Mary M. McGlone

The feast of Christ the King offers us three different visions of the final days. The first, from the prophet Ezekiel, suggests that, at the end of the world, God will finally appear as the good shepherd to rescue the lost and forsaken.

Spiritual Reflections: There are moments when we need the comforting image of God as shepherd to assure us that what is beyond our control has not escaped the realm of God's potential to save. 

Our Scriptures were formed through a process of experience, reflection and oral tradition that was eventually written down, all under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Keeping that in mind, we might listen to today’s readings as if hearing the oral tradition, as if we were younger disciples listening to our predecessors.

Spiritual Reflections: Pity those who refuse to get involved. Given much, they choose not to enjoy it. Unlike servants who respond with gratitude for the opportunities they receive, the unwilling see everything with suspicion.

What Jewish father in Jesus’ day would ever even consider letting his daughter camp out waiting for a groom to arrive for a wedding celebration? That was a worse idea than an unsupervised sleepover! Some smart-aleck in the crowd must have told Jesus, “The foolish ones were the families who let their daughters go out alone at night!”

Spiritual Reflections: The caveat is that it is God's party that we're invited to enjoy — with absolutely everyone who cares enough to participate. The only requirement for admission is to hear the invitation and act like we want to be a part of it.

There used to be a billboard on Interstate 70 that said: “Don’t make me come down there!” It was signed, “God.” That just might sum up the first reading and Gospel we hear this week.

Spiritual Reflections: If we want to avoid the superficiality Jesus criticized, we will begin to engage in meaningful discussions. The clergy are not the only ones called to proclaim the word; we are all baptized to be a priestly, prophetic people.

Life often demands focus on what we deem important, how we spend our time, what sacrifices we are willing to make and how much it will cost. The rules and resolutions we make are often good indicators of what we consider central to our livelihood.

The money of the United States bears the official national motto: “In God We Trust.”  It’s a curious and sometimes contentious part of our history. Apparently, the motto first appeared on coins during the Civil War, a not so subtle assertion that God was on the side of the Union.

Spiritual Reflections: Caesar, the common good, society, can all make legitimate claims on us. We are responsible to create societies that serve the good of all. That's what we owe to Caesar.

In ancient Peru, long before the days of the marauding Spaniards, the Inca’s preferred method of conquest was to overcome people with kindness.

Scriptural Reflections: The feasters included bad and good alike. What was the entrance requirement? The chosen are the ones willing to receive God's surprising and free offers.

Today’s parable of the landowner and tenants used a situation familiar to the audience. A wealthy landowner wanted his due, the tenants rebelled and got the crazy idea that if they eliminated the owner’s servants and son, they would be the winners taking all.

Scriptural Reflections: When we listen to the parable of the mutinous tenants, instead of thinking of "those people," suppose we heard it addressed to all of us as stewards of Earth.

While we may have never tried to draw God’s picture, we all have implicit images of God, some of which we have articulated, some of which are all the more powerful for not having been brought to consciousness. 

Scriptural Reflections: "If you want to know what God looks like, look to this man." Jesus' mode of portraying God in human form had nothing to do with shows of power.

Isaiah quotes God as saying, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways.” There’s probably no sincere believer who would claim to understand God. 

Spiritual Reflections: Today's vineyard is a globalized economy, which means that the demands of justice and responsibility for the common good now know no national, ethnic or religious boundaries.

Sometimes it’s hard to figure out if the Lectionary addresses us as a philosophy class or as kindergarteners. Our reading from Sirach offers a little philosophy mixed with psychology, all under the heading of wisdom.