See Jesus Around Us

Matthew 25: 31–46

Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Our gospel reading today about the separation of the sheep from the goats is called the last judgment because it tells us in very simple but powerful images about what is required of us to belong to the Kingdom of God. Jesus, the Son of Man, is presented as King and Judge, to administer justice. It is not surprising that we hear this reading every three years on the last Sunday after Pentecost when the Church celebrates the Reign of Christ, when we reflect on Christ’s reign over the world and our lives.

We can get distracted with this reading focusing only on who is a goat and who is a sheep. Most of us know we aren’t good, righteous sheep all the time. In the very best of us there is some goat. If we are honest we are both.

Matthew includes this judgment story as a warning. Jesus makes the choice so stark to impress us with the urgency of how we treat each other. Here near the end of his earthly ministry, Jesus is making it very clear to people who claim to be his disciples and supporters about how they should live. The focus is on what we are called to do and Jesus emphasizes the importance of acts of kindness, compassion, and service to the least among us.

Jesus tells us to give food to the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, give clothes to the naked, take care of the sick, and visit the imprisoned.

We learn that we recognize God most clearly in the face of our neighbor, meet God in the acts of mercy and service we offer, and live in the blessing of God as we seek to serve as Christ served.

Jesus’ message points us to where God can be found – not at the end of time waiting on a royal throne in glory, but right now, nearly everywhere we look, in the need of those around us. Our invitation today for this season of Lent is to remember that each and every day we can encounter the living and real presence of God through the eyes, the heart, and the hands of Jesus as we reach out to care for the needs of our neighbor.

Faithfully,
Rose+

prayer

Almighty and everlasting God, mercifully increase in us your gifts of holy discipline, in almsgiving, prayer, and fasting; that our lives may be directed to the fulfilling of your most gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.