Scripture Reflection, November 23: Feast of Christ the King

Scripture Readings:
Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17
Psalm 23
1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28
Matthew 25:31-46

This Sunday, we celebrate the final Sunday in our liturgical year, the Solemnity of Our Lord Christ the King. The closing of our liturgical year marks a good moment to pause and reflect on our spiritual lives over the last year. Psalm 23 is a popular psalm for funeral liturgies and it is a good starting point in beginning our reflection on our spiritual health.
The psalm response reminds us that “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.” Have you trusted the Lord to shepherd you this past year? Did you trust others to help you? Did you reach out to shepherd someone else through a tough time? Maybe you experienced pain or joy this year. Did you share these experiences with the Lord? With your closest friends and family?
We live in a time where we rarely let God shepherd us. This is the do-it-yourself age. Look at our Home Depots and our HGTV. We’ve become a people devoid of the statement: Help. Asking for help does not make us weak. We can trust in God to guide us. God will rescue us from every place where we are scattered. We do not need to travel the darkness or happiness alone.
Let us continue to look back on our spiritual life over this past year. Can you see God’s work in your life? How was God active and present to you during this last year? Were you able to place your trust in God over the last year? Trusting can be double-edged sword. Sometimes, we use the excuse of trust to not change anything about our lives. We say that if something is meant to be, it is meant to be and we get stuck in a static life. God wants us to trust, but God also wants us to work, something that Jesus reminds us of in the Gospel reading.
Jesus gives us our own guided spiritual reflection during this Sunday’s Gospel. Reread the Gospel. Truthfully answer Jesus’ questions. Over the last year, did you feed the hungry; give drink to the thirsty; welcome the stranger; clothe the naked; take care of the sick; or visit the prisoner? Jesus is asking us, are you living the example I have set for you? Catherine McAuley, the foundress of the Sisters of Mercy, reminds us that “While we place all our confidence in God, we must act as if all depended on ourselves.” While we place all our trust in God, let us pray for the courage and strength to continue Jesus’ ministry here on earth, trusting that God is with us in all that we do.

Liz Weigel

(Liz Weigel is a graduate from St. Norbert College and works in Campus Ministry at Mother McAuley Highschool. She is a Bernardin Scholar at CTU Chicago.)