(Ez.34:11-12,15-17; Ps.23:1-6; 1Cor.15:20-26,28; Mt.25:31-46) "Whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me." Jesus is King. It is He to whom the Father has "subjected everything" and who "must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet," until He has "destroyed every sovereignty and every authority and power"; and it is He who then "hands over the kingdom to His God and Father… that God may be all in all." Yes, "when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit upon His glorious throne, and all the nations will assemble before Him." And He who is the Good Shepherd will separate the sheep beneath His rule "one from another": it is He who will say to the righteous, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world"; and to the unrighteous, "Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." He will judge all souls, for all souls are in His hands. Yes, He is King. And yet this King is with His subjects; this Shepherd is hidden in His sheep – He is the Shepherd who "finds Himself among His scattered sheep." Indeed, in His power He promises to "pasture [His] sheep": "The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal"… but more than this, more than this is our King to us. For He is a King who not only serves the poor and broken, but who is the poor and broken Himself. Though all power and glory and honor are with Him who is exalted as Head over all, He travels with the least of His children; He makes Himself one with the least of all creatures. Does He not say, "I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me"? Oh how He unites Himself with our humanity! His love is beyond our comprehension. And, brothers and sisters, it should be obvious what we are now called to do; if we wish to be "brought to life… each one in proper order," following "Christ the firstfruits," we must walk in His way. If we wish to sing with David His humble king, "You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows" – if indeed we desire to share in His eternal kingship, we must on the dust of this earth serve Him in the least among us… we ourselves must be the least, as He is. Alleluia to our exalted King! Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "Coat of Warmth" from Cleansing Human Frailty, fourth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, walk among us and shepherd us well in the reign of your Son, that we might love as you love. YHWH, how shall we come to dwell in your House forever? How shall we be the sheep at your right hand? Only by becoming as your only Son. Only by making ourselves present among the least. For you have a compassionate heart which reaches out to all in need. You have hands that bind up the wounds of your little ones, that care for the hungry and the sick. You prepare for all righteous souls a place in your kingdom, and your Son shows us how to be like you, that we might enter your presence. O Jesus, O Lord, who reign above all as our Head, as our God, as the Savior of all righteous souls… how shall we love as you have loved; how shall we see you in the needs of our fellow man? Blind we are and crawling in the dust – how shall we be exalted with you at the Father's right hand? It is by your walking amongst us, O Lord and King, that we are saved from all selfishness and find the compassion and humility we need to enter into the Father's heart. Give us the rest we desire, set us free from sin and death… raise us up to dwell with you as we make our lives like your own.