Thoughts for the Day

‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the 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 people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that 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 something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me 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 nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just 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 eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

This wonderful parable of the Last Judgement only appears in Matthew's Gospel. It's so visual that we can imagine how the sheep and goats were separated in Galilee and Judea. The sheep of the village would willingly follow the shepherd as he sought pasture and water for them, and were content to rest in the shade in the heat of the day. But the goats, who are stubborn independent animals would not be led willingly, and would seek the hilltop crags even on the hottest days. It was easy, however, to separate the animals for most goats were black whereas most sheep were white.

Although the parable is about the Last Judgement we should take this message personally, for Jesus uses it to describe those who believe in him as the Great Shepherd and who willingly follow him accepting his offer of salvation, as opposed to those who have wilfully rejected him, think they are fine without God, and do not eagerly follow Jesus.

But even more importantly this parable shows how faith is transferred into action, and that we need both faith and action. When we give to a local food bank we are giving as though to God. When we help those on the streets, we give as though to God. When we clear out our cupboards and give to charity we are doing it as though to God. When we pray for the sick, when we remember a lonely neighbour, or shop for the elderly, we do it as though to God!

Lord Jesus Christ,
Great Shepherd of us Your sheep,
may we learn to completely trust You
and to follow wherever You lead us.
May we learn to have faith
that Your plans are always best.
Help us this Lent to transfer
that faith into action,
and to care for others in any way we can.
Amen.