The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for Feast Days
What does it mean for Christ to be King of the Universe? What light does each of these readings shed on that?
The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.
More information about the Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ King of the Universe.
Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17
Book background can be found here.
Chapters 33-39 are oracles of restoration. V1-10 denounce the bad rulers who have previously shepherded Israel. Interestingly, the lectionary does not cover these verses today or on any weekday or Sunday at all.
In V11-31 God envisions shepherding Israel God’s self through appointing a “new David” over them. It was common in the ancient world for rulers to call themselves “shepherds.” We also see this image in scripture, for example, Psalm 23, Isaiah 40:11, Jeremiah 31:10, and John 10:1-18.
In V11-16 God will reverse the evil done nearly point by point from v1-10. V17-24 view God not only as provider but as defender of the weak.
The lectionary translates verse 12 as “I will look after … my sheep.” Most translations render this as “seek out.” God doesn’t just look after what is already there – the people in the pews, comfortable in their religion. God goes out, seeking the lost sheep to bring them in.
In verse 16, God tends to the stray, the injured, and the sick. But the sleek and the strong are thrown out. Why? What it is about the sleek and the strong? Most likely they have profited at the expense of the common people. The previous shepherds neglected the people supposedly in their care.
God seeks out and then tends to the lost sheep. God does not berate them for getting lost – that is on the shepherds. God’s focus is renewing and restoring what was lost. This reading suggests you don’t get thrown out of the fold because you’re lost. Rather, the bad shepherds (who, incidentally, appear to be looking pretty good) get thrown out of the fold for losing you.
This reading seems to naturally invite us to consider the shepherds – the ones who have exercised religious authority over us. While I don’t deny that those in Christian leadership have a duty to shepherd and shepherd well, the truth is we all shepherd one another in different ways. I once watched a man at church go up to a couple apparently sitting in “his” pew before the service started. The man said something and the couple got up while the man sat down in their place. I watched them leave the church building. I have never forgotten that incident and I have often wondered if that couple ever returned to that church or any church for that matter. In that moment, this man was a shepherd.
How have you been a shepherd to others? In what ways does that inform your reading of today’s passage?
What does it mean for Christ to be King of the Universe? What light does this reading shed on that?
1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28
Chapter 15 is a long chapter on the resurrection. In v1-11 Paul presents what he has “received” – a technical term indicating the formal passing on of doctrine. That doctrine says that Jesus died a physical death and rose to a new life. This is what Paul has taught them.
In v12-19 Paul looks at what the Corinthian church seems to be teaching about resurrection: that resurrection is not possible. Paul follows this line of thinking to say that if resurrection is not possible then Christ couldn’t have been resurrected, in which case the whole gospel message is called into question.
So in v20-28, Paul restates his reasons why we believe Jesus was resurrected, why that’s important, and what that means for us as followers.
The reign of Christ was inaugurated at the Ascension and will last until Christ’s return. V25 says that Jesus must continue this reign until all his enemies are conquered, the last enemy being death (v26).
Verse 20 reminds us we believe that what was done for Christ can and will be done for us. “Firstfruits” evokes harvest time as well as the end of the age. For ancient cultures, the firstfruits of the harvest were seen as being more potent than what followed. They were also seen as a promise of more to come: if the firstfruits were abundant, then abundance was sure to follow.
In verse 24, Paul uses the terms sovereignty (rule), authority, and power. These are terms from Greek mythology that he draws on to describe Jesus’ kingdom and reign.
The lectionary leaves out verse 27, most likely because it sounds confusing when you listen to it. Then again, so does 90% of what Paul says! This verse quotes Psalm 9:7, which is frequently quoted in Judaic thought with Psalm 110:1, which Paul alludes to in v25. The point is that God subjects all things to God’s self, even death. But Paul wants to make clear that God’s self is subjected to no one and nothing.
Christ has a mission of the salvation of the world. Once that mission is accomplished, he will hand over everything to the father. Verse 28 creates a challenge for dogmatic theology, which teaches that none of the divine persons is subordinate to the others.
What does it mean for Christ to be King of the Universe? What light does this reading shed on that?
Matthew 25:31-46
We might subtitle today’s reading “Practical Religion.” This passage does not have a parallel in any of the other gospels.
Verses 35-36 provide six of the traditional seven corporal works of mercy. These works are spoken of repeatedly in both the Old and New Testaments and there were many such similar lists in Judaism. The one thing that was not on common Jewish lists was visiting the imprisoned. The addition of this work likely reflected the reality of a persecuted Christian community.
Imprisonment was not a punishment in the ancient world. It was used to hold people for trial, which would result in either freedom or death. Prisoners were not cared for by the state; they were simply held and they depended on their family and community network to feed and clothe them. Think of the early Christian missionaries traveling far from home: they would be dependent on the local Christian community to survive their imprisonment.
Up until now, Jesus has been telling us that the kingdom is coming – watch for it! Be ready for it! Today’s passage envisions the kingdom as having arrived at last. The kingdom has been prepared since the foundation of the world, but it is always a choice whether we want to enter it or not.
