Father Koch: All human interaction is an encounter with Jesus
November 24, 2023 at 7:00 a.m.
Gospel Reflection for Nov. 26, 2023, Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus, King of the Universe
As he sat in the Temple precincts in what we liturgically call Holy Week, Jesus spoke openly and boldly to those who would listen. As was his usual teaching style, especially as he attracted new listeners, was to tell parables. Over the past two weeks, and continuing again this week, we will have heard three parables which St. Matthew records concurrently in his Gospel. The three parables: Ten Virgins, Servants entrusted with talents, and the Son of Man dividing the world into sheep and goats, all build upon and explain each other. Jesus told these parables together, and in a sense we have to read them together in order to understand what Jesus was teaching them.
First, Jesus told a parable about ten virgins attending a wedding banquet. Five of them brought enough oil for their lamps so that they could greet the bridegroom upon his arrival, not knowing how long it would be. The other five did not and, as their oil began to run out, they were forced to leave and purchase oil as the first five would not share their oil with them. The bridegroom arrived while they were gone and they got shut out of the wedding banquet.
Jesus then tells a parable about a wealthy landowner who, as he was leaving for a journey, entrusted large sums of money with three servants according to their ability. One received five, one two, and a third one allotment of money to do with what they deemed proper. The first two doubled their money while the third merely buried the money in a hole so that he would not lose it. Upon his return the master commended the first two, chastised and exiled the third, giving his allotment to the first.
Then Jesus tells the parable about the Son of Man who, upon his return, divides humanity into two groups. He acknowledges those who fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, visited the imprisoned, and welcomed the stranger, and then he sent into the darkness those who did not. Neither group understood that as they treated each other they encountered him.
Each of these parables highlights for us the demands of discipleship. We are called first to be alert, prepared and filled with sufficient oil (grace) to welcome the Lord upon his arrival. Then, we are called to invest that faith wisely and to make the most of what the Lord bestows upon us. We have a faith that needs to be shared as it is also lived.
As we celebrate the final Sunday of Ordinary Time, the Solemnity of Christ, the King of the Universe, we are reminded of the true universal nature of the mission and message of Jesus. At the end of time each one of us is to be judged according to the acts of our lives, how we each fulfilled the mission that was given to us. Jesus clearly teaches that all human interaction -- knowingly and unknowingly -- is an encounter with him. We find Jesus in the least, the marginalized, and the outcast. Those who are the easiest to overlook are the ones who are dearest to his heart. Our challenge is clear -- we must extend mercy in order to know mercy.
Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.
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Gospel Reflection for Nov. 26, 2023, Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus, King of the Universe
As he sat in the Temple precincts in what we liturgically call Holy Week, Jesus spoke openly and boldly to those who would listen. As was his usual teaching style, especially as he attracted new listeners, was to tell parables. Over the past two weeks, and continuing again this week, we will have heard three parables which St. Matthew records concurrently in his Gospel. The three parables: Ten Virgins, Servants entrusted with talents, and the Son of Man dividing the world into sheep and goats, all build upon and explain each other. Jesus told these parables together, and in a sense we have to read them together in order to understand what Jesus was teaching them.
First, Jesus told a parable about ten virgins attending a wedding banquet. Five of them brought enough oil for their lamps so that they could greet the bridegroom upon his arrival, not knowing how long it would be. The other five did not and, as their oil began to run out, they were forced to leave and purchase oil as the first five would not share their oil with them. The bridegroom arrived while they were gone and they got shut out of the wedding banquet.
Jesus then tells a parable about a wealthy landowner who, as he was leaving for a journey, entrusted large sums of money with three servants according to their ability. One received five, one two, and a third one allotment of money to do with what they deemed proper. The first two doubled their money while the third merely buried the money in a hole so that he would not lose it. Upon his return the master commended the first two, chastised and exiled the third, giving his allotment to the first.
Then Jesus tells the parable about the Son of Man who, upon his return, divides humanity into two groups. He acknowledges those who fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, visited the imprisoned, and welcomed the stranger, and then he sent into the darkness those who did not. Neither group understood that as they treated each other they encountered him.
Each of these parables highlights for us the demands of discipleship. We are called first to be alert, prepared and filled with sufficient oil (grace) to welcome the Lord upon his arrival. Then, we are called to invest that faith wisely and to make the most of what the Lord bestows upon us. We have a faith that needs to be shared as it is also lived.
As we celebrate the final Sunday of Ordinary Time, the Solemnity of Christ, the King of the Universe, we are reminded of the true universal nature of the mission and message of Jesus. At the end of time each one of us is to be judged according to the acts of our lives, how we each fulfilled the mission that was given to us. Jesus clearly teaches that all human interaction -- knowingly and unknowingly -- is an encounter with him. We find Jesus in the least, the marginalized, and the outcast. Those who are the easiest to overlook are the ones who are dearest to his heart. Our challenge is clear -- we must extend mercy in order to know mercy.
Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.