This coming Sunday is the Solemnity of Christ the King. Brian Stoffregen, a Lutheran Pastor, writes that he has a love/hate relationship with this gospel:

“I hate it, because it seems to make works the requirement for being blessed by God. There is no mention of faith or justification or forgiveness or the cross — the acts of God that bring us salvation. Rather, the text is all about human actions.” Continue reading →

This coming Sunday is the Solemnity of Christ the King, Lectionary Cycle A. The gospel readings for the 29th through 31st Sundays in Lectionary Cycle A all describe a series of confrontations between Jesus and religious authorities of Jerusalem, namely the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 22 and 23). While not a part of Ordinary Time readings, Chapter 24 continues this theme of imminent destruction and coming tribulation (Mt 24:1-28). It is at this point that we turn the page to Matthew 25. It is here in Matthew 25 that we will finish the final three Sundays of this cycle of Ordinary Time: Continue reading →