Matthew 25:31–46
Jesus
said, ‘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.” ‘
Reflection
How
do I feel about this Gospel? In
reviewing all the good things that I did to others, could I feel Jesus’
confirmation and approval?
In
the complexity of today’s world, how do I perceive the word “righteous”? Do I
perceive it as Jesus does?