(Audio)
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.
This image of the Son of Man coming in glory should be something to which we look forward. It should give us joy to imagine it. No longer shall the glory of the Son of Man be hidden or only revealed partially and hidden as during his transfiguration. Rather, all the nations shall behold him. Yet rather than giving us joy, this imagine sometimes makes us fearful.
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.
If we are made fearful by the coming judgment it may be because that day will strip us of our pretenses. We will no longer be able to pretend that a merely abstract religion means anything.
If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen (see First John 4:20).
God increasingly identifies himself with the poor and needy of his people. When we deny, ignore, or mistreat them we are in effect denying something of God's identity as love itself (see First John 4:7). This identity is why Jesus himself is persecuted when Saul persecutes his people.
And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting (see Acts 9:4-5).
For Jesus to recognize us at his coming we need to allow his love in us to reach out to his presence in our brothers and sisters.
You shall not act dishonestly in rendering judgment.
Show neither partiality to the weak nor deference to the mighty,
but judge your fellow men justly.
You shall not go about spreading slander among your kin;
nor shall you stand by idly when your neighbor's life is at stake.
I am the LORD.
Jesus wants us to recognize his presence in others so that the seed of love placed within our hearts can reach out and grow and embrace them.
Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.
These may seem like nice words of a pleasant metaphor. But there is a fearsome truth in Jesus' words of self-identification with those who suffer. If we embrace that truth we can have confidence on the day of judgment because he will not be a stranger to us. We will recognize him and he will know us as his own.
Come, you who are blessed by my Father.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
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