FIRST READING (Ezekiel 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.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM (Psalm 23:1-2, 2-3, 5-6)
Refrain: The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
1) The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose. (Refrain:)
2) Beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul.
He guides me in right paths for his name's sake. (Refrain:)
3) You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. (Refrain:)
4) Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for years to come. (Refrain:)
SECOND READING (1 Corinthians 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.
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."
(Copyright 1970, 1986, 1992, 1998, 2001 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc. Washington D.C. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Copyright 1970, 1997, 1998 Contraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc. Washington, D.C. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
The English translation of some Psalm responses, some Alleluia and Gospel verses and the Lenten Gospel Acclamations, some Summaries, and the Titles and Conclusion of the Readings, from the Lectionary for Mass copyright 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc., Washington D.C. All rights reserved.
The poetic English translation of the sequences of the Roman Missal are taken from the Roman Missal approved by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops of the United States, copyright 1964 by the National Catholic Welfare Conference, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission of ICEL. )
Sources:
Matthew (Volume II)/ William Barclay, pp. 324 - 326 (cf. story of St. Martin of Tours)
Matthew/ John Meier, pp.301 - 306 (good insights, even if I don't use them this year)
The Martyrdom of Andy, from A Second Helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul, by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, pp. 50 - 54. Health Communications, Inc., Deerfield Beach, Fla. 1995. (Specifically mentions "whatsoever you do to the least...".)
Homiletic Ideas:
- God will judge us in accordance with our reaction to human need (cf homily for 30th Sunday).
- Loving involves taking risks.
(Have children come up around the altar to hear a story.)
- Story:Once there was a little boy who wanted to meet God. He knew it would be a long trip to where God lived, so he packed a backpack full of Twinkies and cans of root beer (his two favorite foods) and set off on his journey. He had only gone a few blocks when he passed an old woman, sitting on a park bench and feeding some pigeons. She looked sad and lonely, so the boy went over and sat down next to her. He opened his backpack, took out a package of the Twinkies and offered one to her. She gratefully took it and smiled at him. Her smile was so warm and wonderful that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a can of his root beer. Once again, she took it and smiled at him. The boy was delighted. They sat there all afternoon, eating the Twinkies, drinking the root beers without saying a word to each other. After they had finished his supply of Twinkies and root beers, and since it was getting dark, the boy realized that he had better get started home and got up to leave. But before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman and gave her a big hug. She gave him the biggest smile of all.
When the boy got home, his mother noticed how happy he seemed. So she asked him what he had done all day. He told her: "I had lunch with God. And you know what? She has the most beautiful smile that I've ever seen." Meanwhile, the old woman had returned to her home. Her son also noticed how happy and contented she seemed so he asked her what she had done that had made her so happy. She said to him: "I sat in the park and ate Twinkies with God. You know, he's much younger than I expected." (1)
[If not addressing children, skip this part within brackets: (If you are, then ask the children what they may have learned from the story, what was important to them, e.g.:
- seeing God in others; or
- going over and sitting with someone who's new in the school and sitting by themselves in the cafeteria; or
- bullying. Ask if any of them have been bullied or seen someone else being bullied? How did they deal with it?
Have the children return to their places and then address the congregation.)]
There are certain things which this gospel passage teaches us about the help which we must give:
- First of all, it must be help in simple things. Our gospel reading concerns caring for the needs of one another, in essence, performing what are called the corporal works of mercy. We need to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and all the things mentioned in the gospel reading. But sometimes we need look no further than our own home to help someone. Sometimes help can be rendered without giving money, or even our time. Sometimes it may be just as simple as telling someone whom we care about that we love them.
- The true story is told of a high school teacher who decided to honor each of her seniors. She called each of them to the front of the class, one at a time, and told each one how they had made a difference to her and the class. Then she presented each of them with a blue ribbon imprinted in gold letters with the words "Who I Am Makes a Difference". After the class ceremony, she decided to do a class project to see what kind of impact recognition would have on the community. She gave each of the students three more ribbons and instructed them to go out and spread this acknowledgment ceremony. Then they were to follow up on the results, see who honored whom, and report back to the class the following week. One of the students went to a junior executive in a nearby company and honored him for helping him with his career planning. He gave him a blue ribbon and put it on his shirt. Then he gave him two extra ribbons and told him to carry on the tradition.
Later that day, the junior exec went into his boss, who had a reputation as a grumpy character. He told him that he admired him and thought he was a creative genius. He pinned the ribbon on his jacket and asked if he would give the last ribbon to someone else that he admired. That night the boss came home to his 14 year old son and told him what had happened that day with the junior executive. Then he told him "As I was driving home tonight, I started thinking about whom I would honor with this ribbon and I thought about you. I want to honor you. My days are really hectic and when I get home, I don't pay a lot of attention to you. Sometimes I yell at you for not getting good enough grades in school or for your messy bedroom, but somehow tonight, I just wanted to let you know how much of a difference you make to me. Besides your mother, you are the most important person in my life. You're a great kid and I love you."
