Jesus, the King of Truth!

 The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of Universe 22 November 2020

 First Reading                                                            EZ 34:11-12, 15-17

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 from every place where they were scattered
when it was cloudy and dark. 
I myself will pasture my sheep;
I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD. 
The lost I will seek out,
the strayed I will bring back,
the injured I will bind up,
the sick I will heal,
but the sleek and the strong I will destroy,
shepherding them rightly.

As for you, my sheep, says the Lord GOD,
I will judge between one sheep and another,
between rams and goats.

Second Reading                                                   1 COR 15:20-26, 28

 

Brothers and sisters:
Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 
For since death came through man,
the resurrection of the dead came also through man.
For just as in Adam all die,
so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,
but each one in proper order:
Christ the firstfruits;
then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ;
then comes the end,
when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father,
when he has destroyed every sovereignty
and every authority and power. 
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 
The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
When everything is subjected to him,
then the Son himself will also be subjected
to the one who subjected everything to him,
so that God may be all in all.

Gospel                                                                        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.

 

Reflection

By: Art Reyes

 

Today is the Solemnity of Christ the King, the King of universe. This is also the day when we as a Church, conclude our liturgical year. In today's Gospel we proclaim the great mystery of our faith. By his crucifixion, Jesus is shown to be the King and Savior of all. Christ is our King!

Many of our leaders today are very privileged, untouchable, and unjust. It is because they think that their power is endless, that they can manipulate anyone's mind. A true king leads us to truth, serves not himself but the very people who look up to him.

I recently heard a story about somebody asking an archaeologist about when they thought civilization appeared in the human race. We would think that the evidence of early civilization would be wall carvings on an explored cave or finding ancient clay pots. But the archaeologist answered that it was a broken thigh bone.

In the ancient world, a broken leg meant death. A broken leg made you easy prey, you could not hunt to get food, and you could not get to the river to drink. Somebody had to take the time to protect, feed, and tend to the injured person, nursing them back to health until they could do the tasks that they needed to do to survive by themselves. This is the first sign of civilization: someone caring for the life of another.

The social media that we are hooked into now is a platform that are full of lies, deceit, and distractions. There are people whose livelihood is to tell lies in favor of their patrons--usually the politicians who are addicted to power. The civility among us is almost extinct as we exchange hurtful words, insults, and lies to save our pride in the lost argument. We have lost the ability to interact with one another authentically. We have stopped caring for each other.

The social media may end the culture and human civilization. Or has it already? We need our God the most at this time so we can stay focused on the truth. Let us continue to faithfully listen to His voice.

Let us be reminded that there is One who is the truth. All worldly power, influences, and wealth will pass. Let us not be influences by lies by those who are in power. We owe them nothing.

Only Christ is our King! The King of Truth!

 

Prayer 

 

O Lord Jesus Christ, You are the way, the life, and the truth. Help me to live in truth, to speak it, to experience it, and to share it. Lord, You are King! Amen.

 

 

Time Looking Forward To

1st Sunday of Advent
29 November 2009


Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come.

First reading Jeremiah 33:14-16

See, the days are coming – it is the Lord who speaks – when I am going to fulfil the promise I made to the House of Israel and the House of Judah:
‘In those days and at that time,
I will make a virtuous Branch grow for David,
who shall practise honesty and integrity in the land.
In those days Judah shall be saved
and Israel shall dwell in confidence.
And this is the name the city will be called:
The-Lord-our-integrity.’

Psalm or canticle: Psalm 24:4-5,8-9,10,14

Second reading 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2

May the Lord be generous in increasing your love and make you love one another and the whole human race as much as we love you. And may he so confirm your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless in the sight of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus Christ comes with all his saints.
Finally, brothers, we urge you and appeal to you in the Lord Jesus to make more and more progress in the kind of life that you are meant to live: the life that God wants, as you learnt from us, and as you are already living it. You have not forgotten the instructions we gave you on the authority of the Lord Jesus.

Gospel Luke 21:25-28,34-36

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars; on earth nations in agony, bewildered by the clamour of the ocean and its waves; men dying of fear as they await what menaces the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.
‘Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened with debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life, and that day will be sprung on you suddenly, like a trap. For it will come down on every living man on the face of the earth. Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to survive all that is going to happen, and to stand with confidence before the Son of Man.’


Reflection
By Mayzelle Atienza

I just came from a wake of the mother of one of the sisters in my Catholic group before I wrote this reflection. The parallelism of death and the anguish-ridden and terror-filled end of times described in today’s Gospel is very striking. Death always brings forth extreme sadness and a deep sense of loss in the family but as Christians, we are taught that death is an inevitable means to be with our Father in heaven. And that being with our Father in heaven is the end-all and be-all of our temporal journey here on earth. Death is a grounding, bittersweet reminder of the fleetingness of life. And I guess the same can be said about the reality of the end of times. It will be a time of anguish and terror as what is written in the Gospel but one just have to “stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” and that it is an inevitable means to be “able to stand before the Son of Man”. This is our fervent desire and hope as Christians, to be able to stand before the Son of Man.

Today is the first Sunday of Advent and the start of the new liturgical year. Advent is a season of waiting and hope for that face-to-face meeting with the Son of Man. Let this time be a season of productive and fruitful waiting, a time of concrete service and action towards those who are in need, a season of hope and love to the people around us.

Prayer

Dear Jesus our Lord and Savior, our desire is to be with you in heaven at the end of our days. May this Advent be a season of productive and fruitful waiting for each of us. May it be a time of hopeful anticipation and concrete love for the people around us. Amen.







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