11/26/2023 (Sunday) Today’s gospel reading: Matthew 25:31-46
Jesus said to his disciples:
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne,
32 and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33 He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who 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 drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,
36 naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’
37 Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
38 When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
39 When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’
40 And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
41 Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, 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 no drink,
43 a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’
44 Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’
45 He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’
46 And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
11/26/2023 (Sunday) Today’s gospel reflection / homily / sermon: Matthew 25:31-46
The parable of the sheep and goats is a powerful metaphor for the coming final judgment. It is reminding us of three important things:
1. Jesus is present in others especially the poor and the marginalized members of society.
2. We are called to live a life of compassion, kindness, empathy and service.
3. Our actions or inactions have good or bad consequences.
The gospel reading above is asking us to see the face of Jesus in the vulnerable and less fortunate members of society. Jesus is telling us that whatever we do or not do to them, we do it to Him. Thus, if we say, we love Jesus, let us show that love to these sectors of society.
More often than not, we tend to ignore and neglect the poor and the marginalized. On the other hand, we constantly seek to associate with the successful and powerful. Worst, some of us have become the instruments for the marginalization of other people. By our greed and insatiable quest for power, we have victimized these people. On judgment day, the King would surely place us on His left and call us the goats.
It is not yet too late for us to develop compassion and kindness and there are many ways to do it. We can get involved in charitable causes. We can work for policies to help and protect the less fortunate. We can donate. We can pray for them. Above all, let us stop insulting the poor in words and deeds.
Finally, the parable reminds us to be aware of the consequences of our behavior towards the poor and the needy. It will ultimately make or break our entry into His Kingdom. Scripture tells us that “faith without work is dead” (James 2:14-22). For even as we believe that Jesus’ death and resurrection have opened heaven for us, we still need to walk towards heaven’s door. In our journey towards His kingdom, we do not walk alone. We have our brothers and sisters who may not be spiritually and physically strong enough to walk. The gospel passage above is telling us that we must help them. If we do so, we are truly blessed.
11/26/2023 (Sunday) Today’s gospel reflection / homily / sermon: Matthew 25:31-46
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