Is. 58:1-11; 1 Jn. 4:11-18; Mt. 25:31-46
Bro. Marc
This pre-lenten Sunday often seems to carry with it a sack of a variety of emotions and feelings. Maybe we can unpack and untangle a few of these things and gain a bit of clarity.
We call today Meatfare Sunday, because it calls us to begin to prepare for Great Lent and Pascha by refraining from eating meat. This traditional practice might provoke some mixed vibes of irritation and satisfaction, depending on our individual food preferences, good or bad eating habits, and health needs. No matter how we actually choose to follow through on this annual change in our routine, we might also be relieved that our menu is simpler now, while we also feel concern for the rising price of fresh fruits and vegetables.
We hope now for relief from the high heating and snow-plowing bills, and we regret the possible end of the ski and snow-shoe season which affects the local economy. Gray skies and mud season bring their own distress, but the eventual stirrings of spring also lead to the joy of Eastertide and begin to cheer us up with longer daylight.
We also call this Judgment Sunday, from the gospel reading. The thought of judgment, as we heard, can bring both dread and denial, or surprise and relief.
We can find instances of judgment throughout the bible: In the parable of the bridesmaids that comes right before today’s gospel, the ones considered foolish have dawdled about, so to speak, and have run out of healing oils of works of mercy, and so miss out on the joy of the wedding feast. In a second parable in the same place, those given the talents are judged wise because they take the risk and use them, while hoarding is judged foolish, although in dealing with today’s economy we might want to reconsider this situation. The ancient Israelites are judged by both the prophets and the Law of Moses, but now Jesus says the apostles will sit in judgment on their own people, symbolize by the original twelve tribes of Israel. The other nations of ancient times were judged by God on how they treated God’s chosen people, but in today’s parable, which is the last in Matthew before Christ’s passion and death, the gentiles are judged, the commentaries tell us, by the way they treat the new and vulnerable little group who carry Christ’s message out into the world. The world may either see or ignore what Christ describes in the Sermon on the Mount at the very beginning of his ministry: Blest are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, and those who suffer injustice and persecution for his sake.
Nowadays we feel these discernments and critiques as a judgment on us individually, and we are tossed us back and forth between the joy of a good conscience and discomfort from the pangs of guilt. Have I done unto others…? Do I love my neighbor…? Am I growing in Christ…? The first of these, the golden rule, sets the standard for right and wrong behavior. The second, respect for one’s neighbor, is more specific and forms the basis of law and ethics. The third, being robed in Christ, brings all these to life for us. They bring inspiration, hope for the triumph of good, and peace to our hearts in the midst of change.
Matthew seems to imply we will not be judged for wrong-doing and specific sins so much as for sliding into obsessive self-interest. The divine blessing is provoked by our compassion and sacrificial love, but by ignoring the needs and concerns of others we remove ourselves from the heavenly banquet.
Today’s judgment story portrays a perspective exactly the opposite to that of the temptations of Christ in the wilderness: the desire to make bread to serve me first, or to gain stature and authority by selling my soul, or finally to insure my safety by trying and abusing God’s love. Instead, by picking up each other’s burdens we bring to the desert of life the streams of delight, healing herbs (as Isaiah says) and trees that bear good fruit.
The parable of the final judgment encourages us to persevere till the coming harvest. It says Look out for one another. It implies Judge not lest you be judged.
Looking at the Greek we could say that this parable describes the ultimate Crisis of discernment. It’s too late to change the past, the future is uncertain, and so the critical time is the present. As a final word, and after his resurrection, the good Shepherd hands on to Peter the responsibility to feed my lambs, feed my sheep. Does this mean to imply that not only ourselves and the world but the church too, in its earthly guise, will be subject to this judgment and need for discernment?
Christ is in our Midst!
