"Lord, when did we see you ... ?"

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And he will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right hand, 'Come, you blessed of 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; I was a stranger and you took me in. I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe you? Or when did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.' Then he will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the everlasting 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; I was a stranger and you did not take me in, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer him, 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?' Then he will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

- Matthew 25:31-46

Over the course of the past several readings, we have been reading Jesus' discourse on the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem and the end of the age, including the Second Coming. Please see the following earlier readings for the full discourse: Do you not see all these things?, The End of the Age, Heaven and earth will pass away, The Wise and Foolish, and To everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance. In today's reading, Jesus sums up his teachings on the end of the age, and teaches about Judgment.

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats." My study bible begins its notes on this passage with the following: "Here is the majestic climax of the discourse, which is not simply a parable but an account of the universal judgment. Since the Cross is now near for him, Jesus raises up the hearer to the sight of the glory of the Son of Man, his judgment seat, and the whole world before him. He shows the heavens opened and all the holy angels (v. 31) present to witness his judgment. For if the first coming of the Son of Man was in humility, to serve and to die, the Second Coming will be in glory, as a King to judge all the nations (v. 32)." I think this is quite important, that we understand the juxtaposition of the text. In the next chapter, we begin to hear the events of the Passion. So, Jesus is giving his apostles the picture of the spiritual reality of what is going to happen - as opposed to the earthly picture of persecution and loss. One event is not complete without the other; Jesus' spiritual identity as Son of Man is essential to our understanding of these events - and what insight we may gain from them.

"And he will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right hand, 'Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:' " My study bible notes here: "Inherit is a term used with regard to sons and daughters rather than strangers or servants, for the righteous become children of God by adoption (Gal. 4:4-7)." What we are hearing about, then, is a heavenly family - how we become related in truth and in spiritual reality. We recall Jesus' teachings to the Sadducees regarding marriage in heaven: in this heavenly kingdom, all are changed - and this includes relatedness and the nature of our relationships.

" 'for I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you took me in. I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe you? Or when did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.' " My study bible notes here: "The standard of judgment is uncalculated mercy toward the needy. The works produced by faith are emphasized, for a saving faith produces righteous works. It is possible to fool ourselves about whether we truly believe, but what we do so reflects our true inner state that we will need no other evidence before God's court. The needy are the intimate brethren (v. 40) of Christ. ... Jesus identifies himself with the poor and the outcast and invites to brotherhood all who are kindled with love for others (1 John 4:20). These are crowned with grace." It is interesting, given the theme of adoption and relatedness that we have already touched upon, that Jesus uses the word brethren here. It reminds me of the parable of the Good Samaritan, in which Jesus answered the question, "Who is my neighbor?" That parable was also about true relationship - the earthly idea of relatedness (especially among different peoples) was dashed in favor of the one who behaved as a neighbor. In this call of Jesus, it is those who act as brethren who, in fact, become brethren. As my study bible notes, this is about what is truly in the heart.

"Then he will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the everlasting 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; I was a stranger and you did not take me in, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer him, 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?' Then he will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." My study bible notes regarding v. 41: "That the fire was prepared for the devil shows that God did not create hell for man; rather, people choose this torment by their coldness of heart." I understand hell to be a state of mind - or, perhaps, a state of being - just as Jesus is teaching us that it is our state of mind; or rather, more truly, the state of our hearts - that gives us relatedness or not to him and his brethren. I think my study bible makes an important point regarding this fire that was prepared for those heavenly beings who led human beings astray. What we choose to follow and embrace is important in that it confers relatedness and identity. At each moment, we make a choice as to how we participate in life, what we take in and accept and what we reject. And this relates to the next note I would like to quote: "The needs described ... include both physical and spiritual needs. Thus, the hungry or thirsty (v. 44) are not only those who need food and drink, but also those who hunger and thirst for the hope of the gospel." To this I would add that the needs of human beings are for many things, not least of which is the spiritual fulfillment of our true natures, and all that we need for healing in every level of our lives: spiritual, mental, emotional, physical. I might add that praying for one another is also a way of expressing love when there is nothing else we can do. It is the practice of mercy that is essential here, that creates relatedness. My study bible also notes that, "The least of these (v. 45) may refer primarily to Christian missionaries or to needy Christians and, by extension, all who suffer."

My study bible also notes that, "To see Christ in everyone is the fulfillment of the great commandment to love your neighbor as yourself." And we recall, again, the teachings Jesus has just given in response to the questions from the Pharisees and Sadducees. After answering the question about relatedness in heaven, he also answered regarding the greatest commandment: " 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." We must also remember his repeated warnings to his disciples about humility, and that they must treat the least among themselves as if they were welcoming Christ himself: "Whoever receives one little child like this in my name receives me." It is our hearts and souls and mind that count in this judgment and in these relationships. We use all of ourselves to love and to serve the purposes of love: righteousness, good judgment, healing, mercy, justice, truth and all that we can name as a category of the virtues of God. What we love and how we show that love will reflect what is within us and our inner state. This is not merely a formula for doing good works. Recently, I watched a documentary about charity work for the poor and it displayed how, unfortunately, there were programs designed to help but which simply hurt. There was no mercy in the sense that the people who needed the help were not listened to -- they certainly were not treated as brethren, nor were they loved as one would love oneself. To love God with all our heart and soul and mind is to become like God - and to love our neighbors as ourselves. What we love gives us identity, "for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." We take the initiative, we do this of ourselves, in any circumstance, and we pray and ask God to show us how we are called to act, to love. We ask for discernment and for good judgment. This is how we create relationship that Jesus asks of us.