The Gospel of 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.”
Feast of Christ the King, also called Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, festival celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church in honor of Jesus Christ as lord over all creation. It was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925. Originally, it was celebrated on the last Sunday in October, but in the revised liturgical calendar promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1969 it was moved to the last Sunday of Ordinary Time (immediately preceding Advent), where its theme of Christ’s dominion made it a fitting end to the liturgical year. The festival is also observed in Lutheran, Anglican, and other Protestant churches.
Let us pray: Eternal God, you set Jesus Christ to rule over all things, and made us servants in your kingdom. By your Spirit empower us to love the unloved, and to minister to all in need. Then, at the last bring us to your eternal realm. where we may worship and adore you and be welcomed into your everlasting joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Why don’t we pay more attention to life as we live it? Why do we miss so much? Matthew in this Gospel says both groups, sheep and goats alike, say they didn’t realize that the poor of the world represented Jesus. Both missed that connection. The righteous notice that Jesus was present with the poor, the hungry, the prisoners. They realized Jesus treated all people with love. There’s that theme of separation again. Jesus divides humanity into two teams: the sheep and the goats. The sheep go to his “right hand,” are declared “blessed” by their Father, and “inherit the kingdom prepared for them since the foundation of the world.” When it is all said and done, they go into “eternal life.” The “goats” on the other hand, aren’t quite as fortunate. They go to his “left hand,” are declared “accursed,” and are relegated to “the eternal fire prepared by the devil and his angels” for an eternity of “punishment.” But if so, then suppose that those who had failed to do ministry were to ask the King a counter-question. First, they ask, “When did we brush you aside, Lord?” and the Lord replies, “You did it every time you brushed them aside.” But suppose these folks countered by asking, Well, how were we supposed to know that? If we had known it had been you all along, Lord, we would’ve acted differently, and we would have done things differently. Do you act and do things differently when you know that you are doing it for the boss. If so stop and ask yourself, which team are you on and which would you prefer to be on? Now, how do we get on the sheep team? Well, the Good News is that Jesus tells us in detail. We are called to help those in need. and we cannot ignore the plight of human beings suffering hunger, thirst, nakedness, homelessness, sickness, or imprisonment. We work in order to meet our own needs and the needs of those dependent on us; but we also work in order to have something to give to those in need. Folks who do such things get to play on the sheep team, where the signing bonuses are out of this world. It’s interesting to notice the importance of this teaching being given by Jesus in the last week of his life. In fact, this is one of the last things Jesus says to his followers. What Jesus is doing here, at the end point of his earthly ministry, is making it very clear to people who claimed to be his disciples and supporters that there is no gray area at all when it comes to following him. You’re either with him, or you aren’t.
Let us Pray : Lord of the past and the future: we thank you for the last Church Year. We thank you for the fellowship and joy of our worship together as a community. We pray for the coming year, that we may benefit from the teaching and wisdom of the church and grow in faith and knowledge of You, Amen.
Reflections by Bob 