A reading from the book of Leviticus (19:1-2,11-18)
The Lord spoke to Moses and said, ‘Speak to the whole community of Israelites and say, “Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.
‘ “You shall not steal, nor deal deceitfully or fraudulently with your fellow-citizen. You shall not swear by my name with intent to deceive and thus profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.
‘ “You shall not defraud your neighbour. You shall not steal. You shall not keep back the labourer’s wage until next morning. You shall not curse the dumb or put an obstacle in the way of the blind, but you shall fear your God. I am the Lord.
‘ “You shall not do evil in administering justice. You shall neither be partial to the poor nor overawed by the great, but shall administer justice to your fellow-citizen justly. You shall not go about slandering your own family, nor will you endanger your neighbour’s life. I am the Lord.
‘ “You shall not have hatred in your heart for any of your kin. You shall reprove your neighbour firmly and so avoid taking the guilt upon yourself. You shall not exact vengeance on, or bear any sort of grudge against, the members of your race, but shall love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord.”’
An important section of the book of Leviticus (17-26) is known as ‘the Holiness Code’ and this reading is taken from these chapters. The holiness of God requires that God’s people too be holy. Our passage is punctuated with the fourfold declaration from the holy God: ‘I am the Lord’. Holiness requires honest and respectful behaviour towards the neighbour, which is spelt out in a multitude of ways. Stealing, deceit, and swearing false oaths recall the commandments of the Decalogue (Exodus 20). Keeping back the wages of the worker, and abuse of the dumb and the blind are condemned, while the ‘fear’ of the Lord is encouraged. The proper administration of justice rules out partiality in judgement. ‘Hatred in your heart’ and ‘vengeance’ are replaced by the final command: ‘you shall love your neighbour as yourself’.
Psalm 19 (18) The psalm renews the focus on the Law of the Lord, which brings life and wisdom, joy and light. The ‘fear of the Lord’ is not something negative, but appropriate awe in the presence of a God of justice and love.
A reading from the holy gospel according to 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 nations will be assembled before him and he will separate them from one 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 that are blessed by my Father, inherit 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 welcomed me, needing clothes and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me.” Then the righteous 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 welcome you, needing clothes and we clothed you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to you?” And the King will answer, “Amen I say to you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it to me.”
‘Then he will say to those on his left hand, “Go away from me, accursed, to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you did not give me food, I was thirsty and you did not give me anything to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, needing clothes and you never clothed me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Then they in their turn will ask, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or needing clothes, sick or in prison, and did not come to your aid?” Then he will answer, “Amen I say to you, 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 righteous to eternal life.’
The parable of the sheep and the goats is the last part of the fifth and final major speech of Jesus in the gospel of Matthew, a speech which considers the future and the end. This ‘last judgement’ asks how we treat others, and in particular those in need. It is the gospel call to ‘love your neighbour as yourself’, with the significant change that ‘all the nations’ are included. Solidarity with the poor, the hungry and those on the margins is the fundamental criterion of the judgement. Every person is my brother or sister, and in each I serve Christ. The virtuous are amazed that they have served Christ in each person in need. The parable ends with the stark choice between ‘eternal punishment’ and ‘eternal life’. It is not possible to reach eternal life without having reached out to brothers and sisters in need.
How can I serve Jesus in those I do not like?
For the needy who are noticed by no-one, let us pray.