Feast of Christ the King

When Jesus told the parable of Sheep and Goat in Matthew 25, he must have Ezekiel 34 in his mind.
In Ezekiel 34, God complains against the shepherds of Israel, the rulers who have done a poor job. They have not taken good care of the people. They even fed on them, devoured them to fatten themselves. Therefore, God takes it upon Himself the responsibility to shepherd the Chosen People Himself.
Firstly, God will rescue His sheep from the mouth of these shepherds (Ezekiel 34:11).
Then, God will seek out the scattered sheep (Ezekiel 34:12).
God will feed them (Ezekiel 34:13-14).
I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD.
I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the crippled, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will watch over; I will feed them in justice (Ezekiel 34:15-16).
Then God will turn to His flock and pass judgment on them because some do not do well.
As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, rams and he-goats (Ezekiel 34:17).
The Jews had lost their national independence ever since the Babylonian Captivity during which Ezekiel made the prophecy above. They had to wait until Jesus came to complete the judgment story.
In the afternoon, the parish invited Fr. Benedict Lam to celebrate the 35^th anniversary of Parish Feastday. Fr. Lam served us 11 years before he handed over the parish to Fr. John Baptist Kwan, the current parish priest. He was assigned the Spiritual Director and then the Vice-Rector of the Holy Spirit Seminary. This is also his Silver Jubilee of Ordination.
In the homily, he noted that if we read the story of Matthew alone, we would not obtain a full picture of the kingship of Christ and would be very scared. Christ the King is seen passing judgment on his people. This one has done what is required. He will inherit the Kingdom of God. That one has not done what is required. He will be condemned forever. This is a very scary image. Fr. Lam invited us to take into consideration the readings in Year B & C as well.
In Year B, we will read of Jesus before Pilate. Jesus made it clear that his kingdom does not belong to this world. It is a different kind of kingdom and we will not be measured by worldly standards: achievements, riches, authority etc. It will be a different standard by which we will be measured.
In Year C, we will read of Jesus crowned king on the cross. Jesus claimed his kingship through an unconditional love for God and for men. This is how we would be measured at the end. How much have we loved in this life?
Fr. Lam also touched upon the topic of "financial tsunami".  He brought our attention to the parable of talents we read last week. He asked us what if the first servant who got 5 talents worked hard and still incurred losses in his investment. Say he lost 3 out of 5 talents. What would the master tell him? Fr. Lam suggested that the master would still praise and reward the servant because he had worked hard. There are factors beyond our control and God understands. However, I beg to be different. Here, I may be over-optimistic. I think the Master would guarantee and help this servant make profit in his investment.
At the end of the ceremony, the parish presented 3 gifts to Fr. Lam.
First, the parish promised to send one young man to the Holy Spirit Seminary within one year.
Second, the parishioners would say 1000 Rosary for vocation.
Lastly, the parish bought Fr. Lam a few shirts for priests.

Dear Master, if it be Your will, may more young men of our parish generously respond to Your call. The financial tsunami may be a good opportunity for us to re-prioritize our values. We pray that more young men will be able to see the value of devoting themselves to the preaching of the good news. Amen.