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

Burning Bush, 17th century, Cretan.  Aretiou Monastery

 "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 recent readings, Jesus has been giving His final discourse to the disciples in Jerusalem, speaking to them of end times, the destruction of Jerusalem and of the temple, and His Second Coming.  In yesterday's reading, He gave the parable of the Talents:  "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.  Therefore 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."  Jesus begins to speak in more profound terms about His Second Coming.  My study bible comments that this entire section of today's reading is the majestic climax of His discourse.  It is not simply a parable, but in fact a prophecy of the universal judgment that will come.  Since Christ is now close to the Cross, He raises the hearer to the sight of the glory of the Son of Man on His judgment seat with the whole world before Him.  My study bible declares that the standard of judgment is uncalculated mercy toward others.  What are emphasized here by Jesus in the following verses of this chapter are the works of faith, for a truly saving faith will always produce righteous works.  Importantly, my study bible adds that what we do reflects our true inner state, as indeed, Jesus has so often emphasized when speaking about the heart and the necessity for self-knowledge, the opposite of hypocrisy.

"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."  My study bible says that Christ uses sheep to illustrate the righteous, for they follow His voice and are gentle and productive.  Goats symbolize the unrighteous, as they do not follow the shepherd and walk along cliffs, which represent 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.' "  To inherit is a noteworthy term; it is specifically used with regard to sons and daughters rather than strangers or servants, as the righteous, my study bible says, become children of God by adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).  The least, my study bible says, are the poor and needy; it adds that those needs described in this parable include both physical and spiritual needs.  Therefore, the hungry or thirsty aren't simply people who need food and drink, but also those who hunger and thirst for the hope of the gospel.  My study bible adds that to see Christ in everyone is to fulfill the great commandment to love your neighbor as yourself (22:39).

"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 the fact of the fire having been prepared for the devil shows that God did not create hell for human beings.  Instead, human beings choose this torment by their coldness of heart.

The fire of hell has been the subject of a lot of discussion.  Although the parable seems to indicate the fire that is in a special and particular place, it has long been considered in Orthodox thinking that the fire of hell is in fact the same fire that is the love and energies of God.  St. Paul reminds us that "our God is a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:29; see also Exodus 24:17; Deuteronomy 4:24, 9:3).  It may seem paradoxical, but this is a type of fire that consumes what is not compatible with it, what cannot conforms to its energies nor dwell in harmony with it.  That is why this fire may be either purifying or destructive; that which isn't compatible with it is destroyed; the one who remains in the fire of the love of God is the one who may be purified by it.  That this everlasting fire was prepared for the devil and his angels teaches us something about the nature of angels.  Their magnificent intellect, incomparably superior to ours, functions instantaneously and with a power we can't imagine.  Therefore when such minds choose against God, such a response must be absolute.  But for human beings, and our nature as creatures in time, who are given time specifically to come to repentance and change, this fire may function differently -- indeed, even as we may experience the energies of God at work in our world.  We might not have the visions of Moses or any of the great saints, but we may recall the words given to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus:  "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads" (Acts 9:5).  Goads are spikes which were used to prod farm animals; in this case they are a metaphor for the wisdom or promptings of God (see also Ecclesiastes 12:11:  "The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd").    The truth of God is in this divine fire, and it burns the lies which characterize evil.  The Revelation tells us that among those who dwell outside of God's love and presence include "whoever loves and practices a lie" (Revelation 22:15).  John 8:44 calls the devil "a liar and the father of it," likening lies to acts of murder.  All of these varying hints of Scripture give us an understanding of what a consuming fire is, contrasting it to the fire that Moses witnessed burning a bush, but not consuming it (Exodus 3), out of which spoke the voice of God, giving the name of the LORD.  We are here in this world to do as Christ says, to learn mercy, to reconsider all acts of selfishness, to learn to live as compatible with the love of God.  If we explore images of fire or flame in Scripture we find it showing us the true light of God, from the burning bush to the burning hearts of the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:32).  In the parables of Jesus' final discourse, He gives us the illumination of lamplight, burning the oil of mercy (see Thursday's reading), and teaches us profoundly in today's reading about a love not motivated by selfishness, but rather by compassion that is "like Christ."  Interesting to note about today's parable that neglect is its opposite.  Let us remember that the key here is not simply what we do in outward acts in order to be seen by others.  It is rather, the heart that burns with the fire of love which Christ offers and shines it out into the world (Matthew 5:14-16).  Through God's actions, work, and energies in the world, we may be sheltered in that fire and grow in its light to be more like it, finding new ways to express it.  This does not happen by following rules and admonitions, nor by making signals to others as do the hypocrites.  It happens, especially, via prayer, for it involves mystical experience.  It is there in such experience that our hearts may burn with that which consumes what is not worthy, and illumines and kindles the love, mercy, and truth it bears.  Here is where we begin and end, in that flame which either consumes and destroys or enlightens and illumines.  He offers us this choice.  The icon above brings us back to the theme of our time, as we await the celebration of Christ's Nativity.  This is a Burning Bush icon, but it is not a depiction of the event described in Exodus.  Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335-395) writes about the light of God, which is also truth, embodied in the fire of the bush that was not consumed, the fire given to illumine the heart of Moses.  He writes us that this light also "symbolizes the mystery of the Virgin, from whom came the divine light that shone upon the world without damaging the bush from which it emanated or allowing the virgin shoot to wither."  From these words we're given an understanding of a deeper meaning embodied in this event, that of Mary, the Theotokos ("Godbearer"), or Mother of God, overshadowed by the flame of God, the Holy Spirit, and yet unconsumed in her holiness, in order to give birth to the Child who will be the Savior born into the world.   The icon above tells this story, depicting Moses kneeling and removing his shoes in this holy place and also praying, Mary as the Burning Bush pregnant with her Child, archangels and seraphim surrounding, and those who would give us the Scripture.  Let us remember this flame of light that burns and yet does not consume, as we welcome the true Light into the world.