With that, the startled boy began to cry. He cried so hard that his whole body shook. He looked up at his father and said through his tears, "I was planning on committing suicide tomorrow, Dad, because I didn't think that I was living up to your expectations of me and that you didn't love me. Now I don't need to." And they gave each other a long, hard hug. (2)
- The true story is told of a high school teacher who decided to honor each of her seniors. She called each of them to the front of the class, one at a time, and told each one how they had made a difference to her and the class. Then she presented each of them with a blue ribbon imprinted in gold letters with the words "Who I Am Makes a Difference". After the class ceremony, she decided to do a class project to see what kind of impact recognition would have on the community. She gave each of the students three more ribbons and instructed them to go out and spread this acknowledgment ceremony. Then they were to follow up on the results, see who honored whom, and report back to the class the following week. One of the students went to a junior executive in a nearby company and honored him for helping him with his career planning. He gave him a blue ribbon and put it on his shirt. Then he gave him two extra ribbons and told him to carry on the tradition.
Unless we tell others that we care about them, how do we expect them to know? Knowledge without action is not knowledge. If we love someone but don't tell them, how will they know for sure? Besides, don't we all like to be told that others care for us? Why should it be any different for them?
- Secondly, the help given to others must be uncalculating. Those in the gospel passage who helped one another did not think that they were helping Christ and thus piling up their eternal reward; they helped because they believed that it was the right thing to do. The law of love was truly written on their hearts. The unselfish gave assistance for which they received no praise or thanks or publicity. The reaction of the unworthy is "If we had only realized that it was you, Lord, and not some seemingly worthless individual, then we would have helped (and garnered rewards in heaven)." The good helped even though they didn't know that it was Christ whom they were helping; the condemned didn't help because they didn't know. A quote from Albert Schweitzer beautifully ties in these two aspects of simplicity and generosity: "You must give time to your fellow human beings - even if it's a little thing, do something for others - something for which you get no pay, only the privilege of doing it". (3)
- And lastly, all such help is given to Jesus himself. [optional insert in brackets: I asked the children to come up here this morning so that I could get them involved in my story. But I also asked them to come up because I believed that it would peak their parents' curiosity about why I was calling them up here. Whether you are the parents of these children or not, didn't you pay a little more attention to the story because I had brought the children to the altar then if I had just told you the story? Why is that? If we really wish to delight a parent's heart, if we really wish to move them to gratitude, the best way to do it is to help their children. So it is with God.] God is the great Father; and the way to delight the heart of the Father is to help the Father's children, our fellow human beings.
I would like to close with another short story:
- A four-year old girl was at the pediatrician's office for a check-up. As the doctor looked into her ears with an otoscope, he asked her "Do you think that I'll find Big Bird in here?" The little girl remained silent. Next, the doctor took a tongue depressor and looked down her throat. He asked her "Do you think I'll find the Cookie Monster down here?" Again, the girl did not answer him. Finally, the doctor put a stethoscope to her chest. As he listened to her heartbeat, he asked "Do you think I'll hear Barney in here?" At that, the little girl looked up with her eyes wide and said "Oh, no. Jesus is in my heart; Barney's on my underpants." (4)
Jesus has told us in today's gospel that any help we give to one another, we give to him. As the little girl said, Jesus is in the heart of each one of us, even if we don't know it and even if others don't know it. In our interactions with one another, we see only what our eyes see and not what our hearts should see, namely, that there is a piece of God in each one of us. The Little Prince has said that it is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is important is invisible to the eye. Wouldn't the world be a better place if we all saw God's glory inside each one of us, instead of the weak humanity with which that glory has been clothed? And don't forget that all it may take is as simple a thing as telling someone how much we love them.
1. An Afternoon in the Park. Copyright 1995 by Julie A. Manhan. Reprinted with permission from A Third Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, pp. 67-68. Health Communications, Inc., Deerfield Beach, FL.
2. Who You Are Makes a Difference, copyright 1993 by Helice Bridges. Reprinted with the permission of the author from Who I Am Makes a Difference, Difference Makers International, Del Mar, CA. (see also "Make a Difference"). Order your own blue ribbons by calling 1-800-887-8422. Also reprinted in Chicken Soup for the Soul, pp. 19-21. Copyright 1993 by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communications, Inc., Deerfield Beach, FL.
3. quote from Albert Schweitzer. Reprinted with permission from A Third Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul, pp. 49, copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communications, Inc., Deerfield Beach, FL.
