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.
Jesus was identifying himself with the son of man from the prophecy of Daniel, who was to come on the clouds of heaven, and received and everlasting kingdom that would not pass away (see Daniel 7:13-14). That he would inherit this kingdom without end was also predicted by the Archangel Gabriel at the Annunciation (see Luke 1:32). Having been given this kingship it was fitting that all, peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. But it was surprising what this service would entail.
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.
The sheep were those who were called to live with Jesus in his kingdom forever. But they themselves seemed to realize that there was nothing they could offer one so great a glorious as Jesus himself. What, they wondered, had they done for him? They had done what they could for the needy in their midst. But they considered themselves unprofitable servants when it came to Jesus himself. They acted, then, without much self-interest. They enacted works of mercy in spite of the fact that the payoff was not immediately obvious. They saw what needed to be done and did it. Only being told by Jesus did they realize that what they did for the least of his brothers they also did for him. It was obvious that the king himself ought to be served. Jesus implied that not only he, but also those created in his image and held existence by his love should also be loved for his sake. He took any injustice against anyone anywhere with utmost concern, as injustice against himself personally. The reality of the presence of Jesus in those in need provides immediate impetus to serve the poor. But the depth of the reality of the presence of Jesus found there will only be fully appreciated at the last judgment.
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?'
The primary sins that excluded the unrighteous from the kingdom, that made them goats who were separated from the sheep, were sins of omission. They weren't necessarily killing, lying, or committing adultery. They simply failed to care for the hungry, thirsty, strangers, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned. Most likely they were like the rich man who overlooked poor Lazarus on his doorstep (see Luke 16:19-31). Of course these sins of omission were likely often tied to sins of commission, of greed, of selfish indulgence, and others. But the separation of the sheep and the goats appears to teach us that sins of commission such as those are problematic primarily because of the way they impede one from exercising love of neighbor, and therefore also love of God.
And these will go off to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life.
Jesus wasn't asking that those who heard him somehow help every disadvantaged individual in the world. He taught that the poor would always be with us. What he asked was that they be willing to do so if given the chance. John the Evangelist taught that we cannot love God whom we cannot see if we will not love our neighbor whom we can (see First John 4:20). Perhaps he had this identification of Jesus himself with poor brethren in view when he did so.
May we be like docile sheep, easily led by the Good Shepherd himself. Only when we allow Jesus to change our hearts of stone to hearts of flesh, when we stop resisting his own love for us, will we find ourselves increasingly free to love others.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
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