Homily for Christ the King

Early Saturday morning, Carl woke up with a massive headache. He had been drinking the night before, but his problem was more than a hangover. He was filled with guilt for something he had done and said to his best friend, Steve, last Wednesday. He convinced himself that he seriously sinned and could not be forgiven either by God or by Steve. He was sure that if he died today, he would go straight to hell. Miserable, he mopped around the house all morning long. Around two o’clock, the doorbell rang. He really did not want to see anyone, but there was constant knocking on the front door. It was Wally, his uncle. When he opened the door, Wally took one look and said, “Steve, you look like hell! What’s going on?” Steve replied “Wally, I did something so terrible that I am sure that I will never be forgiven, and I am going straight to hell!”

Wally suggested that they call Father Curtis, whom they both admired and trusted. Perhaps Fr. Curt would be able to help. The call was made, and they would see Father later that evening, after Saturday Mass. Wally had no idea what his nephew was dealing with, and Carl was not forthcoming at the moment. Yet Wally loved his nephew whom he knew to be a really good man. He would do anything to help him.

Father Curtis opened the door and led them into his living room rather than the office for he could sense the pain Carl was in. He wanted to help Carl to relax a little and be able to talk freely. “Well, Carl, what’s happening? You don’t look very happy.” Carl answered, “I did something so bad that I am sure that I am going to hell.” Rather than ask Carl what he had done, he decided to deal with the guilt first. The gospel lesson for the solemnity of Christ the King dealt with the final judgment.

Jesus said to his disciples: “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. Then he will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  … Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and  his angels.’

Carl said, “Father, I am one of the goats. I’m on my way to hell.” Then he covered his face and began to weep. After a few minutes, Father Curtis began talking. The following is a summation of what he said to Carl.

The prophet Ezekiel spoke words of tenderness and comfort for those who are suffering.

Thus says the Lord God: I myself will look after and tend my sheep. As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep. I will rescue them. … I will give them rest. … I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal.

We all have moments, even days, when we feel sorry for ourselves. Most important is to know that God loves each one of us and looks after us just as the good shepherd tends his sheep. If we will, his mercy covers our wounds with love. God does not want us to perish in sin but to live in joy that is offered through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Sometimes it is difficult to remember that God truly loves us even when we are filled with sin and guilt. BUT we have a choice to make.

The Shepherd and the Judge are the same person. St. John of the Cross, great mystic, and doctor of the Church, said, “In the evening of our lives we will be judged on our love.”  Peter Kreeft explains:

If we have loved and chosen and willed and desired God and his will above all, above even ourselves and our own will, that is what we will get. If we have said to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ then his will will be done in us. We will be saved. The Bible says that God is not willing ‘that any should perish but all should come to repentance’ (2 Pet. 3:99).

          And if we have loved and chosen and willed and desired ourselves and our own will above all, even above God, if we have worshiped ourselves as God, then that is also what we will get: ourselves as our god, ourselves alone, ourselves in our own lonely, self-made prison, forever. ….  C.S. Lewis wrote, “There are only two kinds of people, in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy (your) will be done.’

The point that Jesus is making in the gospel lesson is that we will be judged on our love for others especially the poor. The sheep are those who do the will of God and love the neighbor. The goat cares nothing for the will of God, but for his own selfish will; and does not care for (love) the neighbor.

This is the choice. The sheep who are lost in sin will repent and accept forgiveness from the good shepherd, the Lord Jesus. Then they (sheep) will serve and love others, especially the poor. But the goat who cares nothing for forgiveness or God’s will and lives only for self will perish in sinfulness refusing to love the poor.

Curt listened intently, slowly reaching out to God’s Will and forgiveness. His self-love will turn away from his own self-will toward a renewed love for his neighbors, especially the poor.  Are you one of the sheep? Or are you a goat looking for your own self pleasure while neglecting to help the poor?

God be blessed. Now and forever. Amen.