Judgment Sunday (Meat-fare Sunday)

Matthew 25: 31-46

 

           Christ Alone is The Judge of our souls. He is in truth the God of Love, Compassion, and Mercy, but He is also Righteous, and thus, as Righteous, He must Judge, and Judge indeed He will when He returns in Glory. The first time, Christ came in humility as a helpless, little Child, but the second time, He will come in Glory as a full-grown man in His Prime at His Parousia.

 

           By what criteria, therefore, will we be judged? The answer is simple and brief: LOVE. If you love, you will one day live forever and have everlasting joy. If you do not love, you will die and have nothing. Christ told us Himself by His very own words: By this, they will know that you are My Disciples--by the love you have for one another. As His Disciples today, we must follow His Teaching as The Teacher, and as His Flock, we must follow the Good Shepherd Who lays down His Life for His Sheep.

 

           Christ states it salient and clarion that when He comes in Glory He will come to Judge; and He states quite clearly that He will separate the sheep from the goats. Those of His Fold, He will place at His Right-Hand Side, and those not of His Fold, He will push to His Left. The sheep are His Faithful Flock who recognize and follow the Voice and the Way of the Good Shepherd Who Alone is The Way to eternal salvation.

 

           The goats, however, are not of His Flock. They are independent, obdurate, and selfish. Goats are very single-minded. Goats only please themselves. They go where they want, and they do what they want. They wander. They do not listen, follow, or care for anyone or anything else. However, the sheep are very docile. They congregate. They listen, and they follow. The sheep need and want the Shepherd to guide and protect them.

 

On their own, the sheep are easy prey for predators. On their own, they meander, get lost, and put themselves in peril. Sheep cannot protect or deliver themselves on their own. On their own, they perish. Together, with the Shepherd, they are saved. The Sheep look to and follow the Staff of the Shepherd that collects, guides, protects, and delivers them. They look for His Staff and listen for His Voice.

 

           As the Faithful Flock of Christ, we are His Sheep in this world who look to His Staff, His Cross, for protection, guidance, and deliverance from the wilderness of this life unto the lush, green pastures of the Heavenly Realm. Christ's Cross gives us comfort, hope, and assurance, that no matter what, Christ the Good Shepherd will protect, deliver, and save us.

 

As His Flock, we need each other, and we need Christ. One Christian is no Christian. Presently, we need each other for protection and security against the wolves of the fallen world, and, in the end, we need Christ for deliverance from death.

 

           The goats of this world are those who think they do not need the Shepherd or do not want the Shepherd. They do not want to listen or follow. They want to be on their own. Whereas the Sheep of this world follow the Shepherd's saving teaching; the goats obstinately and recklessly refuse to do so. The goats do not go the way of Christ The Way; they go their own way, to their eternal peril--alone, and ultimately, therefore, forever lost, and forlorn.

 

           The Sheep are obedient to the Shepherd. They know the Shepherd's Voice, and the Shepherd knows His Own. The Shepherd loves the Sheep, feeds the Sheep, takes care of the Sheep, and the Shepherd has died for the Sheep. No greater Love can the Sheep receive in this world than that which the Shepherd gave when He laid down His Life for the Sheep.

 

           In gratitude for this infinite and eternal Love of the Shepherd, the Sheep obey and follow His Instruction and Guidance that will lead them through this world across the still waters to the Pasture above. The Sheep follow Him best by listening to and doing His Word. His Teaching is simple and pure: Love one another, as I have loved you.

 

Love means humility, obedience, and sacrifice in a world that teaches the contrary. Indeed, as Christians, we are called to be contra mundi (against the fallen, corrupt, and perishing powers of the world) Unlike the selfish, self-serving world, that takes and hoards. Love shares and gives.

 

God is Love, for He gave His Only Begotten Son as the Spotless Lamb for the Ultimate and Eternal Sacrifice for our everlasting Deliverance from pain, suffering, and Death. As He said to Peter after His Resurrection: "Peter, do you love Me more than these?" His criterion for His Disciples is Love. Love my Sheep, love one another, love My Flock, love My Church. It is that simple, and yet, it is that difficult; but it must be followed; it must be lived, in order for us to live fully now and, ultimately, truly live forever.

  

           Remember that Jesus did not say "well said" or "well intended" My good and faithful servant. Jesus said quite simply and clearly: "Well done, My good and faithful servant." Christianity is about doing. As we do, so we become. We are all in the process of becoming and growing from Grace to Grace in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

 

If we want to be, then, we must do. Reading, studying, thinking, and planning are all good, but they must become incarnate (real and relevant) and be given life to engage and transform the world, and, in the process, transform ourselves for a transfigured life in Christ.

 

           If we want to be, (rather than not to be) we must share and give, commit, and sacrifice. (Yes, this is an existential issue.) To live a life in Christ, to truly be, to fulfill our purpose, we must sacrifice our time, talents, and resources for the sake of others and Christ's Church.

 

Afterall, what we have is not ours to take with us. We can take nothing with us. We were born naked and helpless into this world, and we will leave this world naked and helpless. What we have has been entrusted to us by God as His Stewards to share for the benefit of others, the Glory of His Name, and our eternal salvation, thereby.

 

           From the appointed Scripture of this Sunday, we know Christ is the Judge. Ironically, we bring the judgment upon ourselves by what we do for others, and what we do not do for others. And, by corollary, what we do, or do not do, we do, or do not do, to Christ Who out of His Infinite Love for all of us shared our human nature and shares our human nature now in order to commune us with us His Divine Nature.

 

As to His Human Nature, Christ is our Brother and our Friend Who as the Son of the Father Gives us access to the Love of God the Father and the Communion of the Holy Spirit.

 

           Everyone moment, therefore, for us is the gift of the present from Him as a unique opportunity to do good for someone, and thereby, do good to Christ Who is one with them and us by His saving Grace and reconciling Love. Other people are not competitors; they are God given opportunities for us to be saved by sharing and giving to others as Christ shares and gives to us.

 

           When we stand before His Judgment Seat, His Angels, our deeds, and our conscience will bear irrefutable witness for or against us. We are free. We write our own story and live our own lives. May our story be written, and our lives be lived, in the Love of Christ, for ultimately, the criterion by which we will be judged is the Love shared and given in His Name for His Flock as One of the Good Shepherd's Sheep.

 

Remember: "Well done," not well intended, so Do and be, and Do and be saved, and ultimately, Be in Communion with the Triune God and all the Saints unto eternity.

 

           In the Good Shepherd's Fold, I remain,

yours in Christ,

 

                                                                                                                      †Father Jim