Scripture of
the Day. January 1, 2023
Matthew 25:31-46
The Judgment of the Nations
31 “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. 32 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, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the
goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come,
you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world, 35 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, 36 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.’ 37 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? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed
you or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or
in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you,
just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine,
you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You who are
accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his
angels, 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave
me nothing to drink, 43 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.’
44 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?’ 45 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.’ 46 And these will go
away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life.”
Reflection:
I was curious about what the lectionary would have as the reading to begin the
new year. This passage today is like the mini gospel. It says it’s about
judgement “when the son of man comes in glory.” But it’s about teaching,
really, not judgement. It’s the core of Jesus’ life and message. On the
surface, it’s about the second coming when Jesus will return and separate
everyone into groups of “good” and “evil” and then God will give everyone what
they deserve.
It could also mean when “the son of man” — Jesus — “returns,” or becomes present
to us in our lives right now, now in this new year when we start again with a
clean slate. A new year when we will have more opportunities to whatever we’ve
learned of Jesus’ teaching and example. In this interpretation, Jesus returns
when he lives-through the ordinary routines of our lives.
This scripture passage
IS about the end — of 2022. And we expect to meet Jesus, the son of man, when
he comes in glory, this morning, or afternoon or tonight. Today. He will help
us separate the sheep and the goats from our thoughts and words and what we do.
He says to us, “Try to stay focused on the “sheep” — the uplifting thoughts, the
thoughtful words, the kind acts. When someone’s thirsty — give them something
to drink.”
True religion, for Jesus, is not complicated. I keep going back to when he fed
the 5000 people, late in the day, they were hungry. And the disciples, who were
still learning, were tired and wanted the people to go home. And if they’re
hungry — let them buy their own damn food. They told Jesus, “It’s late. Send
them home. All Jesus said was: “You feed them.” The whole gospel in six
words.
Jesus isn’t about magic, or the spectacular, but he was interested in common,
everyday things, like sharing food, a drink, a visit, hospitality. Welcoming
the stranger, immigrant, refugee, “illegal alien.” Jesus isn’t telling us to
walk on water, but just give it — water — to someone who’s thirsty.
One of my earliest jobs growing up was to fill my father’s glass of scotch and
soda on those nights he wanted a refill. He taught me how to make them, how
much ice, how much scotch (some nights two, some nights three fingers deep of
scotch on the bottom of the glass), and last, the soda. Dad would hand me his
empty glass and say, “Here, make me another.” I’d say, “Two or three fingers.”
Dad would say, “Two fingers.” Dad wasn’t religious, yet he taught me the
gospel. When he was thirsty, he said, “Make me another.” True religion.