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.’
The previous parables invited us to concentrate our meditations on our past (the two sons), our present (the biggest commandment) and our near or far future (the ten women waiting for the groom's arrival). This Sunday the Gospel invites us to keep our train running till the terminal, where, upon arrival, we are invited to present our accounts, to be told what kinds of fruits our faith has produced.
Did we live our faith for ourselves or as instruments in God's hands and according to His loving care for others? Where and when did we meet our Incarnated God and witness to His Presence? Did we transform our faith into a genuine theory of love and charity, or were we translating this faith through loving charity towards our fellow human sisters and brothers?
In today's Gospel, we see Jesus Christ not humbling Himself, but much more identifying Himself with the poor by responding to their needs of all kinds. He asks His faithful to see Him and treat Him through the needy who starve for food, clothing, healing, freedom, education, dignity, and we can add many other items to our list!
We may ask Him that question "Where did we or didn't we meet or see you Lord?"... His answer remains accurate "Whatever you have done for those, it is for me that you have done it!" This is what the Lord said to Saul on his way to Damascus to persecute "those who followed the Way." The voice said to him, "Why do you persecute me, not them, but me in them?" (Acts 9:4-5).
St. James in James 2:15-17 is very explicit about faith acting through charity. It is according to the quality of love, rooted in our faith and expressed through our acts, that we reflect His Presence and His Love in our life today. In the temple of your conscience, check three things: the quality of your love for Christ, the quality of your love for Him through loving your neighbor, and the quality of your consciousness in fulfilling His will in your life. Ask yourself, "How much of His love is instilled in my acts?"
Our long journey will end at the gate, and those who followed God will be awarded the honor "to join the banquet of the Lamb!" Galatians 5:6b says that "The only thing that counts is faith working through love."
Fr. Kamal - November 22, 2020