Sunday – Feast of Christ the King 

Gospel – Matthew 25:31-46

Sheep or Goat?

Judaean Desert

Some of my fondest memories as a father and grandfather are going to the zoo or a petting zoo with Jaime, our daughter, or our grandsons Tyler and Nate.  I remember how often I would dig through my pockets looking for spare change to buy a handful of grain so the kids could feed the animals.  Ducks, geese, chickens, sheep, you name it!  So cute and cuddly!  And then there were the goats – all of them coming at you all at once, pushing & shoving, every goat for themselves!  It was a mad house and you could easily find yourself getting tripped and knocked to the ground in their mad rush for the grain!

We celebrate today the Feast of Christ the King, the official end of Ordinary Time.  I imagine our image of a king involves ornate robes, a crown and a throne with the loyal subjects kneeling before him, a king coming in majesty at the end of time to judge the world!

And we do get that picture at the beginning of today’s Gospel.  But that picture quickly switches and we are left with that of a simple shepherd!  A shepherd separating the sheep from the goats!  Say what?  Maybe a little background info is in order.

Our experience of sheep and goats is probably limited to petting farms and zoos and any of us can easily tell the difference between a sheep and a goat.  But that was not the case at the time of Jesus.  Back then they were almost identical and it was only the shepherd, someone who was with them 24/7, who lived with them, who cared for them, it was only the shepherd who could tell the difference. 

But why separate them?  Because they were so different!  Sheep were entirely dependent; they are basically defenseless animals.  Without a shepherd they could wander off and die.  They need direction and protection!  Goats, on the other hand, were independent, opinionated and stubborn.  At times, they were dangerous and destructive.  In simple terms, the shepherd protected his sheep from the environment.  The goat-herd protected the environment from his goats!  Sheep are led by the shepherd; they know the sound of His voice and they follow Him.   Goats?  Goats follow their own voice and the goat-herd follows them!

So why does the Lord separate the sheep from the goats?  The answer lies in the rest of today’s Gospel!  Do we hear the sound of His voice and respond accordingly?  Or are we stubborn and follow only our own whims?  Do we depend on His guidance and His protection?  Or do we choose to go our own way? 

Like the shepherd who cares for his sheep, do we look out for the needs of others, in the spirit of today’s Gospel – feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the stranger, caring for the ill and visiting the imprisoned?  Or like the goats, do we only look out for ourselves?

We celebrate today the Feast of Christ the King, a King like no other.  A king who rules with love and compassion, with wisdom and grace, serving His people just like a good shepherd who places the needs of his sheep over his own!  And as His subjects, we are called to do the same!  To put aside our stubbornness, our pride and our selfishness and respond to the needs of others!  To realize that our selfishness and pride can separate us from our family and loved ones! 

That is what Our King calls us today to do – to serve Him by serving others, to attend to the needs of the least among us, in the hope that He will welcome us all into the Kingdom.

Today marks the end of the liturgical year; next Sunday is the beginning of the Advent Season.  Today’s Gospel focuses on the end of this life – the final judgment!  A perfect time for us to look back on this liturgical year and reflect on our life!  Just as we hear in the first reading that the Lord will shepherd us and tend to our every need – whether we are lost, injured, strayed or injured - SO TOO in the Gospel we hear that our Lord and King will judge us based on how we shepherd others!

So the question remains!

Are we goats?  Headstrong?  Defiant?  Do we pull away from the Lord’s call?  Do we choose to go our own way, do our own thing, thinking we have all the answers and that no one else matters?  Do we knock over other people just to get what we want?

Or are we the sheep who not only hears the call of the shepherd but responds!  Do we trust the Shepherd to lead us to water, food, safety, the kingdom?  Are we sensitive to the call of the Spirit?  Are we willing to follow the path of the Shepherd?