As I look around, I know there are a few things we all have in common. For starters, we are all alive. Beyond breathing, eating, and sleeping, what else do we have in common? I doubt that everyone here is an American citizen, or Catholic, much less a Christian. What we all have in common is that God unconditionally loves us. We are here in response to God’s love. The question that this gospel brings to mind is do we in turn love God, and if so, how?
In this parable, Jesus speaks of some day separating us, “one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” Even today in the Holy Land, a shepherd will often herd sheep and goats together but come nightfall, they have to be separated. To be kept warm, Goats need to be sheltered. Sheep, however, do not need to be pampered.
Comparing those being judged with sheep and goats, Jesus proceeds to contrasts the good from the bad, leaving both groups somewhat surprised by the outcome. Nowhere does Jesus speak of evil or sin. Nor is anyone accused of doing anything bad. Rather, the lesson here is about neglect. Those who reach out to the least of his brothers and sisters will be blessed with eternal life while those who neglected them will be sent off to eternal punishment.
The basis of his judgment will be our response to the poor and the needy. Those who sought to meet their needs will be saved. Those who neglected them will be condemned. That may sound rather harsh but how can we claim to love God if we deliberately choose to ignore God? Yet that is where Jesus said that he could be found. “Whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.”
When we go to confession, we admit that we have sinned, but then some will say, “I can’t think of anything I’ve done that is seriously wrong.” Perhaps that is true. Most of us mean well and want to do the right thing, but often we tend to overlook what could be called sins of omission or neglect. Do we ever think to confess the times when we refuse, as did the goats in this parable, to extend a helping hand to those in need or to give of our time, talent, or treasure?
Think back to the gospel parable from last Sunday. Recall how each servant had to account for his use of the talents entrusted to him. Like those servants, God has blessed us with a share of the world’s goods and when the time comes, we will have to explain how we used them. Until then, like the goats, do we insist on pampering ourselves or do we invest our gifts wisely by sharing what we have with those in need of our help?
Even many saints were slow in learning this critical lesson of life. By her own admission, it was only after she had been a nun for twenty years that St. Teresa of Avila experienced a true conversion to Jesus. Thereafter, she spent her energy in serving others, fully aware that, as the parable implies, God is counting on us to build his kingdom. In one of her prayers, she wrote, “Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he is to look out; Christ’s compassion to the world. Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which he is to bless now.”
Jesus is giving us fair warning. The verdict of our judgment is ultimately in our hands. In the cathedral in Lubeck, Germany, there is a plaque that reads, “Thus speaks Christ our Lord to us; you call me master and obey me not; you call me light and see me not; you call me the way and walk me not; you call me the life and live me not; you call me wise and follow me not; you call me fair and love me not; you call me rich and ask me not; you call me eternal and see me not. If I condemn thee, blame me not.”
Each of us will be held personally accountable when we meet Christ at our last judgment. Do our deeds demonstrate the commitment we profess today as Christians to Christ our King? If there is a gap between the ideals we profess and the values we live by, then today would be a good time to recommit ourselves to Christ and his mission. We must take his message to heart and allow him to be our king, not just in name but in fact as well.
Our gospel passage today is full of examples where we can reach out. We can give food to the hungry and drink to the thirsty. The opportunity is always there for us to make a donation to our Outreach program, filling their bins or making a monetary gift to support Good Cheer, our local food bank. We can welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, and visit the sick or the imprisoned, if not in person then by mail. These examples are called the corporal works of mercy.
The only real joy in this world comes from helping others. When we choose not to, then we choose not to love, and so long as we refuse to love, we blind ourselves to God’s unconditional love. As followers of Christ, we are called to make God’s kingdom a reality in whatever place we are and in whatever time we live. God’s reign is brought about by the simple acts of compassion, reconciliation, and justice. Only then can we see the face of Christ in every man, woman and child.
C.S. Lewis once said, “The normal state of humanity is barbarism, just as the normal surface of our planet is salt water.” Our mission is to prove otherwise, namely that the normal state of humanity is love.