The Lord says this: I am going to look after my flock myself and keep all of it in view. As a shepherd keeps all his flock in view when he stands up in the middle of his scattered sheep, so shall I keep my sheep in view. I shall rescue them from wherever they have been scattered during the mist and darkness. I myself will pasture my sheep, I myself will show them where to rest–it is the Lord who speaks. I shall look for the lost one, bring back the stray, bandage the wounded and make the weak strong. I shall watch over the fat and healthy. I shall be a true shepherd to them.
As for you, my sheep, the Lord says this: I will judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and he-goats.
Gospel Matthew 25: 31-46
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, escorted by all the angels, then he will take his seat on his throne of glory. All the nations will be assembled before him and he will separate men one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats. He will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.
‘Then the King will say to those on his right hand, “Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you made me welcome; naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me.” Then the virtuous will say to him in reply, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you; or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and make you welcome; naked and clothe you; sick or in prison and go to see you?” And the King will answer, “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.”
‘Next he will say to those on his left hand, “Go away from me, with your curse upon you, to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you never gave me food; I was thirsty and you never gave me anything to drink; I was a stranger and you never made me welcome, naked and you never clothed me, sick and in prison and you never visited me.” Then it will be their turn to ask, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or naked, sick or in prison, and did not come to your help?” Then he will answer, “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you neglected to do this to one of the least of these, you neglected to do it to me.”
‘And they will go away to eternal punishment, and the virtuous to eternal life.’
‘Then the King will say to those on his right hand, “Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you made me welcome; naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me.” Then the virtuous will say to him in reply, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you; or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and make you welcome; naked and clothe you; sick or in prison and go to see you?” And the King will answer, “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.”
‘Next he will say to those on his left hand, “Go away from me, with your curse upon you, to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you never gave me food; I was thirsty and you never gave me anything to drink; I was a stranger and you never made me welcome, naked and you never clothed me, sick and in prison and you never visited me.” Then it will be their turn to ask, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or naked, sick or in prison, and did not come to your help?” Then he will answer, “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you neglected to do this to one of the least of these, you neglected to do it to me.”
‘And they will go away to eternal punishment, and the virtuous to eternal life.’
Reflection
By Gary T.
Politics, unhealthy competition, envy, gossips and intrigues, back-biting, and all sorts of negativity – you will not find them in religious communities, right?
Wrong! Because the evil one uses these very tools to destroy the Church that is why they will always be around like airborne virus ready to infect the vulnerable ones. Double the triumph for Satan if the victims are supposed to be those promoting Christian values. Sometimes even just mere misunderstandings will be used by the devil to destroy our good relationships with our brethren.
Because of clashes in personalities involved, my friends’ newly formed community was not spared from these issues. Just as they started to be very active in service, doing what they were supposed to do a long time ago, there were misunderstanding among them, questioning each other’s motives.
The good thing is, when they were about to confront one another, each one loaded with his ammo of attacking and defensive words against one another, cool heads prevailed. The Holy Spirit intervened. And each one chose the path of humility even though he might not admit that he is the one in the wrong. Each one just asked for forgiveness and everything went back according to how God wanted His children to be.
Christ is the King of the universe, yet He was born in a manger, was a carpenter, and came from a place no one believed good would come from. He is king, yet He served the poor, the oppressed. He is king but He washed and kissed the feet of His disciples. He is king yet His throne was a cross and His crown made of thorns.
If the King of heaven and earth chooses the path to humility, I don’t see any reason why we cannot do the same in doing God’s business on earth.
As defined by one of the speakers in this year’s Kerygma Conference, humility or meekness is not weakness, but rather it is strength under control!
Wrong! Because the evil one uses these very tools to destroy the Church that is why they will always be around like airborne virus ready to infect the vulnerable ones. Double the triumph for Satan if the victims are supposed to be those promoting Christian values. Sometimes even just mere misunderstandings will be used by the devil to destroy our good relationships with our brethren.
Because of clashes in personalities involved, my friends’ newly formed community was not spared from these issues. Just as they started to be very active in service, doing what they were supposed to do a long time ago, there were misunderstanding among them, questioning each other’s motives.
The good thing is, when they were about to confront one another, each one loaded with his ammo of attacking and defensive words against one another, cool heads prevailed. The Holy Spirit intervened. And each one chose the path of humility even though he might not admit that he is the one in the wrong. Each one just asked for forgiveness and everything went back according to how God wanted His children to be.
Christ is the King of the universe, yet He was born in a manger, was a carpenter, and came from a place no one believed good would come from. He is king, yet He served the poor, the oppressed. He is king but He washed and kissed the feet of His disciples. He is king yet His throne was a cross and His crown made of thorns.
If the King of heaven and earth chooses the path to humility, I don’t see any reason why we cannot do the same in doing God’s business on earth.
As defined by one of the speakers in this year’s Kerygma Conference, humility or meekness is not weakness, but rather it is strength under control!
Prayer
Father, grant us the wisdom to always choose humility in dealing with our brethren especially if we are leaders of your communities so that we may become good examples to those who we are discipling. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
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