Daily Bread

‘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.’

Many Bible scholars assert that this parable was about the immediate future because Jesus was going to 'come into his glory' on the cross, and judgement would take place through his life, death, and resurrection. The separation between goats and sheep would take place as people responded and accepted Christ's offer of life in the here and now and forever. And what would this life in Christ look like?

A life in Christ looks like the picture painted in this parable — to give food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, welcome to the stranger, clothing to the naked, care of the sick, and to visit prisoners. These are all things that anyone can do and we can all offer help to those in need.

The interesting thing about the parable is that the king identifies himself with his subjects. I don't think we're meant to work out exactly who are the 'members' of the king's family, and perhaps the point is that we don't know and therefore we must assume that everyone is a member! We are not to judge who is well-fed, sated, friend, clothed, well, or worthy. No, we are to love indiscriminately, as God loves indiscriminately and
remember that all are precious and beloved in the sight of God. In fact, we are to treat people as if they were God themselves — with honour and respect, and by ascribing them worth.

These words of Jesus are a reminder to personally align ourselves with God's mercy, justice, and compassion, and for those of us who lead and direct churches, they are a salient reminder, provided in list form, of what we should be doing. If you are an individual or a church and you don't know what to do in terms of mission, well, this is a good place to start.

Holy God
May our lives bear witness to your love,
and our actions mirror our words.
Help us to bring heaven to earth,
through expressing practical love for those in need.
Today, may I become aware of opportunities
to serve others with mercy and compassion.
In the power of your Spirit
and through the name of your Son, Jesus Christ.