23-Feb-15

Gospel MT 25:31-46
Jesus said to his disciples:
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
he will sit upon his glorious throne,
and all the nations will be assembled before him.
And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the king will say to those on his right,
‘Come, you who are blessed by 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,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.’
Then the righteous will answer him and say,
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’
And the king will say to them in reply,
‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Then he will say to those on his left,
‘Depart from me, you accursed,
into the eternal 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,
a stranger and you gave me no welcome,
naked and you gave me no clothing,
ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’
Then they will answer and say,
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty
or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison,
and not minister to your needs?’
He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you,
what you did not do for one of these least ones,
you did not do for me.’
And these will go off to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life.”
Reflection:
In today's gospel Jesus does not challenge us to become rich, famous or scholarly.
Instead, he sets forth the standard for what in God's eyes constitutes true success in life. It is the simplest of tasks: to help our sisters and brothers who suffer.
Not one of us, regardless of position or status, is exempt from personally attending to the needs of their less fortunate sisters and brothers.
Jesus' words apply to all, rich and poor alike, "Feed the hungry, cloth the naked, welcome the stranger, visit the sick and the prisoner."
The greatest gift anyone could give to a parent would be coming to the aid of one of their children in their time of need.
God, our Father, is the parent of us all. On this earth, "He has no hands but ours" to care for his children who are suffering, and no one but us to be the answer to their prayers.
Jesus does not encourage us to aspire to greatness according to the world's standards. He tells us that in the eyes of God, the path to greatness is through personally providing for those in need of our help.
Attaching maximum importance to what he is telling us, Our Lord goes on to say, "I" was hungry and "you" fed me.
At My Brother's Keeper, we always speak of service as a "privilege." God hears the prayers of his suffering child. He ponders: "Who can I send?"
Then he says, "I know! I'll send you."
When God chooses "you" to be his answer to someone else's prayer, that is the greatest privilege you will ever receive.
"Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me." Matthew 25:40