice in our favor? The answers are found in our very same gospel passage, collectively known as the Catholic CORPORAL WORKS OF MERCY. Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, and bury the dead. Let me suggest how we might picture these actions, as well as be involved in them.
Jesus’ hunger and thirst are satisfied through efforts like our own Matthew 25 Fund, which reaches out to hurting folks turned down for assistance by other agencies. We maintain a small food pantry to help these people through crisis, and we’re ALWAYS in need of food and drink to share.
Jesus the stranger, homeless because she is an East African refugee, is helped by organized groups such as Catholic Relief Services, and again, your donations give comfort.
When along with our local St. Vincent de Paul we clothe those who are hurting (perhaps due to today’s struggling economy), we are giving clothing to Jesus, who knew about being stripped and vulnerable.
Whenever we visit those bound by grief (as a friend of mine, Ryan does in his youth hospice work), as we visit those bound to the home because of illness, or bound over in jail for whatever reason, we are providing something every bit as necessary to human life as food, clothing, and shelter: we are treating them as a fellow human, we are treating them as our brother Jesus, who knew also what being bound up was like.
Action on the basics, then: this is where, I believe, where most of us need practice: to compassionately love the other, especially when another is hurting. This kindness is really quite physical, and reminiscent of Jesus, who had a way of getting down to the basics of healing hurts. So however we relieve hunger, visit those sick or in jail, contact those who are lonely and fearful, we are being alter Christus, another Christ. Doing it for the “least ones” is doing real good and far surpasses the simple thought and talk of compassion, as in: “I was hungry, and you formed a humanities club and discussed my hunger.” Or, “I was naked, and you debated the morality of my appearance.” Or, “I was sick, and you knelt and prayed in thanksgiving to God for your good health.” If all of this makes us a bit uncomfortable, we are grasping the essential news of today’s gospel: God will judge, and will judge you and me by our ability to find, serve, and love Him in the hurting person around us. How do we rate, how well do we score in this regard? As the poet Grantland Rice once put it, “For when the One Great Scorer comes, To write against your name, He marks—not that you won or lost—but how you played the game”.
Deacon Peter Loving