Reading 1
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.
Gospel
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."
Reflection
In the Gospels, Our Lord usually speaks about Himself with great humility. When He speaks of His glory, therefore, as He does in the Gospel Reading that the Church places before us on the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, we would do well to pay attention.
Here, the Lord does something that would have been considered a provocation by both the Jews and the Romans: he calls Himself a King. Jesus invokes this title in connection with a particular right, the right to separate the sheep and the goats, those who will inherit the kingdom and those who will be cast out of it on the last day.
The Lord is the Chief Shepherd. All the other shepherds in the Church, great and small, are tasked with gathering the flock. To the Chief Shepherd alone is reserved the right to separate the flock in judgment.
Let us not therefore, by our words or actions, usurp Our Lord’s prerogative and divide the Church along ideological lines or pretend to judge our brothers’ and sisters’ inner motives as only God can.
Leaving the big picture to Our Lord, let us focus on showing and carrying out God’s mercy wherever God places us. And if it seems to us sometimes that the flock is wandering in the dark, let’s remember the beautiful promise of the Lord from the first reading: “I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest.”
Please be assured of my prayers before Our Lord, present in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
+ Bishop Schlert
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