Mt 25:31-46
[Jesus said to his disciples,] 31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, 32and
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. 33He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34Then
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. 35For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, 36naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’
37Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ 40And
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.’... 46And these will go off... to eternal life.”
Reflection:
You did for me.
The basis for the Last Judgment, says Jesus’ parable, is simple yet
basic: how we have responded to human need. We will not be judged on
talents and skills acquired, prestige and fortune earned, popularity
and success gained. We will be judged on how much and how far we have
helped.
The help expected of us has to do with
the most common and essential needs of man: food, clothing, and
shelter. And the beneficiaries of our help—prisoners, beggars, the
hungry and the thirsty—are insignificant and ordinary people, whom we
meet every day. We do not have to look for them; they are all around
us.
But they need us to help them. And Jesus assures us that whatever
we do for one of these least brothers of ours, we do for him.
Resolve not to let a day pass without your doingsomething good, useful, or helpful for others.
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