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Friday, November 21, 2014

GOD'S PRESENCE IN THE UN-GODLY






CHRIST THE KING
Matthew 25:31-46

We have now come to the last Sunday of the liturgical calendar of the Church which is the solemnity of Christ the King.  At the end of time, Christ will come again as the King of heaven and earth.  As King he is still the Good Shepherd and being a shepherd, he will also be our judge.

           
       David was a shepherd before he was made a king and was the greatest king of Israel.  The other kings were also bad because they were not good shepherds and so God promised that he himself would be their shepherd and King.  Jesus Christ who was the Good Shepherd (Jn. 10) was the fulfillment of that promise.


     The Second Coming of Christ (Parousia) is judgment day!  According to the gospel, he will judge like a shepherd who  separates the sheep from the goats.  Although during the day both the sheep and goats are pasturing together but in the evening the sheep prefer the open air so the goats have to be brought inside.  Because most of the sheep are white they became a symbol for goodness and are placed on the right; while the blackness of the goats symbolized badness and are placed on the left.  Just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goat at the end of the day, Christ as a shepherd and king will also separate the good from the bad at the end of time.  The sheep are the good people who gave food to the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked and visited the sick and the prisoner.   On the other hand, the goats are those people who have failed to do them.  In surprise, Christ would reveal his presence in the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick and prisoner.   

         
       How will God judge us? Certainly not by the standard of the world.   The way of the world is success which is measured by wealth and power in the glorification of the ego.  We can call it the “way of the goat”!   On the other hand “the way of the sheep” is going out of the self in serving the anawim of God who are the unwanted, the marginalized, the oppressed and the poor. Jesus incarnates himself again through them in the most unexpected ways.  In fact, divinity is camouflaged by the most unlikely persons whom we ignore and abhor. That is why oftentimes we missed many precious moments of potential encounter with God.

           
      At the end we will be judged not by our faith but how we are able to translate that faith into concrete acts of good works in fostering the dignity of those who may not even look like Christ.   Our love of God should find its channel through practical acts of charity done to the least, the last and the lowest.  Then we will hear God telling us “Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take as your heritage the kingdom prepared for you…”

        
       Just like in the gospel, we will be judged according to our failures or good works towards God who is present amongst the un-godly.




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