I Will Feed Them With Justice

2011 has been a year of unrest.  People are not happy, and mainly it appears, that the unhappiness concerns the way things are being run.  For the last several weeks in the United States there have been "occupy" protests from Wall Street to university campuses and towns.  Around the world it's more obvious than ever that the guys in charge can't be trusted to rule wisely or justly.

It's nothing new that those in power want to hold onto power - and of course, wealth.  The 'system' is designed to keep the poor in poverty and the weak without power.  Justice is the exception rather than the rule. 

Although this is true, there is (I think) an innate sense in most people - even those who live in parts of the world where the rule of law is not practiced - that wrongs should be righted.  While many accept injustice as normative, there is a longing in human hearts for justice and righteousness.

Today is Christ the King Sunday, and the end of the liturgical year.  Christians end each year with a reminder that Christ is King because we live in a world filled with many things that are wrong and cry out for remedy.  Christians remind themselves today of two things:

1.  One day, Christ will return to set things aright.  Today's Old Testament Lectionary reading is from Ezekiel 34.  In that passage, the Lord says that he will feed people in good pastures, that He will seek out the lost and strayed, that He'll bind up the injured, and strengthen the weak.  He also promises to judge the "fat" sheep who took for themselves, leaving the weaker ones to only get weaker.

2.  The Gospel passage for today is from Matthew 25 and is the parable of the sheep and the goats.  Knowing that God will judge injustice, Christians should be engaged in working (like God) to feed the hungry, tend to the lonely and ill, clothe the naked, etc.  I'm not talking about the simple redistribution of wealth (a concept doomed to failure).  Instead Christians are called to give at every level - money, time, love, concern - to be fully invested as humans in the well-being of other humans.

As Thanksgivng approaches, we have much to be thankful for.  Chief among them is that fact that Christ is King.  He will one day return and "feed them with justice" (Ez 34:16).