Episode 53: Year A – Solemnity of Christ the King
In this episode of the Sunday Catholic Word, we end our apologetical reflections for Year A of the Sunday Mass readings with the Gospel reading for the Solemnity of Christ the King, taken from Matthew 25:31-46. We focus primarily on the Gospel reading. However, the apologetical value of some of the details can only be appreciated against the backdrop of the first reading, which is taken from Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17. So, we reflect on both the Gospel and the first reading in this episode and highlight details that relate to the topics of Jesus’ divinity, the reality of hell, and the belief that our charitable deeds are meritorious of eternal life.
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Hey everyone,
Welcome to The Sunday Catholic Word, a podcast where we reflect on the upcoming Sunday Mass readings and pick out the details that are relevant for explaining and defending our Catholic faith.
I’m Karlo Broussard, staff apologist and speaker for Catholic Answers, and the host for this podcast.
In this episode, we’re ending our apologetical reflections for Year A of the Sunday Liturgy of the Word with the Gospel reading for the Solemnity of Christ the King, taken from Matthew 25:31-46. I’m going to focus primarily on the Gospel reading. However, the apologetical value of some of the details can only be appreciated against the backdrop of the first reading, which is taken from Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17. So, we’ll be dealing with both the Gospel and the first reading in this episode.
The Gospel, again, is taken from Matthew 25:31-46. This is Jesus’ description of the final judgment at the end of time. Jesus says,
31 ¶“When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 ¶ Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. 34 ¶ Then the King will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 ¶ for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 ¶ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.’ 41 ¶ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.’ 46 ¶ And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life
Two of the four details that we’re going to highlight here have to do with one theme: Jesus’ divinity, which is fitting given that we’re celebrating the Solemnity of Christ the King.
The first detail is the general theme of Christ as judge over the nations, both the righteous and the wicked. How does this reveal Jesus’ divinity?
In the Old Testament, it’s God almighty who judges the nations, both the righteous and the wicked. For example, the author of Ecclesiastes says in 3:17, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for he has appointed a time for every matter, and for every work.”
What does Jesus say he will do at the end of time when he comes in glory? He will judge the righteous and the wicked.
Joel 3:2 is another example where God is judge of the nations:
For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat, and I will enter into judgment with them there.
That Jesus says he will judge all nations, separating the righteous and the wicked, signals that He understands himself to be God.
The second detail that relates to Jesus’ divinity is the description of Jesus separating the sheep from the goats. Here is where the first reading comes into play.
In the first reading, which is taken from Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17, God describes himself as the shepherd gathering his flock unto himself. And in verse 17, he says, “I will judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats” (NAB).
Jesus’ description of himself as judging between sheep and goats here in Matthew 25:46 is a direct allusion to God judging between sheep and goats in Ezekiel. At least for the Jewish ears of his day, this is a direct claim to be God.
Now, the shepherding imagery in Ezekiel’s prophecy has further implications for Jesus’ divinity. Not only do we have the connection with what Jesus says here in the Gospel reading from Matthew 25, but Jesus elsewhere in his ministry makes an implicit reference to this prophecy.
For example, in John 10:11-16, Jesus says in verse 11, “I am the good shepherd.” Notice Jesus says he’s “the” good shepherd. The definite article is in the Greek. He’s not just a shepherd. Rather, he’s the shepherd. But for a Jew, Yahweh is “the” shepherd. Jesus, therefore, is claiming to be God.
Moreover, in verse 16 of John 10, Jesus speaks of some of his sheep that are scattered and how he will bring them into the fold: “I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd.” In Ezekiel’s prophecy, Yahweh speaks of bringing in scattered sheep: “The lost I will search out, the strays I will bring back.”
Jesus’ description of himself as the good shepherd, therefore, is a claim to be the Jewish God. Of course, this can only be appreciated when read through a Jewish lens.
What’s interesting is for this solemnity of Christ the King, Holy Mother Church gives us the image of Christ as the shepherd. This suggests that his kingship over all the world is one of a shepherd in relation to his sheep, which is a very close and personal relationship. Our King, although reigning over the universe, is a king who cares deeply about us, like a shepherd does his sheep. He walks among us to guide and lead us.
Okay, there are a few other details worthy of highlight in this Gospel reading that relate to other apologetical topics.
Take, for example, Jesus’ teaching that those on his left, the goats—whom Jesus calls “cursed,” will go into “the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (v.41), which Jesus says is a place of “eternal punishment” (v.46).
Now, this text would seem to be a slam dunk for the reality of Hell. But for some Christians who believe that all will be saved in the end, called “universalists,” this text doesn’t prove the existence of Hell. The fire/punishment, so it’s argued, is not necessarily “eternal” because the Greek word used, aiōnios, simply means “from age to age.” So, it could be a reference to a fire and punishment which is long lasting but nevertheless temporary.
The problem with this reading is that it makes the parallel with the sheep who go into “eternal” life, identified as “the righteous,” unintelligible. All Christians recognize that the “eternal life” with which the righteous are rewarded refers to heaven. Jesus calls it his “kingdom” “prepared [for the righteous] from the foundation of the world” (v.34). And such a reward is not believed to be temporary but rather an everlasting, or “eternal,” reward. Interestingly, the Greek aiōnios is used for “eternal” here as well in reference to the life received.
If the “fire” and “punishment” rewarded to the unrighteous were temporary, then the force of the contrast with the reward of “life,” a reference to heaven, would be lost. The “life” given to the righteous wouldn’t be that big of a deal since the unrighteous would eventually receive it anyway.
Moreover, it seems a bit arbitrary to interpret aiōnios in a temporary way when it comes to the “fire” and “punishment” but in an everlasting way when it comes to the “life” rewarded to the righteous. If we interpret aiōnios as temporary in reference to the “fire” and “punishment” of the unrighteous, then we should interpret aiōnios as temporary in reference to the “life” that’s rewarded to the righteous.
So, lest we want to say that the reward for the righteous here is not everlasting we should not interpret the reward for the unrighteous as only temporary. Given the contrast, we should interpret the “fire” and “punishment” as everlasting—that’s to say, a reference to hell.
Now that we have good reason to believe Jesus is referring to hell here, we can move to our next and last detail: the unrighteous go to hell because of their failure to perform charitable deeds and the righteous receive heaven as a reward for their performance of charitable deeds. This, of course, has significance for the Catholic belief that our good works, when done in virtue of the gift of charity, are meritorious of the reward of heaven.
Many Protestants reject this Catholic belief, asserting that faith apart from works is what gets us into heaven. But Jesus’ teaching in this passage proves this belief to be wrong.
Well, my friends, that does it for this episode of the Sunday Catholic Word. The content of the Gospel reading for this upcoming Solemnity of Christ the King doesn’t sell us short when it comes to apologetical material. It gives us an opportunity to reflect on several topics:
- First and foremost, the divinity of Jesus,
- The reality of hell, and
- The belief that our charitable deeds are meritorious of heaven.
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I hope you have a blessed Solemnity of Christ the King. Enjoy the closing of Year A for the Liturgical Year. I’ll talk to you next time as we start a new Liturgical Year, Year B.