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 will also 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

Chapters 24 and 25 of Matthew's Gospel focus on the questions of the destruction of the temple and also of Jesus' return, the end of the age (see earlier readings from Saturday, Monday, Tuesday,  Wednesday, and Thursday).   In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught 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 out 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 his 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."  This is the climax of Jesus' discourse on the end of the age, and He gives us a picture and prophecy of universal judgment.  The time of the Cross is near, and He gives His hearers the true image of His identity.  Sheep are used to illustrate the righteous, says my study bible, for they follow His voice and are gentle and productive.  Goats indicate the unrighteous, because they do not follow the shepherd and they walk along cliffs, representing 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.'"   To inherit is to be a son or daughter as opposed to a stranger or a servant.  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.' "     Many church fathers see in this inspiration to mercy a command for "feeding" those who need the spiritual food of the Gospel (those who "hunger and thirst for righteousness"), for liberating those who are imprisoned by sin and life without the message of mercy, those who need healing from spiritual ailments.  We have to be able to see not only the literal meaning here, but also to understand that many are poor, hungry, naked, strangers, imprisoned, in all kinds of forms.   We also have the command to love neighbor as oneself expressed here in action, by seeing Christ in each of these.

"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 will also 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."   This fire wasn't prepared for human beings, but "for the devil and his angels."  But things depend on what we choose, with whom we choose to ally, or not.  These choices are made, says my study bible, by "coldness of heart."

Jesus always takes us into elective choice, and active practice of love.  If we notice carefully, we want to understand what He means by "the least of these My brethren."  He doesn't say that everyone is an heir; that status belongs to those who engage in this active practice of mercy, but clearly there are those who do not fall into this category as He indicates.  Our initiation, and even adoption, seems to depend at least to some extent upon our own initiative, just as the Good Samaritan was a neighbor by initiative.   It is elective, active love, the practice of mercy, that guides us into relationship and relatedness, on His terms.  This is what it means to follow His commands.  The practice of righteousness isn't just a general rule of how much one gives, or a kind of surface level of conduct.  As we've seen from His criticisms of the leadership in the temple, hypocrisy is capable of putting on a good face, an elaborate ritual of good practice.  There has to be a spiritual component to all of this, one that touches the heart and incorporates grace, and thereby do the commentaries of the early church fathers reflect the spiritual nature of interpretation.   It's all about the heart and His commands.  I think it's particularly important that we understand that the poor, the stranger, those imprisoned, naked, or hungry can come in all kinds of forms, otherwise our hearts are blind and deaf to the person sitting next to us, and we're also blind and deaf to Jesus' teachings and doctrines that reach to the heart, and ask us to go outside of our own self-centered worlds.  The prompting of grace requires active faith.  Wealthy people who've stolen money from others write large checks all the time to demonstrate their charity for show.  All kinds of people participate in charitable organizations that do good works in order to impress, or even to gain social standing.  That's not what He's asking for.  This is not a legalistic framework.  What does it really mean to be a brother or a sister, a co-heir to this kingdom of mercy?  It means seeing and hearing what He asks us to see and to hear.  It means hearts open to following His teachings, and thereby putting them into action.  This is action that comes from good faith.   My study bible says that the standard of judgment is uncalculated mercy toward others.  Works produced by faith are emphasized; saving faith always produces righteous works.  It says that what we do reflects our true inner state, a teaching Jesus has emphasized over and over again throughout His ministry.  Let us remember that needs come in all kinds of forms, both spiritual and physical.  We will be truly living as members of this Kingdom if we allow ourselves to really pay attention.

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 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 week, we have been reading Jesus' discourse outside of the great temple in Jerusalem, in which He's predicted both the destruction of the temple and the end of the age, when He will return.  In yesterday's reading, He gave us a parable about stewardship:  "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.  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 says, "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 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."

"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 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 tells us, "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 of Christ.  The least of these may refer primarily to Christian missionaries or to needy Christians and, by extension, all who suffer.  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."

Jesus sets out two ways of seeing things in this discourse on the Judgment.  There are the things we fail to do, and the things we do in service to Him without necessarily understanding it -- or, perhaps, by proxy.  In both cases, He reminds His disciples that they fail or succeed in serving Him.  Ultimately, we are to see Him and His face in all things we do, or fail to do.  I think the concern with justice and mercy here is made complete by the notion that Christ Himself will suffer on the Cross.  If there is any way in which we may come to understand that our world isn't necessarily fair and just, it's this story about Jesus, this Gospel that teaches us that He -- One who loves us -- will die because of greed and envy and malice and the hundreds of things that we do to one another that create an unjust world.  It is a picture of a world ruled by "the evil one" who must crucify the One who loves us and who comes to set us free from that ruler.  This is the Gospel in a nutshell.  It's the story of Jesus who is the Son who has come to liberate us from this box of hypocrisy, of injustice and lack of mercy and understanding, and to set us apart so that we may know and live His way of life that He teaches here.  To fail to do so is to let Him down.  As Jesus speaks about those in prison or those who are needy or sick or in some way marginalized, He's quite clearly speaking about Himself.  He will live out this teaching Himself; He will be that face in which He asks us to see Himself.  He will be a prisoner and needy and outcast and a stranger.  He will be the one who is mocked on the Cross.  He will be the one treated without mercy, without justice, the one for whom all rules of justice will be ignored, and procedure thrown out the window.  He will be brutalized and scourged as a criminal.  The one abandoned and left alone -- well, that is the Christ who teaches us about those among us who will fill that place.  And it's important that my study bible points out that He's speaking to a group of His disciples, and so the least of these may very well mean those among us, of our group, this family as He has referred to it, who also seek to serve.  It's no accident that He refers to "the least of these, My brethren."  But, as He points out very clearly (for example, in the parable of the wheat and the tares), we can't necessarily understand just exactly who those truly are.  It's the knower-of-hearts, Christ Himself, who does the separating here.  As He's taught before, what we do -- or fail to do -- for the least of these, we are to see Him in their place. It think it's important that Jesus emphasizes a sense of identification with "the least of these" as part of the group.  Over and over again, He's told His disciples that this is the model of leadership that He wants, and clearly, His emphasis on this kind of view of hierarchy teaches us where our biggest weaknesses are:  they are in matters of power and rank.  Love, ultimately, teaches us in all kinds of ways that life is not about power hierarchies and competitions but rather about how we choose to relate to others, with what discernment do we discern, how we truly take the time to see what's right in front of us.  It's not that we are to be blind to those who would cause us harm, who cause injustice or take advantage, or all the number of things that we could ask ourselves about how we are to practice His mercy.  Far from it.  Christ asks us to be "wise as serpents and gentle as doves."  And in that phrase is our discernment, the time we take to truly see, to take time for the least of these, even to understand who they truly are -- because where someone is hurting and meek isn't obvious.  Let us remember that to give of ourselves is more than money.  It's about the heart that seeks to know, to understand, to heal, to discern.  Where does His face lead you?