Could it be that Jesus wants to reign above all in men’s hearts, in your heart?

If we let Christ reign in our soul, we will not become authoritarian. Rather we will serve everyone. How I like that word: service! To serve my king and, through him, all those who have been redeemed by his blood. I really wish we Christians knew how to serve, for only by serving can we know and love Christ and make him known and loved.  – St Josemaría Escrivá: (1902 –1975: was a Roman Catholic priest from Spain who initiated Opus Dei, an organization of laypeople and priests dedicated to the teaching that everyone is called to holiness by God and that ordinary life can result in sanctity)

Gospel Text: (MT 25:31-46)

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 the king 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.
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.'
Then the righteous will answer him and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?'
And the king will say to them in reply,
'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.'
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.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
a stranger and you gave me no welcome,
naked and you gave me no clothing,
ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.'
Then they will answer and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty
or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison,
and not minister to your needs?'
He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you,
what you did not do for one of these least ones,
you did not do for me.'
And these will go off to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life."

Today is the last Sunday in the Liturgical Year. We start all again next week with the First Sunday of Advent. Today, though, we celebrate the Solemn Feast of Christ the King.

Monarchs are not all that familiar to us who live in the United States. We can read about the historic reign of Queen Elizabeth II, just last week celebrating 70 years of marriage to Prince Phillip. We may be real fans of the television series The Crown. The longest serving monarch died last year. The King of Thailand began his reign in 1950.

So how do we make sense of today’s feast? We do not live in an age where we rally around a king and vow allegiance. No, the call we need to listen for is not feudal allegiance but the call to join together to do something wonderful.

An authentic “king” is someone who inspires us to see what is possible in our lives and our world. This person does not demand our fealty but invites us on a mission, a journey. Today’s feast is the call to join Jesus in his mission:

“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.”

Jesus does not point and say, do what I say. He says, come with me and together let us work to bring about a new world of peace, compassion and justice. That is an authentic king.