On this Solemnity of Christ the King we must take a moment to ask which Kingdom it is that we serve. In our parable of the separation of the sheep from the goats we are shown the urgency that is presented with this question. This question is urgent because it makes us realize that the only thing that we are entitled to receive in this life is death; not a nice house, car, and lots of money. The Church displays this urgency for us through the use of the liturgical calendar because today is the final Sunday of the liturgical year. This reality proclaims to us that death is near and thus we must be concerned with the four last things: death, judgement, Heaven, and Hell. No matter how young or old that we are, no matter how healthy or not we are; we must be reminded of the words of sacred scripture that inform us that "you do not know the time nor the hour."
Through the answer that we give to this question we will profess if we follow after the Kingdom of Light or after the Kingdom of Darkness. It is through this Kingdom of Light that we allow ourself to give proper adoration, glory, and praise to this King who is Christ our Lord. Within the Kingdom of Darkness many have done the opposite and in return have closed themselves off from receiving the mercy and forgiveness that Christ bestows upon the world. Keeping the sheep with the goats throughout the night would of been a terrible idea; the crowd hearing this parable would of knew that. This is so because goats by their nature are aggressive and territorial and thus they would of gotten angry at the sheep and thus would do then harm. They had to be separated due to the consequences that were brought about from their actions. By their actions they were judged.
Thus to it will be by our actions that we will be judged. The actions of our life hold consequences for us. For example if we were to trip and fall bracing ourself when we do by reaching out our hand; it will probably break. Thankfully this bone can be healed, but in order to get there it takes a lot of work and time. Without this necessary work and time invested in our arm we will always be left with nothing more then a broken arm. Therefore our sin, our failure to love our neighbor, and thus too our failure to love God holds consequences for us that are real. By our actions we will be judged, but thankfully Christ the King is also merciful. He desires to heal us from the brokenness of our life. He desires to shed the grace of His mercy upon us in order that we too may be healed and thus be found worthy of His wondrous Kingdom. May we not stand in the way through our own territorialness and aggressiveness that cuts us off from allowing Christ to purify our heart and mind and thus to allow our life to change to follow after Him.
We profess on this day that it is Christ who is our King. We profess that anyone or anything in the world is not greater then Christ our King. What He establishes for each of us is a Kingdom that will never pass away unlike the many unjust kingdoms who follow not after Him. In time those kingdoms will come to pass away and Christ our King, as we were reminded in Corinthians, will use His enemies as His footstool. This solemnity was placed onto our liturgical calendar to serve as a reminder that we may come to realize our world is truly in need of this King and thus we should invite Him to enter into our life each day in order that we may submit not to the way of sin, but instead to the way of our Savior. From Pope Pius XI who established this feast: "the people of that time - had thrust Jesus Christ and his holy law out of their lives."
As this liturgical year comes to an end, and as we prepare ourself for the coming of Christ the King during the Advent season, may we truly ask ourself which Kingdom it is that we serve. Our actions, indeed, hold consequences, but nevertheless, our Lord is merciful. He desires to shower us with the grace of His mercy especially within the Sacrament of Confession. It is here that sinners come to do the work that is required of them to be healed. With the reality that death is always set before our eyes may we not run towards the Kingdom of Darkness, but instead the Kingdom of Light. It is towards the Kingdom of Light that we should draw close because here alone will we encounter a true Kingdom which will never pass away. In this manner may we come to shout over all of our sin, loss, and disappointments, as well as every injustice that we see within this world: "Viva Cristo Rey!" "Long live Christ the King!"
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