In the church calendar, celebrating the Reign of Christ
culminates the Time after Pentecost when we reach a sort of high point. The
long green season has taught us many things about being church, and we have
pondered our own congregations and our own hearts, the work of the church in
every land, our outreach, the needs of our local community, and all that our
ancestors have bequeathed to us in experiences and hopes.
All of that history and proclamation leans toward this day
when we are taken to the heights: a vision of the one who rules over all things
coming in glory with angels. As a judge, the ruler sits on the throne with the
sheep and the goats from all nations gathered before him. The separation begins.
We behold our own lives scrutinized and pronounced upon by the one who has
every right to do so and does it with utter justice.
Because it is most alarming, what stands out in the Gospel
reading is the condemnation of those who have not tended “the least of these.”
What stands out in the reading from Ezekiel is the
shepherd’s promise to gather the sheep. Less prominent, but not lost in the
prophetic voice, is the warning to those who are “fat and strong.” They are
those who have had their fill of wealth and power without concern for the
“least.”
Matthew 25:31-46
[W]e follow the way of Jesus
Christ in caring for the hungry, the naked, the thirsty, the imprisoned. The
least of these are those who are Christ in our midst. Was not our Lord hungry
and thirsty? Was he not naked at that cross, imprisoned, shackled, nailed to
the tree? To care for fellow members of the household of God is part of bearing
our crosses for Christ and loving Christ. It is being the body of Christ to the
body of Christ.
In his
fourth-century sermon #272 on the Lord's Table, St. Augustine famously
proclaimed, “Be what you see, receive what you are. If you are his body and
members of him, then you will find set on the Lord's Table your own mystery.”
You have been
taken. You have been blessed. You have been broken. And now, you have been
given. Be the body of Christ to the body of Christ, to the least of these.
– Neal D. Presa was the Moderator of the 220th General Assembly of
the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Ezekiel 34:11-16,
20-24
The prophet
speaks words from YHWH. The sheep, that is, the people of God, have experienced
terrible days of “clouds and thick darkness” (v 12) and are scattered from
their homeland (referring to the exile). YHWH comes to shepherd them back to
their homeland. God will provide everything they need: good food, flowing
waters, rest, and healing. God will favor the weak, lost, and injured but will
punish those who use their authority for selfish gain.
God will act. God will be involved. God will act to restore the sheep—the
people to their own home. After the in-gathering, God will provide a new
leader—a new shepherd, David. YHWH, through the voice of Ezekiel, promises a
different kind of leader than before.
– Eric T. Meyers serves as pastor to the Frederick Presbyterian
church in Frederick, Maryland.
Ephesians 1:15-23
[T]he writer of
Ephesians prays that the church may come to know [the] immeasurable greatness
of God's power in Christ available to us.
Most of the time, we don't go around at school or at work or at home
claiming that we have any kind of power. When we do want to gain power
in certain situations, it's not the power of God at work in us, it's the sin of
pride as we manipulate others to get what we want. Still, many times we are
overwhelmed with the feeling that we are really powerless in the world today.
The power being talked about in Ephesians is not worldly power by any means.
This is not the kind of power that sends us to war, or suppresses others to
build up ourselves. We are talking about King Jesus power—that makes us more
than we are.
– Kelly
Lyn Logue is a pastor in the United Methodist Church.
Christ’s reign has one large focus on this day: Care for
those in need… for those who sacrifice for others… for those in whom we see the
one who died and rose for us.
Homily Service 41,
no. 4 (21 July 2008): 139-147.
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