GOSPEL READING:
Matthew 25:31-4631 "When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left.34 Then the King will say to those at his right hand, `Come, O blessed of 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, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'
37 Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' 40 And the King will answer them, `Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.'
41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, `Depart from me, you cursed, 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 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' 44 Then they also will answer, `Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' 45 Then he will answer them, `Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.' 46 And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
SCRIPTURE READING:
Ezekiel 34:11-17
11 "For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when some of his sheep have been scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the fountains, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and upon the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on fat pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the crippled, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will watch over; I will feed them in justice. 17 "As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, rams and he-goats.
Meditation: Do you allow the love of Christ, who is your
Lord and King, to rule in your heart? Augustine of Hippo (354-430
A.D.) said, "Essentially, there are two kinds of people,
because there are two kinds of love. One is holy, the other is
selfish. One is subject to God; the other endeavors to equal Him."
Jesus came not only to fulfill the law of righteousness (Leviticus
19), but to transform it through his unconditional love and mercy
towards us.
The Lord Jesus proved his love for us by offering up his life on
the cross as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. His death brings
freedom and life for us - freedom from fear, selfishness, and
greed - and new abundant life in the Holy Spirit who fills our
hearts with the love of God (Romans 5:5). Do you allow God's love
to purify your heart and transform your mind to think, act, and
love others as the Lord Jesus has taught through word and example?
The lesson of separating goats and sheep at the end of the
day
Jesus' description of the "Son of Man", a Messianic title which
points to the coming of God's anointed Ruler and Judge over the
earth (John 5:26-29, Daniel 7:13ff), and his parable about the
separation of goats and sheep must have startled his audience.
What does the separation of goats and sheep have to do with the
Day of God's Judgement over the earth? In arid dry lands such as
Palestine, goats and sheep often grazed together during the day
because green pasture was sparse. At nightfall, when the shepherd
brought the sheep and goats to their place of rest, he separated
them into two groups. Goats by temperament are aggressive,
domineering, restless, and territorial. They butt heads with their
horns whenever they think someone is intruding on their space.
Goats came to symbolize evil and the expression "scape-goat"
become a common expression for someone bearing blame or guilt for
others. (See Leviticus 26:20-22 for a description of the ritual
expulsion of a sin-bearing goat on the Day of Atonement.)
Jesus took our guilt and sins upon himself and nailed them to the
cross. He payed the price to set us free from sin and death. Our
choice is either to follow and obey him as our Lord and Savior or
to be our own master and go our own separate way apart from God's
way of truth and righteousness (moral goodness).
We cannot remain neutral or indifferent to the commands of
Christ. If we do not repent of our wrongdoing (our sins and
offenses against God and neighbor) and obey the Gospel we cannot
be disciples of the Lord Jesus nor inherit his kingdom of
righteousness, peace, and joy. Separation of the good from the bad
is inevitable because one way leads to sin, rebellion, and death
and the other way leads to purification, peace, and everlasting
life with God.
Love of God frees us from inordinate love of self
The parable of the goats and sheep has a similar endpoint as the
parable of the rich man who refused to give any help to the poor man
Lazarus who begged daily at the rich man's doorstep (Luke
16:19-31). Although Lazarus was poor and lacked what he
needed, he nonetheless put his hope in God and the promise of
everlasting life in God's kingdom. The rich man was a lover of
wealth rather than a lover of God and neighbor. When Lazarus died he
was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom to receive his reward
in heaven. When the rich man died his fortunes were reversed and he
was cast into the unquenchable fires of hell to receive his just
desserts. The parable emphasizes the great chasm and wall of
separation between the former rich man held now bound as a poor and
miserable prisoner in hell and Lazarus clothed in royal garments
feasting at God's banquet table in the kingdom of heaven.
The day of God's righteous judgment will disclose which kind of love
we chose in this present life - a holy unselfish love directed to
God and to the welfare of our neighbor or a disordered and selfish
love that puts oneself above God and the good of our neighbor.
When Martin of Tours (316-397 AD), a young
Roman soldier who had been reluctant to fully commit his life to
Christ and be baptized as a Christian, met a poor beggar on the road
who had no clothes to warm himself in the freezing cold, Martin took
pity on him. He immediately got off his horse and cut his cloak in
two and then gave half to the stranger. That night Martin dreamt he
saw a vision of Jesus in heaven robed in a torn cloak just like the
one he gave away that day to the beggar. One of the angels next to
Jesus asked, "Master, why do you wear that battered cloak?" Jesus
replied, "My servant Martin gave it to me." Martin's disciple and
biographer Sulpicius Severus states that as a consequence of this
vision "Martin flew to be baptized" to give his life fully to Christ
as a member of his people - the body of Christ on earth and the
communion of saints and angels in heaven.
Augustine of Hippo (354-430 A.D.) wrote, "Christ is
at once above and below - above in Himself, below in his people.
Fear Christ above, and recognize him below. Here he is poor, with
and in the poor; there he is rich, with and in God. Have Christ
above bestowing his bounty; recognize him here in his need" (excerpt
from Sermon 123, 44).
On the day of judgment Jesus will ask "whom did you love"?
When the Lord Jesus comes again as Judge and Ruler over all, he will
call each one of us to stand before his seat of judgment to answer
the question - who did you love and put first in this life?
Inordinate love of self crowds out love of God and love of neighbor.
Those who put their faith in Jesus Christ and follow his way of
love and righteousness will not be disappointed. They will
receive the just reward - life and peace with God in his everlasting
kingdom.
If we entrust our lives to the Lord Jesus today, and allow his Holy
Spirit to purify our hearts and minds, then he will give us the
grace, strength, and freedom to walk and live each day in the power
of his merciful love and goodness. Let us entrust our lives into the
hands of the merciful Savior who gave his life for us. And let us
ask the Lord Jesus to increase our faith, strengthen our hope, and
enkindle in us the fire of his merciful love and compassion for all.
Lord Jesus, be the Master and Ruler of my life. May your love rule in my heart that I may only think, act, and speak with charity and good will for all.
Psalm 23:1-6
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want;
2 he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters;
3 he restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Gathering and Separating, by an anonymous early author from the Greek church
"And he will separate them one from another as a shepherd
separates the sheep from the goats." So then, people on earth are
intermingled, and not only intermingled in that the righteous live
side by side with the wicked, but they are also indistinguishable.
Between the righteous and the wicked there is no apparent
difference. Even as in wintertime you cannot tell the healthy
trees apart from the withered trees but in beautiful springtime
you can tell the difference, so too each person according to his
faith and his works will be exposed. The wicked will not have any
leaves or show any fruit, but the righteous will be clothed with
the leaves of eternal life and adorned with the fruit of glory. In
this way they will be separated by the heavenly shepherd and Lord.
The earthly shepherd separates animals by their type of body,
whereas Christ separates people by their type of soul. The sheep
signify righteous people by reason of their gentleness, because
they harm no one, and by reason of their patience, because when
they are harmed by others, they bear it without resistance. He
refers to sinners as goats, however, because these vices
characterize goats - capriciousness toward other animals, pride
and belligerence." (excerpt from INCOMPLETE
WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 54, the Greek fathers).
