When did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give you drink?

Alpine Ibex goat on a precipice; cliffs are symbolic of the dangers of sin

 "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 His 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 yesterday's reading, Jesus 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 his 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."  My study bible calls today's entire reading the "majestic climax" of His discourse on His Second Coming and the end times;  clearly this is Christ's prophecy of universal judgment to come at that time.   It comments that as the Cross is now near to Jesus, 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.  The standard of judgment expressed here is, in the words of my study bible, "uncalculated mercy toward others."  What is emphasized are the works that are produced by faith; a saving faith always produces righteous works.  When one is motivated from the heart, the works one does reflect the state of the heart, our true inner state.  When Jesus speaks of the "least" (verse 40:  "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me") refers to all the poor and needy, my study bible says.  The needs which are described in this parable are both physical and spiritual; in that respect, those who need food and drink also hunger and thirst for the hope of the gospel (see also 5:6).

"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 His left."  My study bible comments that Christ uses sheep to illustrate the righteous, as they follow His voice, and are gentle and productive.  Goats illustrate the unrighteous, as they do not follow the shepherd, and they walk along cliffs, which represent the dangers of sin, even the threat of oblivion (see 8:32, also Psalm 37:10, Revelation 9:11).

"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.'"   Inherit is a term commonly used with sons and daughters, as opposed to strangers or servants, my study bible points out.  The righteous become children of God by adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).

"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 comments that to see Christ in everyone is the fulfillment of 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 says of the fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels that it shows that God did not create hell for man.  Rather, people choose this torment by their coldness of heart.

How will we be judged?  Judgment is a great mystery as no one really knows the depths of our hearts as the Lord does.  Just like in Jesus' parables about the good and the bad growing together (such as in the parable of the Wheat and the Tares (13:24-30), the "sheep" and the "goats" remain clear to Christ, but possibly indistinguishable to us.  We might look around ourselves and think that we can easily identify those who practice mercy and those who do not, but appearances can be deceiving either way.  We don't know everything about someone else, both merciful and cruel behavior can be something hidden, that others simply do not see; and again, one has to know the heart of a person to truly understand their motives.  One thing is certain, however, and that is that Jesus expects of us mercy if we desire to receive mercy, and most particularly this is true if we are His children by adoption.  His children will be "like Him," and perhaps above all we can see that Jesus is compassionate.  Time and again we read that He was "moved with compassion" for those in need; it also describes the behavior of the merciful Master understood to be the Lord in one of His parables (9:36, 14:14; 18:27).  In one patristic commentary, the sheep and the goats are images of human beings in whom Christ is either thriving or ailing.  That is, it is the healthy Christ in us who shows mercy in all the ways of the examples given here, and it is an ailing Christ in us who fails to do so.  In either case, the help and nurturing of the Christ in us is the practice of mercy.  Let us note, however, that mercy is not the product of a morbid guilt, and does not preclude justice.  Indeed, Christ's justice is perfect, as in so many cases mercy is the true prescription for justice.  Neither should we forget that kindness is mercy; even if we are unable to fulfill a direct and explicit request, kindness remains possible to us.  This is ultimately about seeing Christ in others, and especially the practice of the first and second greatest commandments:  to love God with heart and mind and soul, and to love neighbor as if our neighbor were ourselves.  When we think about mercy, we must think about nurturing and feeding (as in those who "hunger and thirst for righteousness"), because without proper nurturing we do not truly feed the Christ in us.  This is not simply about giving things to whomever asks, but about the practice of mercy.  It is not merciful to spoil a child or simply to indulge them in bad behavior:  just the same, we offer what we know or believe to be good if we ourselves we in the place of the recipient.  In another light we might shed on the "hidden" nature of mercy, we might compare a person who has spent a lifetime with a primary aim of seeking power and wealth who fails to practice mercy, but we can ascribe the same to a person who has spent a lifetime feeling pity for themselves and hence excluded the need for themselves to practice mercy to others.  No matter where we fall on the scale of life's benefits or unfortunate circumstances, there is one thing of which we can be certain:  we will all be called to account in Jesus' teaching of judgment.  There is none who does not fall into this picture of the sheep and the goats.  There might be times in our lives when we fit one or the other.   Let us note that Jesus emphasizes as sin in this parable the sin of omission:  those who miss the mark are those who fail to put into practice a calling to mercy.  What we begin with, however, is the understanding that in the journey of life we mustn't forget our main calling:  we are all called to become children of God by adoption.  It matters not where we start, nor even what life hands to us, we are all called to this vocation.  How do you need the call?  Let us remember that another way in which this parable has been understood is that when we suffer in life through the failure of mercy, Christ suffers with us, as He is neglected through us.  When we receive mercy in life, Christ also receives mercy through us.  None is alone, and none is born by nature to find a place "with the devil and his angels."  Indeed, even there, Christ comes offering constant mercy and calling us to the same, as it is truly His will that all might be with Him.  If we find ourselves seemingly stuck on a dangerous cliff, He'll show us the way to proceed.  It is His very gospel that calls us out of the prison of the evil one, the mindset of selfishness and abuse, of predatory violence and neglect.  Even the least of us may show mercy -- for this door of Christ is open to all of us, for "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep" - John 10:7).