Matthew 25:31-46

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. We can’t reduce Lent to two days of fasting and abstinence from meat on Fridays. 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 the good works, empowered by grace, are a criterion for salvation and insists that God will judge us according to our good 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 good works of mercy performed by the righteous are the result of their embracing of the gospel. We are called to be perfect (Matthew 5:48) and can only attain this perfection because God makes it possible (Matthew 19:26). On our own and by our own natural powers alone, we cannot attain God’s holiness, life, and perfection. God is the one who renders our good works meritorious. On our own, we can build up debt through sinful actions, but, with God, we can 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. A Return on the Gift of Grace: The understanding of gift-giving in the First Century sheds light on the dynamic of the gift of God’s grace. Back then, gifts were almost always given with the expectation of some return. Gifts were reciprocal. Sometimes this return was made through gratitude and praise. Other times, the receiver responded with faithfulness, loyalty, and obedience. The return could also be made through service or by maintaining the relationship. Finally, the return could be made through further giving or beneficence. In each case, the initial gift was not given back in the same way. Instead, the return of the gift was seen as a realization or fruit of the gift. When God gives his grace to us, he does not expect to receive it back in the same way. We can add nothing to God’s perfection, nor can we give him something that he lacks. But we can use the gift of his grace wisely and bear fruit here on earth for his kingdom. God is a good Father who wants us to use the gifts he gives us. He wants us to feed the hungry, satiate the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, care for the sick, bury the dead, instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, admonish sinners, comfort the afflicted, forgive offenders, bear wrongs patiently, and pray for the living and the dead. God will judge us and is not indifferent to how we use the gift of his grace.

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 corporal 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?