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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."
In this text Jesus is asking me some difficult questions as he sorts the sheep from the goats.
ReplyDeleteDo you make most of the choices and decisions in your life for the love of God and the good of your neighbor? Are you one of my sheep who usually welcomes the stranger? Do you care for the sick and the lonely? Do you make choices for the common good even at your own expense? Do you mostly see your neighbor through eyes of compassion, generosity and forgiveness?
Or, are you one of the goats, consuming everything in sight? Are you mostly moved by pride to make yourself look good? Do you tend to overlook or even step on people in the interest of efficiency? Are you motivated by ambition to secure power, prestige or property without regard for the consequences to my sheep?
I have to admit, although sometimes I’m a sheep, far too many times I’m a goat. Almost as quickly as I do something to be helpful, I slip into self-congratulation. One minute I am generous and then recoil when I’m not appreciated. Not to mention all the times I’m not generous, forgiving or compassionate. This sheep turns into a goat faster than a snowball melts in – Phoenix.
So when I hear Jesus’ words I feel challenged. I am implicated. “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…” as the shepherd separates those who live for the love of God from those who live for self-serving love. Ouch.
Now here’s the good news. I believe this apocalyptic vision has already happened. The Son of Man has already come in the person of Jesus the Christ. In the midst of the broad sweep of history, Jesus intervened. He came for all people, for all nations. He came to assure the outcome by affirming that we are all as sheep, his sheep, and heirs with him of God’s kingdom, the City of God. Now it is up to us to decide if we want to behave like sheep or like goats. It is up to us to decide where we address our love.