Throughout this gospel, Jesus has stressed the importance of doing righteous things for the right reasons. The surprise in this passage is not that we are judged by our deeds. The surprise is who those deeds were done for.
There is much scholarly debate in this passage as to the interpretation of the word “brothers.” Does this passage apply good deeds only to other Christians or the wider world? We recall Luke’s parable of the “good Samaritan” in which Jesus broadened the playing field. Does Matthew’s gospel intend that broader interpretation?
The reading reminds us that our relationship with Christ cannot be disconnected from our relationships with very real people. Fr. Vinny likes to say “You love God as much as the person you love the least.”
One potential problem with this parable is that it can enforce our notions of “us against them.” Some interpretations can create a very black-and-white world where you are firmly and forever in one camp or another. Perhaps a better way to read this is that Christ is always appearing in some form, asking us to recognize and serve him. There is always hope that we can encounter Christ anew.
The passage seems to present a list of criteria for judgment: have you met the very basic needs of other human beings? We might ask questions around this: if a person, one time in their life, met a basic need in this way, does that qualify for eternal life if the person otherwise lived a life that did not reflect this? If we are people who, by and large, live a life that recognizes Jesus in all people, but we are human after all – will God consider the good deeds or will our lapses carry the day? While the reading feels very black and white on the surface, it’s good to sit with it and ask questions that might carry us into a grayer world.
I grew up in an environment that lauded missionaries – those who gave up everything to go proclaim the gospel in foreign lands. As a young adult, I joined those ranks, spending a year at a mission hospital in the Middle East. When I returned to the States, I was expected to give talks to church congregations about my experiences. My message was consistent and clear: you don’t have to go live in a foreign country and learn another language. The gospel needs proclaiming right where you are! In fact, God has put you right where you are for a reason. Extending this message to today’s gospel, I would push the boundaries yet again. You don’t have to serve in a soup kitchen or do a Kairos weekend in a prison or build houses for the homeless. You can do any or all of those things. But don’t overlook your own backyard: neighbors who are hungry to find meaning in their lives; (co)workers who thirst to be seen and heard for who they are; friends sick with anxiety who need a comforting presence; those imprisoned by false narratives who need to hear a new story. There are as many ways to meet Jesus as there are people in the world.
Pray this passage with imaginative prayer. How many different characters can you be in this story?
What does it mean for Christ to be King of the Universe? What light does this reading shed on that?
Connection of the readings and the Feast
What strikes me about the Ezekiel and Matthew readings is that, while they are concerned with the final judgment, that judgment is influenced by what happens in the concrete reality of everyday life. And It is out of these readings that the church proclaims Christ as King, not just of some earthly realm or even of a heavenly realm, but of the entirety of human life. Everything. All things. The kingdom is born of our very concrete and, perhaps, seemingly insignificant daily actions and attitudes.
So what does it mean for Christ to be King of the Universe? Take some time to ponder that before reading further!
I think for me it’s this idea of the kingdom not belonging to the world but being in the world. It’s a tension we have to grapple with all the time. There’s an old gospel song I grew up with: “This world is not my home / I’m just a passin’ through.” It’s not our home but we’re living here. We have to do that dance of being aliens and strangers in the world at the same time as we care for and love the world as God’s creation.
As a child, we would travel every summer from Texas to South Carolina. Interstate 10 seemed interminable to me in the car, and I would begin asking around Mississippi “Are we there yet?” Are we there yet? When we’re young, it seems like the journey of life will go on forever. Even as we age and begin to appreciate our own finitude, we don’t always like to think about The End. Today’s feast reminds us that everything has an end – all good things, all suffering, and physical life itself. The feast is meant to remind us of that but also comfort us: all things terminate in God who holds all things, and in Christ who brings all things to fruition. “King” is not a metaphor that speaks to me personally. If I were naming this feast, I would call it “Our Lord Jesus Christ, who holds all things together.” I imagine Christ holding the world, creation, everyone, and me in the palm of his hand. Holding me tightly and securely. The One who will never let me go.
In just a few weeks we’ll celebrate the birth of a baby. We conjure up images of domesticity and an image of Jesus as meek and mild, swaddled against harm, swaddled from doing any harm. Today’s gospel reading might be held in counterpoint to that picture. In today’s gospel, Jesus feels anything but mild; in fact, Jesus can seem downright frightening. Like every passage, we must take it in the context of the whole. We must look back on weeks and months of preparation for this moment. Jesus has been telling us all along what to expect as his disciples. In recent weeks he’s been openly warning us that a time of reckoning will come. He’s told us plainly that we should be expecting it, be ready for it. Today simply continues that message to its inevitable end.
Questions to ponder
What do these readings say about how to live day in and day out as Christians?
How have you been a shepherd to others? In what ways does that inform your reading of today’s passage?
What does it mean for Christ to be King of the Universe? What light does each of these readings shed on that?
Pray this Gospel passage with imaginative prayer. How many different characters can you be in this story?
Church of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy
Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
© 2023 Kelly Sollinger