Matthew 25:31-46
31 “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. 32 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, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.
34 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; 35 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, 36 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.’
37 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? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 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.’
41 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; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 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.’
44 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?’ 45 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.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
"When did we see you, Lord?"
Homeless Jesus by Timothy Schmalz. The statue greets you as one enters Capernaum.
This Sunday, we are invited to reflect upon Jesus' final sermon that he delivers from the Mt. of Olives in Jerusalem before He is arrested. He tells about the end of time, describing what will happen on the last day of judgement.
We are reading the Gospel for the last week of the Church’s liturgical lectionary. It’s as if we are asked to give an account of the fruits of our Christian faith and how we will behave going forward.
This sermon deserves deep reflection and meditation because it is a summary of Christ's teachings. Here are some of His major points. They remind us of the committed Christian's identity, which results from reciprocating the love that God bestows upon us.
"God is Love." I John 4:16
"The Word became flesh." John 1:14
"Love Your God ... and your neighbor." Mark 12:30-31
"Who became the neighbor of the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?" “The one who had mercy on him." Luke 10:36-37 (The Good Samaritan)
"Why are you persecuting me? I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting."
Acts 9:4-5 (Saul on the Road to Damascus)
"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." Matthew 25:40
"I am thirsty"John 19:28 (When He was given vinegar on the cross)
Jesus identifies Himself with the needy of all kinds. If we identify ourselves with Him, we also have to identify with those in need. Where? When? Here and Now.
Every day we choose our path, either through our active identification with Jesus or through negligence of our Baptismal Vows. We can be among those who take care of Him through the needy around us, or among those who don’t see Him passing by and leave Him between alive and dead (Luke 10).
It’s time to prepare our annual account. Analyze your personal experiences. Have a real determination to draw a positive conclusion. See how you can be like Jesus through your concern for the needy here and now.
"God is Love", I John 4:16. “He loved us first." 1 John 4:19. Let us recognize, receive, and learn from God's love for us, and “speak His love language.”