Jesus said to his
disciples:
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
he will sit upon his glorious throne,
and all the nations will be assembled before him.
And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
he will sit upon his glorious throne,
and all the nations will be assembled before him.
And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Sheeps vs. Goats This passage from scripture doesn't make me feel very warm and fuzzy. Clearly it's not supposed to be. There's no sugar coating who will be accepted into the Kingdom of Heaven. As Christians, we are called to participate in the corporal acts of mercy: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, and bury the dead. Jesus makes it firm: "Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Have you given yourself to others lately? Are you aware of those lacking the basics for survival? If the Last Judgment arrived today, would Jesus mark you as a goat or a sheep?
During this time of the year, it's important to evaluate how well we are doing in terms of following God's will. We don't necessarily have to spend months in a foreign country doing missionary work to fulfill corporal and spiritual mercy. We can help others in our own community to the best of our ability. What's so beautiful about Catholic social teaching is that the Church gives us opportunities to help others in all kinds of ways. We can volunteer, we can donate, or we can simply pray.
There's no excuse for us NOT to help others in need unless we are simply selfish and ignorant of the plights of others. It's easy in the era of "selfies" and individualism to think the world revolves around me, myself and I. We allow pride and arrogance to turn ourselves into our own "gods". When asked to help the needy, I imagine criticisms like the following:
Let others fend for themselves. I don't have the time.....
It's their stupid fault that they are homeless. Why don't they get a job?.....
Uh, all of these illegal immigrants are infesting our community. Why don't they go back to their own country and stop using our resources for free?.....
Let someone else feed those wretched people. Isn't that what social workers are trained to do?
Oh, I can't stand people who beg on the street. What is wrong with them? Are they all a bunch of mental wackos?
Those drunks and crack heads on the street. They just made bad choices. Let them deal with the consequences themselves.
Why do I want to spend time in a depressing nursing home with hard-of-hearing, incontinent, mentally forgetful old people? Why even bother?
These words are harsh. I think Jesus would lump people who'd say or think such things into the goat category. Wouldn't you? Life is too short to be so mean and hateful. Life is too short to be so self absorbed that we don't observe the world around us. Life is too short to follow the path of darkness when we can follow the path of light.
The next time you see a beggar on the street or an elderly person walking on a walker show kindness and mercy toward them. See Jesus Christ in their eyes! Don't judge them for their state in life. Think of them as a child of God. If you can't help them in their situation, refer them to someone else who can assist.
Let us get out of ourselves and help others in need!
-J.
Have you given yourself to others lately? Are you aware of those lacking the basics for survival? If the Last Judgment arrived today, would Jesus mark you as a goat or a sheep?
During this time of the year, it's important to evaluate how well we are doing in terms of following God's will. We don't necessarily have to spend months in a foreign country doing missionary work to fulfill corporal and spiritual mercy. We can help others in our own community to the best of our ability. What's so beautiful about Catholic social teaching is that the Church gives us opportunities to help others in all kinds of ways. We can volunteer, we can donate, or we can simply pray.
There's no excuse for us NOT to help others in need unless we are simply selfish and ignorant of the plights of others. It's easy in the era of "selfies" and individualism to think the world revolves around me, myself and I. We allow pride and arrogance to turn ourselves into our own "gods". When asked to help the needy, I imagine criticisms like the following:
Let others fend for themselves. I don't have the time.....
It's their stupid fault that they are homeless. Why don't they get a job?.....
Uh, all of these illegal immigrants are infesting our community. Why don't they go back to their own country and stop using our resources for free?.....
Let someone else feed those wretched people. Isn't that what social workers are trained to do?
Oh, I can't stand people who beg on the street. What is wrong with them? Are they all a bunch of mental wackos?
Those drunks and crack heads on the street. They just made bad choices. Let them deal with the consequences themselves.
Why do I want to spend time in a depressing nursing home with hard-of-hearing, incontinent, mentally forgetful old people? Why even bother?
These words are harsh. I think Jesus would lump people who'd say or think such things into the goat category. Wouldn't you? Life is too short to be so mean and hateful. Life is too short to be so self absorbed that we don't observe the world around us. Life is too short to follow the path of darkness when we can follow the path of light.
The next time you see a beggar on the street or an elderly person walking on a walker show kindness and mercy toward them. See Jesus Christ in their eyes! Don't judge them for their state in life. Think of them as a child of God. If you can't help them in their situation, refer them to someone else who can assist.
Let us get out of ourselves and help others in need!
-J.
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