Which side will you be on?
Dearest Brothers and Sisters, After seven weeks of journeying with the Lord and reflecting on the cross we finally arrive at the pivotal point. The Gospel passages of the last seven weeks have been leading us and preparing us for this moment, the moment of judgement. This is the moment where the sheep will be separated from the goats. The good will be separated from the bad! But how can this be? The one who tells us not to judge is actually telling us that we will be judged.
We all know and understand this parable very well. One of the most important words in it is the word “I”. It is repeated eleven times. Jesus actually identifies himself with the people that he is speaking about. When he refers to the sick, the hungry, the imprisoned and so on, he is referring to himself. He is the “I”. After all, we are created in his image and likeness and he is present in us. Therefore when we help the person who is in need of us, we don’t help them for the sake of helping them but as Christians there is that added dimension that we are helping them because they are in the image of Christ. Jesus is shouting out to us “this is me.” This is where the Kingdom of Heaven exists. Contrary to what we imagine it to be, it exists where the poor are, where the sick are and so on. It exists wherever Jesus is! Let’s face it, if the human Jesus was here today in 2016, who would he be with? He would be with the drug addict, the prostitute, the poor, the sick, the outcast, no different to his presence over 2000 years ago. The Kingdom of God is at hand and it is at hand wherever Jesus is present. Today’s Gospel is a new law for us to abide by. Knowing what we know through this new law, we no longer have an excuse to be indifferent to the cry of those in need. On the basis of our actions, we will definitely be judged!
In the light of this, we need to ask ourselves a very important question: if the Last Judgment was to take place today, would we be on the side of the sheep or on the side of the goats?
Merciful Father in Heaven, Give us the ability to recognize your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ in our brothers and sisters. Make us witnesses of his living presence amongst us on this earth through our actions so that we can truly say that your Kingdom is at hand and so that on the day when you will judge us, we will enter into your eternal majesty and glorify you, your only Son and your life-giving Spirit forever.
Father Tony Sarkis
