Christ the King A.  November 20, 2005.  Our Lady of Grace 5:15, 9:30. Ezekiel 34: 11-12, 15-17.  I Corinthians 12: 20-26, 28.  Matthew 25: 31-36.

When I was studying for my college degree I was required to take an oral examination before three professors of the university.  After four years of graduate study the professors gave me twelve questions that summarized and touched on all of Catholic teaching and theology.  I knew in advance what the questions would be.  There were to be no surprises.  All I had to do was to make sure that I knew as much as possible about each of the questions.  The thing that very much surprised me was the language I was asked to speak during the exam. The moment I sat down one of the professors asked me to speak only in Italian.  My heart began to beat so fast that I thought that the top of my head would blow off.  I realized that even if I knew all the answers perfectly, I would not pass the exam unless I could express myself in the expected language – Italian! When we talk to God on the Day of Judgment there will be only one language that God understands.  God has spoken to us and written to us in the language of love, using the blood of Jesus shed for us on the Cross.  Even if we know all of the answers perfectly, it will do us no good if we do not speak in the language of love.

The professors at the University started my oral test with one very simple question: What is grace?    I answered as quickly as possible.   I talked about sanctifying grace and actual grace.  I talked about prevenient grace and redeeming grace. I talked about the grace of a vocation and the grace of perseverance.  After a very long time and almost by accident I said, “Grace is the life of the Holy Spirit in us.”  One of the professors slammed his hand on the table and said, “Ma, Padre!”  “But, Father!  Grace is the life of the Holy Spirit in us – yes, yes, yes!. Why did it take you so long to say what is most important?”  I told him that this answer seemed to be too simple.  Because I was studying for a doctorate in theology I was sure that the answer had to be very complicated and difficult.   The professor said, “Many ordinary people do not know all of your complex theology.  All they know is that grace is the life of the Holy Spirit in them – and knowing this they become great saints.  Are you going to make following Jesus so complicated that ordinary people can’t understand it, or think that they have to have great answers in their heads before they can be great saints in their lives?.”  He said, “All of your precise theology is very important.  More important still is the simple truth of our faith that all people can be holy if they follow the Holy Spirit living in them.

Jesus said and did many important things in his life.  To keep us from being confused, today’s gospel Jesus speaks so plainly and so clearly that no one can miss the simple truth about what leads to everlasting life in heaven.  Jesus said, “Whatever you did for the least of my brothers and sisters you did for me.”   Those who provide food and drink, a welcome and care for the most needy brothers and sisters of Jesus will go to heaven.    Those who did not provide food and drink, a welcome and care for the neediest of the brothers and sisters of Jesus will be condemned to hell.  This is the only question in the final exam on Judgment Day.  It is very clear and easy to understand. Everything else in our Christian lives is a preparation for answering this question well.

This Feast of Christ the King is pro-life Sunday at Our Lady of Grace.  As we bring this Church year to a close today it is very clear that pro-life issues are not just pressing concerns for some people in the Church.  The way that we treat our brothers and sisters is both the key to heaven and the doorway that leads to hell.  This is the only thing that the Lord will question us about on Judgment Day.   

In my homily last Sunday I talked about the movie North Country.  It is an “R” rated movie.  I do not recommend it for anyone who is not old enough to see it.  For the rest of us I would put North Country on the “must see” list.  The movie takes place in Minnesota.  It is based on a true story.  One of the most horrifying scenes in the movie is the violent abuse of a teenager by her teacher, resulting in the teen’s pregnancy.  Violence against women is an ugly thing. It is very hard to watch.  Many years later the son of this teenage mother finds out about how his life began.  In trying to explain her love for her son and why she went through with the pregnancy, the mother told her son that at first she thought of him as the unwanted presence of a violent enemy.   Then, as he began to move around inside of her she realized that he was not an enemy.  The being inside of her was her baby.  She said that she fell in love with the child in her womb in spite of the horror that marked his beginning.  The goodness of this woman shines brightly with the light of Christ. A moral stance on behalf of life and goodness is not easy in our violent world, especially if we are the ones who have experienced the violence.  God’s grace brings life out of suffering and love out of hatred.  It empowers us to act in non-violent ways even when we are victims of violence.  Jesus will not ask about what others did to us on the Day of Judgment.  He will ask how our response to the least and sometimes the vilest among us reflected his grace and merciful love in the world.   

Recently I heard a professor from the University of Minnesota talk about the use of torture in interrogating prisoners.  Her point was simple. We may miss some important information that torture could have shaken lose, and we may even suffer because we didn’t have that information.  Yet, she said, there are some things that moral people will never do no matter how much it costs them. Of course the same can be said of capital punishment.  No matter what a criminal does, there are some things moral people will not do in return.  More and more, our Church is telling us that taking the life of even the most heinous criminal is not allowed in a settled and civilized society like our own. In the Book of Genesis, God protected the life of Cane after he had murdered his brother Abel.  Human life is always sacred in God’s presence – even the life of a criminal – not because the criminal is good, but because God is, and we are called to reflect that goodness always. 

As we stand before God on the Day of Judgment the language God understands will be the language of love.  There will be only one question in the final test, “How did you treat the very least of my brothers and sisters?”    Being pro-life is not an option.  It is the only question in the final test leading to the joys of heaven.