THE SOLEMNITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST THE KING
Thirty-Fourth or Last Sunday in Ordinary Time
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Ecce Homo. Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1618 - 1682). El Prado (Madrid).We finish, today, the liturgical year. Next Sunday will be the First Sunday of Advent. I have often said to you that Jesus can be seen under many aspects, and today we are going to see Him as King and Lord.

We are already accustomed to see Jesus as King.

The evangelists often present Jesus to us as a King:

 The magi from the East, look for Jesus as the King of the Jews. (Mt 2:2)

 Jesus, before Pilate, declares himself to be King (Mt 27:11)

The inscription put on the cross says: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. (Mt 27:37)

The good thief asks Jesus to remember him in His kingdom. (Lk 23:42-43)

 Jesus promises His kingdom to his Apostles. (Lk 22:29)

 When the angel appears to Mary, he says to her that the fruit of her womb will be the Son of the Most High and that His kingdom will have no end. (Lk 1:33)

 JESUS IS KING, BECAUSE HE IS THE SON OF GOD

 We understand the word King, as meaning Lord of all things.

The psalmist says: You are my son; today I am your father. Only ask it of me, and I will make your inheritance the nations, your possession the ends of the earth. (Ps 2:7-8)

In the letter to the Hebrews it is written that God has constituted Jesus heir of all things: Whom he made heir of all things. (He 1:2)

Jesus, as the Son of God, comes from the Father, who is Lord of the whole Universe.

 JESUS IS KING BECAUSE HE HAS REDEEMED US

 Jesus is King because he has redeemed us, and has rescued us from the power of darkness.

Saint Peter tells us that we have not been rescued with silver or gold, but with the blood of Jesus Christ. He also writes: Entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you. (2Pe 1,11)

Crist a la creu. Monestir de les Benedictines de la Nativitat de N.S.J.C. (Madrid).JESUS WILL COME AT THE END OF TIME AS KING

 

This King, Jesus Christ, will come at the end of time to judge the living and the dead with great solemnity. The evangelist says: 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.  (Mt 25:31-33)

We will all be there, in this separation. On what side will we be?

On the evening of the Final Judgment, or definitive separation, the tribe will not count, neither the race, nor the institution, nor to be rich or poor, but the personal answer of each one to the divine-human law inscribed at heart of our conscience.

The day of the Final Judgment will be like a day of examination. The student does not know what the professor will ask him. However, we know it indeed. Jesus says: For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me. … Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me. (Mt 25,35-40)

Jesus recognizes as his own those who have recognized him in his brothers: the poor, the humble, the needy. Notice that he says "these least brothers of mine". When I help a poor man, materially or spiritually, I do it as if I helped Jesus Christ himself.

Saint John of the Cross says: In the evening of our life, God will judge us on love.

Before finishing, allow me to make a translation, a concretion of the words of the Lord Jesus, adapted to our present time.

We have to apply the word of God to our life.

Jesus says: Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. (Mt 25:34)

What could Jesus say to us today: Come, you blessed by my Father, because my country was in war and you did not ignore our tragedy, and you helped us; I was a gypsy and you did not reject me; I was a drug addict and you accepted me; it was jobless and you helped me to find work or you created a job for me; I came out of prison and you received me; I was physically disabled and you helped me, or was old and you understood my peculiarities and solitude.

Let us pray to the Lord with faith, that His kingdom come, as we say in the Our Father.

We go to Communion to find Jesus. Let us ask ourselves if we also know to find Him in His brothers, that is, in everyone of us.

May you have a good feast day of Christ, the King.