Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me

 "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

In our current readings, it is Holy Week and Jesus and the disciples are in Jerusalem.  He has taught them about the destruction of the temple, and also about end times, the time of His return, and of judgment.  In illustration of that time and of judgment, in Monday's reading, He gave the parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins.  In yesterday's reading, He gave another parable:  "For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.  And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.  Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents.  And likewise he who had received two gained two more also.  But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money.  After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.  So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.'  His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.  Enter into the joy of your lord.'  He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.'  His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.  Enter into the joy of your lord.'  Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.  And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground.  Look, there you have what is yours.'  But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed.  So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.  so take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.  For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.  And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

 "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."  Here He speaks more plainly of the time of His return.  It is the climax of His discourse on end times, the Second Coming, and the Judgment, and it is a prophecy of the universal judgment to come.  My study bible says that since the Cross is now near to Him, He raises the hearer to the sight and the glory of the Son of Man on His judgment seat and the whole world before Him.  Sheep are used to illustrate the righteous, as they are those that follow His voice, and are gentle and productive.  Goats symbolize the unrighteous as they follow their own way (not the shepherd) and walk along cliffs, symbolic of the danger of sin.

"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.'"  The standard by which Judgment comes is uncalculated mercy toward others.  There is an emphasis on works of faith, because saving faith produces righteous works.  The things we do reflect our true inner state, says my study bible.  We remember that Christ is the heart-knower.   The least of these My brethren repeats a theme used with the disciples when Jesus repeated taught about care of the "little ones" (see Matthew 10:42, 18:6-14; Mark 9:42, Luke 17:2).   In that understanding, the needs described here reflect both physical and spiritual needs.  Those who are hungry or thirsty aren't only those who need food and drink, but also those who hunger and thirst for righteousness -- the hope of the gospel.   We note Jesus speaks of the least of these My brethren, and also of inheritance.  My study bible points out that inherit is a term used for sons and daughters, not strangers or servants.  The righteous become children of God by adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).   The least of these My brethren is also reflective of Christ's earlier teaching to the disciples, again illustrative of the "little ones" - the powerless, humble, and vulnerable, who will come to His Church:  "Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me" (Matthew 18:5). 

"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 that Jesus says the fire was prepared for the devil and his angels:  this indicates God did not create hell for human beings.   But those who ally themselves with the ones who work against God's love and mercy through coldness of heart choose the same for themselves.

If we look very closely at today's reading, we get quite a clear picture when we consider and keep in mind that Jesus is speaking to His disciples.  Just as the language echoes language used earlier in the Gospel when Jesus was teaching His disciples about care of the little ones who will come to them, so the language is very evocative of the mission of the disciples:  service to the littlest ones, the least of these.  We are reminded of His teaching that whoever would be great among them must be the servant of all, and whoever would be first must be slave to all - "just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (see Matthew 20:26-28).  In this light, the emphasis is on those who would be His disciples, and how each of us chooses to care for the least of these My brethren.  In this light, there is a clear emphasis on those who will come to Him, but that is not so easily delineated either, for Christ's Church is everywhere that the Spirit is, in each heart touched by the Spirit.  In this respect the teaching is about how all those who may come to Him are cared for by those who would be His disciples.  In this perspective, to give food and drink, to take in a stranger, clothe the naked, visit the sick and in prison is to minister to all those who would come to Him, who need Him.  To feed, clothe, to take in strangers, to visit the sick and in prison is to address all manner of spiritual care, not only "good deeds" to those who are in want.  To be a disciple is to step into His shoes, so to speak, to walk and He walked and do as He did, to remember His priorities and keep His commands as those which serve the least of these My brethren.  The earlier parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins and the parable of the Talents teach us about the things God entrusts to us, the use of mercy and grace, the gifts were given to use in His name.  Both of those parables emphasized what we do while the Master is away, while we await the Bridegroom.  Today's reading speaks plainly about what we do, and what we neglect to do.  But all of it is in service to Him, and service to Him means -- as He has taught over and over again -- service to the least of these, the littlest ones, in whom we must see Christ.   Ultimately, we reflect the work of discipleship, of feeding and nurturing the sheep, as Christ, in His final appearance after the Resurrection, will tell to Peter, "Feed My lambs" (see John 21:15-22).  We note that this passage in John 21 is often referred to as the "restoration" of Peter (after his three-time denial of Christ before the Crucifixion).  It is a restoration to discipleship.  We note another detail in that passage as well, that the disciple who is not named (understood as John the Evangelist himself) has his own work to do for Christ, further cementing the understanding from the past two parables He's given that the work of feeding and nurturing and caring for the least of these My brethren, may indeed take on innumerable forms in accordance with our gifts of grace, our "talents."  Those who are sick and in prison are not just descriptions of physical suffering, but also understood as images of those who suffer spiritually.  Judgment is a kind of final roll-call in which the Knower of hearts, who is Christ, places those who would be in His Kingdom and those who would not (see Revelation 2:23).  If we look at the text with an understanding of the teachings that have come before it to these disciples, what we see is an emphasis on their service, on how they treat the littlest ones -- the most humble and powerless and vulnerable -- who would come to Him.  By extension it is a warning and teaching to all of us who would be His disciples about how we are to live our lives in relation to any who may be in His Church, who may come to Him and be one of the least of His brethren.   Only the true knower-of-hearts, Christ Himself, understands who may be one of His own in this respect, and so for us, it remains to use the discernment He teaches.  Yet we must remember that we do not know whom we may receive - for all bear His image -- who will respond to the care we give in His name.