Homily Solemnity of Christ the King
Most Rev. Jose H. Gomez
Archbishop of San Antonio
 
My Sisters and brothers in Christ:
 
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King. “This feast brings the
liturgical year to a close. Over the past months we have celebrated the
mysteries of the life of the Lord. Now we contemplate Christ in his glorified
state as King of all Creation and of our souls” In Conv. 5.91.1
 
From Psalm 28: “The Lord will reign for ever and will give his people the
gift of peace”
 
As Pope John Paul II said: “Christ reigns over the universe, which he
created. He is king because he is Creator. The Church proclaims the work of
creation and ‘through the work of creation’, she proclaims ‘the reign of God’
in the world”
 
It seems to me that sometimes it is difficult for us to imagine Christ’
Kingdom or even just Jesus as a King. Most of the time, the image that we
have of a King is not exactly the one of a good and nice person. We usually
think of a king as someone with a lot of authority and maybe with some
personal privileges. Not necessarily a bad person, but at least someone
leading a life of privilege. 
 
The readings of Today’s Mass talk to us about Christ the King and also the
characteristics of his Kingdom. 
 
The first reading from the Prophet Ezekiel describes God’s care for his
people as being like that of an attentive shepherd who keeps the sheep
together, heals their injuries and tends to them if they are sick: “the lost I
will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the
sick I will heal...”
 
The best image of Jesus as King is the one of a Good Shepherd, who loves
us to the point of giving his life for us. “As king, He came to reveal God’s
love, to be the Mediator of the new Covenant, the Redeemer of mankind”
Pope John Paul II, 11/26/89.
 
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That is also what the Responsorial Psalm reminds us: The Lord is my
shepherd; there is nothing I shall want” Ps. 23 
 
Christ the King knows us, cares for us, loves us, because He is the Good
Shepherd. He wants us to have a wonderful life and he’s committed to
accompany us in our journey of faith and love.
 
But his kingdom has some enemies. That is what the 2nd reading of today’s
Mass reminds us: “For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under
his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. When everything is
subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who
subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all”
 
It has been the history of the Church and it is still the reality of our times.
There are so many people that do not want Christ to reign in their lives. We
know that it is not just something of the past. We have experienced it in our
times too.  
 
The first enemy is sin because “The kingdom of God cannot exist alongside
the reign of sin” (Origen, priest): Our personal sins and the sins of people all
over the world. We cannot forget that sin is, first of all, “an offense against
God” CCC, 1850. It is a rejection of God and his kingdom. 
 
Then we can see the consequences of sin in our lives and our society. There
is war and terrorism; lack of justice and violence. The culture of death is still
present in many ways. The dignity of the human person is not the basis for
the common good. There is also our own personal weaknesses and sins. .
 
But today, once again, as we celebrate the feast of Christ the King, we are
here to affirm our desire to allow Christ to reign in our lives and our society.
We are here today to reject sin and to tell Jesus that we want Him to reign in
our own lives:
 
He must reign in our minds and for that we must believe in Him.
In our will, then we must obey Him – the laws and precepts of God.
In our actions, so we must act as children of God.
 
Then the kingdom of God will be a reality in our society: a “kingdom of
truth and life, kingdom of holiness and grace, kingdom of justice, love and
peace”
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In today’s Gospel, Jesus talks to us about the requirements for his kingdom
to be a reality in our lives and in our society. It is not a big and sophisticated
plan. It has the simplicity of the things of God. He’s talking about the final
judgment. How at the end of time “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”
 
Then he talks about the most important characteristic of his kingdom. It is
charity. Love of God and love of others. Deeds of charity!
 
“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 drink, a stranger and you
welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison
and you visited me”
 
We are not even asked to do things perfectly or in a heroic way, but to try to
do simple things in a charitable way: Things that we all can do in our
ordinary life. 
 
Who among us cannot do some of these things, “you welcomed me, you
visited me, you gave me some food and drink” or other similar things that
are not mentioned in the Gospel? ‘I needed to talk and you listened to me. I
was worried and you comforted me. I was frantic and you calmed me down.
I was blind, and you helped me down the street. I was poor and you stood up
for me. I could not read, and you shared your knowledge with me. The list
can go on forever. All we need is to become sensitive to the needs of those
whom God has sent into our lives.
 
This is the real challenge of our own personal life and of our society. This
coming week we have a good opportunity to put this into practice as we
celebrate Thanksgiving Day. Let’s make it a special one, not just because we
have family gatherings or because we are going to have a good meal, but
because we really go out of our way to make life better for the others.
 
Today we want to make the effort to imitate the life of Christ practicing
those little deeds of charity in daily life, because we want to correspond to
the love of God, loving others and making their lives better. 
 
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In the alternative opening prayer of today’s Mass we ask God to: “...Open
our hearts, free all the world to rejoice in his peace, to glory in his
justice, lo live in his love...”
 
Let us today, once again, renew our commitment to make the kingdom of
God a reality in our lives and in our society. Let’s affirm with our words and
deeds that we want Christ to reign in our life and that with his help we will
collaborate in spreading his kingdom on earth: a kingdom of truth and life
... holiness and grace ... justice, love and peace.