The Feast of Christ the King:
The Last Sunday after Pentecost
Last Sunday of Church Year
Sunday 26 November 2017
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Matthew 25:31-46 (NRSV)
Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that 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 something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me 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 nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
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This Gospel builds wonderfully on the previous Sunday's Gospel Parable of the Talents. It is a strong reminder that when we who are the followers of Jesus do or do not do things unto others, we have done or failed to do these things for and to Christ himself. This is a Gospel that applies very easily to us and our generation. It is a reminder that our faith, what we believe, and our actions, what we do or do not do, are deeply intertwined. There is no separation of Church and World. In each we are to see the face of Jesus and to act in the knowledge that Jesus is the one to whom all hearts are open and from whom nothing is hidden.
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Fr. Timothy Alleman
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