|Matthew 25:31-46
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34Then 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. 35For 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.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40And the King will answer them, ’Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ 41 ”Then he will say to those on his left, ’Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For 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.’ 44Then they also will answer, saying, ‘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?’ 45Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
December 18, 2021
This may seem a harsh and out is often labeled, “The Judgement of the Nations. out-of-place biblical text for the weekend before Christmas week, as this passage”. In this passage, we hear about the second coming of the Son of man, when He will sit on His glorious throne, separating His sheep from His goats; the sheep to the Kingdom of the Father as His blessed children, but the goats will go away into eternal punishment. A stark reality as we are pre-occupied with Advent-Christmas preparations full of joy, laughter and light. And yet, we who have been saved by the blood of Jesus, by His grace as a gift, have no need to fear or cower under this biblical passage, for we have the hope and promise of salvation in and through Him. Because we have been saved, we need not fear judgement. Because we have been saved, then, we respond as Jesus encourages us to respond — by feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, caring for the sick and the imprisoned. These are the good works of those who have been saved by Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection. As children of God, we are called to live and serve in this way. And we serve, not only in Advent-Christmas-time, but every day. The Church of Jesus Christ is a living, loving, active army of Christian soldiers, marching as to war, but truly, moving forward to serve and care for those in need — whether the sick, the lonely, the grieving, the hungry, the homeless.