4. Barney. Source unknown. Reprinted with permission from A Third Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul, pp. 81, copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communications, Inc., Deerfield Beach, FL.
(Copyright 2017 by the Spirit through Deacon Sil Galvan, with a little help from the friends noted above. Permission is freely granted for use, in whole or in part, in oral presentations. For permission to use in writing, please contact the human intermediary at deaconsil@comcast.net.)
Mother Teresa, the Wino and Me
- I will never forget the day I met Mother Teresa. More than that, I will never forget what she taught me about loving other people, especially the poor.
She wasn't nearly as famous in the late seventies as she became, but she already had hundreds of thousands of admirers around the world. I was the editor of a Catholic newspaper in Rhode Island, and when I heard she would be speaking in Boston, I decided to go.
I arrived at the auditorium early to get a good seat, but I discovered that I'd already been granted a seat in the press section. As I waited for the lecture to begin, I passed the time by chatting with another reporter, who turned out to be, like Mother Teresa, a native of Albania. As we were talking, a priest walked over and said to my companion, "Mother Teresa would be happy to meet you right now". With uncharacteristic boldness, I rose to my feet and tagged along. So did a handful of other reporters. We were ushered into a room where a little old lady wrapped in a blue-and-white sari was chatting with the Cardinal Humberto Medeiros, then archbishop of Boston.
I couldn't believe how tiny she was. But what I remember most is her smiling, wrinkled face and the way she bowed to me, as if I were royalty, when I was introduced.
She greeted everyone that way. I thought that if Jesus Christ walked into the room, she would greet him in exactly the same manner. The way she did it conveyed a message that said, "You are holy".
But meeting her wasn't as memorable as what she taught me about loving people. Until that day I had always thought of charity as simply being nice to people. For Mother Teresa it was much more.
During her talk, she told us how she and the members of her order, the Missionaries of Charity, seek to recognize Christ in the poorest of the poor.
She told a story of how one of the sisters had spent an entire day bathing the wounds of a dying beggar who was brought to them from the streets of Calcutta. Mother Teresa's voice dropped to a whisper as she told the hushed auditorium that, in reality, the nun had been bathing the wounds of Jesus.
She insisted that Christ tests the love of his followers by hiding in grotesque disguises to see if we can still see him.
A few nights later, I was leaving my office after dark when a drunk accosted me. He was dirty and ragged and smelled bad.
"Did the bus leave yet?" he asked.
The only bus that ever stopped on that corner was a van that carried street people to a soup kitchen.
"You've missed it," I told him. Then I thought about Mother Teresa. I didn't exactly buy the idea that this old bum was God in disguise, but I could see a person in front of me who needed a meal. The soup kitchen wasn't very far out of my way.
"C'mon, I'll drive you," I said, hoping that he wouldn't throw up in the car.
He looked surprised, delighted and a little stunned. He studied me with bleary eyes. His next words floated to me on the smell of cheap wine and they seemed to confirm everything that Mother Teresa had taught me.
"Say," he said, "you must know me."
(From Chicken Soup for the Christian Family Soul, pp. 193-195. Copyright 2000 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Patty Aubery and Nancy Mitchell Autio. Health Communications Inc., Deerfield Beach, FL.)
THE SOLEMNITY OF CHRIST THE KING
Lord Jesus, you are the shepherd who gathers in the lost and cares for your sheep. Lord, have mercy.
Christ Jesus, you taught us that whatever we do for the least of our brothers and sisters we do for you. Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, for all the times that we have failed to recognize you in one another. Lord, have mercy.
Celebrant: The prophet Ezekiel has reassured us that God will care for us as a shepherd watches over his sheep. Therefore, confident that he will hear us, we bring our needs, and the needs of one another, to the Father.
Deacon/Lector: Our response is "Lord, teach us how to love".
That the leaders of the Church will lovingly tend to the flocks entrusted to their care, we pray to the Lord.
That the leaders of the nations of the world will do all in their power to bring peace on earth and end the wars in Ukraine and Palestine, we pray to the Lord.
That the sick, the terminally ill and those who are grieving the loss of a loved one will come to know the healing touch of the Good Shepherd, we pray to the Lord.
That we may see in the faces of the homeless, the abused and the addicted the bruised and battered face of our suffering Savior, we pray to the Lord.
That all of our family members and friends will come to share in the promise of Christ's resurrection, we pray to the Lord.
For all of the intentions we hold in our hearts and which we now recall in silence. (Pause) For all of these intentions, we pray to the Lord.
Celebrant: Loving God and Father of all nations, you sent your Son to show us the depth of your love for all humankind. Grant us the grace of your Spirit to truly love one another as you have loved us. We ask this through Christ, your Son and our Lord. Amen.