Matthew 25:31-46

Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18

Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 15

Matthew 25:31-46

Jesus said to his disciples:

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory,

and all the angels with him,

he will sit upon his glorious throne,

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.

He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

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.

For I was hungry and you gave me food,

I was thirsty and you gave me drink,

a stranger and you welcomed me,

naked and you clothed me,

ill and you cared for me,

in prison and you visited me.’

Then the righteous will answer him and say,

‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,

or thirsty and give you drink?

When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,

or naked and clothe you?

When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’

And the king will say to them in reply,

‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did

for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

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.

For I was hungry and you gave me no food,

I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,

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.’

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?’

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.’

And these will go off to eternal punishment,

but the righteous to eternal life.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, one day I will stand before your throne and truly see how I lived my life on earth. I hope that I will see a life filled with love and service and not selfishness and sin. Help me to keep this day of judgment ever present in my mind and heart and prepare for it as I should.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Salvation and Good Works: At the beginning of Lent, it is good to be reminded by the Gospel that not only should we give up certain things but also that we should do certain things. Before considering the need to do good works, we need to remember that scripture teaches salvation is given to us by God as a free gift: “By grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God – not because of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Scripture also teaches that good works are a criterion for salvation and insists that God will judge us according to our works: “And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had done” (Revelation 20:12). In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches us that, “those welcomed into the kingdom are those who have performed works of mercy. Those who have not performed such works ‘go away into eternal punishment.’ It is the presence or absence of works that determines one’s future destiny” (Barber, The Role of Works in the Final Judgment, 168).

2. With God, all things are Possible: The works of mercy performed by the righteous are the result of their embracing of the gospel. We are called to be perfect and can only attain this perfection because God makes it possible (Matthew 19:26). God is the one who renders our good works meritorious. Just as we can build up debt through sinful actions, we can also build up heavenly credit through good actions: “Sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven” (Matthew 19:21). These good works will store up heavenly treasure only when they are empowered by God’s grace and when we do them united to Christ. Apart from Jesus Christ, we can do nothing that avails for salvation (see John 15:5).

3. The Holiness Code in Leviticus: Our First Reading is taken from the Holiness Code found in the Book of Leviticus. There, we find a summons to be holy as the Lord is holy, a summons that runs throughout the book. “The Lord is holy in a unique way because his goodness and power are infinite and incomparable; likewise, he is separated from sin and unapproachable by sinners (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Old and New Testament, 178). The moral laws given in Leviticus 18-20 are meant to form Israel in justice and charity and to protect them against the godless practices of the Gentiles. Many of the Ten Commandments are repeated in this passage and culminate in the second most important law: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). We should not rely on our own strength to love as we ought, but rely on the power of Christ working within us.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you came to us as a humble servant but will return to us as a glorious judge. Have mercy upon me and prepare me for this encounter. I cannot hide anything from you. All will one day be laid bare. Teach me to serve my brothers and sisters as you did.

Living the Word of God: The works of mercy Jesus commands us to do are very concrete: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and visit those in prison. Looking back over the first two months of this year, which of these six things have we done? Have we done something similar to these actions, like spending quality time with an elderly parent or teaching someone about the Christian life? Looking ahead to the upcoming weeks, where are there concrete opportunities to do these works of mercy?