Reflection on Matthew 25:31-46

 

Matthew 25:31-46 (NRSVue)

³¹ “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. ³² 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, ³³ and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. ³⁴ Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you who are blessed by 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 something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶ 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.’ ³⁷ 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? ³⁸ And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you or naked and gave you clothing? ³⁹ And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ ⁴⁰ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’ ⁴¹ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You who are accursed, depart from me 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 nothing to drink, ⁴³ 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.’ ⁴⁴ 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?’ ⁴⁵ 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.’ ⁴⁶ And these will go away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life.”

Reflection

During Lent there are certain disciplines, certain things that we do to open ourselves to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  We have talked about how repentance, giving, prayer, and fasting can all open us to Jesus at work in us and through us.  The last discipline functions in a similar way.  The last discipline is classically described as “works of mercy.”  The idea is that somehow, through putting love into action, we will begin to see God’s works of love around us.

Jesus once said, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters or mine, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40).

Whenever we show someone mercy, whenever we give food, or water, or welcome a stranger, or give clothing, or care for someone who is sick, or visit someone who is imprisoned, Jesus says that it is the same as doing it to that person.  This makes sense, because Jesus can be found with the lowly and struggling, so if we help the lowly and struggling, Jesus will obviously be found right there.

Strangely, in Jesus’ parable concerning this, Jesus says that those good, good people who showed mercy and helped others did not even know Jesus was there!   The good people say to their king: “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?’” (Matthew 25:37-39).  

The answer the good people receive is: “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40). 

Connecting with those who need to be shown some goodness is the same as connecting with Jesus.  Just as prayer and fasting open us to hear and experience the Lord, when we show mercy to someone in need, our eyes can be opened to the presence of our Lord.  An act of mercy connects us with God and God’s love. 

I remember a time that my family saw the mercy of God through some good, good people.  It happened when my father went back to college late in life, and our family of five was trying to survive on the income that my mom could pull in by working a minimum wage job.  Mind you, two of us were very ravenous teenage boys.  We were not starving, but there were a lot of meals that included sandwiches.

Now, when Thanksgiving rolled around, the expense of a turkey meal was well beyond what we would be able to swing.  My dad had grabbed a turkey loaf out of the freezer section of the grocery store, because who does not like a good turkey loaf?  It you have ever had the pleasure of having a turkey loaf, you know that it is almost like food, and that it kind of tastes like turkey.

I once said that to someone, and they responded, “Hey, I love that stuff!”  They also ate Spam straight out of the can…so.

But, the day before Thanksgiving there was a knock at the door.  We opened the door and two men from our church were standing right there, holding a huge, fresh turkey.  How did they know?  We had not told anyone about our situation.  But there they were, bringing a turkey to our stomachs and tears to my mother’s eyes.  Whether they realized it or not, they had brought the kingdom of heaven to our small apartment that day and Jesus was there.  We saw Jesus in their act of mercy, and they saw Jesus, who was with us in our struggles.  “For I was hungry and you gave me food” (Matthew 25:35).

I cannot be alone in being at the receiving end of an act of mercy.  And if you have been on the receiving end as well, you will remember that it is as if Jesus is right there, remembering you and loving you at that very moment in time through the hands and feet of good, good people.

Go ahead and think of a time when you were hungry and the kingdom of heaven became real because you were given food.  Or think of a time when you were thirsty and the kingdom of heaven became real because you were given something to drink?  Or think of a time when you were a stranger and you were welcomed, or naked and someone gave you clothing, or when were you sick or in prison and you were cared for and visited?  Rejoice and be glad in each of these instances because each and every time Jesus was there, bringing the kingdom to you through those good, good people’s hands and feet.

Through those good, good people, Jesus has made you a part of the kingdom of heaven.  Through mercy, through grace, Jesus makes you a citizen of the kingdom of heaven.

And being a citizen of that kingdom, you are also one of those who offers food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, welcomes the stranger, gives clothing to the naked, and a holy and healing presence to the sick and imprisoned.  In fact, showing mercy literally puts you closer with Jesus, who is hanging out with the lowly and struggling.

I pray that through acts of mercy you actually get to hear the words spoken by Jesus to trustworthy servants: “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). 

But, if you have somehow failed to be a blessing, if you sometimes identify with those who did not show acts of mercy to those in need, I also pray that the time of correction from the Lord be transformative for you and that the punishment be a little less than eternal.  After-all, the word “punishment” can also be translated “correction.”  That is a more hopeful translation to those of us who hopelessly fall short of the mark.  Hopefully, those words of correction come from the mouth of someone who is kind and who loves you very much; like the day my best friend kindly pointed out one day that I was “kind of being an insensitive jerk.”  Hopefully, Jesus allows any times that we experience “correction” to transform us into his kingdom people. 

Blessed are you who come to realize that Jesus has made you citizens in the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are you who are citizens in the kingdom of love.  Blessed are you who devote yourselves to works of mercy.