King Means Shepherd

November 23: Feast of Christ the King

Thirty-Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A:

Ezekiel 34:11-12,15-17; Psalm 23:1-2, 2-3, 5-6; 1Corinthians 15:20-26, 28; 

Matthew 25:31-46

Click here for the complete text of today’s readings.

Thoughts to help us take responsibility as stewards of the kingship of Christ.

(To support  Reaching Jesus: 5 Steps to a Fuller Life ... Step Five )

King Means Shepherd

“I myself will look after my sheep” (Ezekiel 34:11).

The readings present Jesus as a king who sees himself as a shepherd. When he claims his power he says, “I myself will look after my sheep… I will rescue them, pasture them, give them rest, seek out the lost, bring back the strayed, bind up the injured, heal the sick.”

The “enemies” he destroys are “every sovereignty and every authority and power” that can harm his sheep. He will separate the bad from the good, “as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”

And “the last enemy to be destroyed is death.” “In Christ, all shall be brought to life.”

When Jesus “hands over the kingdom to his God and Father,” it is “so that God may be all in all.” “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more… The one seated on the throne says, ‘See, I am making all things new… I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end’” (Revelation 21:4).

When the Psalmist says, “The Lord is my shepherd,” he understands that to mean, “There is nothing I shall want.” To have Jesus as King is to “dwell in the house of the Lord forever” in security and peace.

To be “stewards of the kingship of Christ” means to be managers of mercy.

PRAY: “Thy Kingdom come! Thy will be done!”

PRACTICE: Shepherd Christ’s sheep.