Joke: A five-year-old boy was stalling to go to bed. He asked for a glass of juice. "No, sir," his father answered. "No more juice. I'm the king of the juice in this house." "That's not right, Daddy," the young fellow retorted. "Our Sunday school teacher said that Jesus is the king of the Jews."

The Church celebrates the feast of Christ the King on the last Sunday of the liturgical year. This feast was introduced into the liturgy in 1925 by Pope Pius XI. We celebrate Christ as the King of the Universe by enthroning him in our hearts and inviting him to take control of our lives. 

In celebrating the feast of Christ the King, the Church presents Jesus, whom we have learned about his preaching, teaching, and healing rooted in one word “LOVE” during the last twenty-two Sundays, as our King and Lord who was and is the visible presence of God in our midst.

In today’s first reading, prophet Ezekiel describes a king, a good shepherd is the one who “will look after and tend his sheep.” A good shepherd is the one who “tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark. [He] will pasture [the] sheep; [he] will give them rest. The lost [he] will seek out, the strayed [he] will bring back, the injured [he] will bind up, the sick [he] will heal, but the sleek and the strong [he] will destroy, shepherding them rightly.” Prophet Ezekiel reminds us of the good shepherd who cares and pastures attentively to the needs of the sheep, have we learned from that as priests, religious brothers and sisters, parents and grandparents, teachers, and those who hold authority? What does it mean to be a good shepherd? Does it have to be a priest? A nun? A parent or grandparent? A teacher? A doctor? A politician? Or whoever it is? How can one be a good shepherd?

“Father,” someone shared with me in one of the parishes, “I’m hurting because of that priest. He did not give me the absolution!” The sin to betray his master, has Jesus condemned Judas Iscariot? The sin to deny his master, even though he was warned, has Jesus condemned Peter? The sin of prostitution is that according to the laws, she had to be stoned to death, has Jesus condemned her? I listened to confession, and sometimes, someone came and confessed in Spanish. Did I understand? Absolutely none. Did I give absolution? Absolutely yes. Was it right or wrong to give absolution to someone when I didn’t understand what the person said? Wrong. Exactly, wrong. Who forgives the sins of the person? God. Who needs to understand the person’s sins? God and not me. That’s why when a priest gives the absolution, he always says, “I absolve you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” “Then Father,” someone asks, “why don’t we just confess directly to God just as other religions do?” Wrong. From Sacred Scripture, Jesus commends to Peter saying, “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you lose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Mt 16:19). Therefore, priest, in the name of the Father, and of the Son and the Holy Spirit has authority to forgive sins. Sacred Scripture, as we are reminded from the teaching of the Church, “is the speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit” (CCC 81). Sacred Tradition, Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, “transmits in its entirety the Word of God which has been entrusted to the apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit” (CCC 81). Therefore, our faith is passed down to us through Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture. The Lord Jesus entrusted the care of his Church to his Apostles, particularly to Peter, whatever he and his successors released will be released, and whatever he holds back will be held back, no question to ask. The Lord entrusts us with the gift to forgive sins and to withhold sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, not in our own name. That’s why I often asked myself when I ran into a difficult situation, “If the Lord Jesus in this case, what would he do?” I often ask that question to seek guidance. Parents and grandparents, have we ever asked ourselves, what if Jesus were involved in this situation or that situation, what would he do when we experienced our children involved in drugs, involved in criminal acts, struggling with fidelity in the relationship, struggling with school, having difficulty to listen to parents, grandparents, teachers, and those who hold authorities? Or the moment that we experience these, the moment we point the finger at this person or that person, this school or that school, this church or that church, etc. Do we pay close attention to the needs of our children? Do we seek Christ for guidance? How do we seek his guidance? Or put it this way, how do we listen to God’s guidance?

A lady shares, “Father, I pray every day on my way to go to work that God gives me the patience to deal with my employees, but as soon as I walk into my workplace, I run out of patience quickly when things do not go in the way I want. Why?” “You seek God for guidance correctly,” I said. “However, you might not know how to listen.”

How do we listen to Christ’s guidance? Matthew, in today’s Gospel, beautifully teaches us how to listen to Christ’s guidance by repeating the words of Jesus saying, “Whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.” What did they do? Jesus said, “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.” How can we do all these if we don’t have attentive care for the needs of others, the needs of our children?

Pay attention to the verbs that are described in today’s Gospel, to feed, to give, to welcome, to cloth, to care, and to visit, aren’t they all rooted in the word “love?” What is love if it’s not the greatest commandment that the Lord Jesus teaches us? Christ is the King of the universe because of his great love, great care, great compassion, and great concern for us, have you loved, cared, concerned, and compassioned towards others? What have you done in following Christ the King of the universe if it’s not to do what he commands us to do? Are you ready to face his judgment when he comes as the King of the universe? The decision is yours.