Fr. Michael Osatofoh Eninlejie, MSP - Homily for the Thirty-Fourt Sunday in Ordinary time Year A - November 22, 2020 - Christ the King

SUNDAY 22ND NOVEMBER 2020

LAST SUNDAY OF THE YEAR A

SOLEMNITY  OF CHRIST THE KING OF THE UNIVERSE

Ezekiel 34:11-12,15-17

Psalm 22:1-3,5-6

1 Corinthians 15:20-26,28

Matthew 25:31-46

JESUS IS OUR TRUE KING

Today we celebrate the solemnity of Jesus the ideal king and servant leader and shepherd of the whole universe. We truly live in a world today where true leadership is lacking. Every government is suffering from bad leadership. Many people are crying that things are not going as they should be.

In the first reading of today, we see a very clear case of injustice and oppression of the common people by the leaders. Instead of caring for the sheep, the shepherds were taking the little left for them. The little which is meant for the people are diverted to personal use or stored and kept away from them. The paliatives for the poor which were stored and kept away from the people is a very clear example. The religious parlance may not be totally free of this too as we have many people parading themselves as men of God, but are after personal gain.

We all have our own faults too. How are you carrying out the little tasks entrusted to you too? Are you seeking your own interest or that of the people?

Many human kingdoms have collapsed because of dictatorships and personal interests. In 1925 after the world wars, the church started the celebration of Christ the King to bring to our consciousness that christ is our true king and leader, only him will lead us to green pasture.

Jesus tells us in Mark10:41-45 that positions of authority are for service, not to lord it over people because Jesus came to serve and not to be served.

In the second reading, St Paul shows us more clearly how much Jesus served us here on earth to the extent of giving up his life to free us from sin and death.

In the gospel reading, Jesus tells us to also serve one another. Jesus is not asking for too much from us, but that we should learn from him and serve one another especially the poor, needy and sick

Despite all that we have passed through this year, we still have a reason to thank our king and saviour. Acclaim him today as the king of kings and lord of lords. God help us. Amen.

Fr Michael Osatofoh Eninlejie MSP