In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
Note, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord does not command us to be successful: he does not say, “feed the hungry and give drink to the thirsty so they are full, make the stranger as one who is at home, clothe the naked so they may never be exposed, heal the sick and free the prisoners.” The Lord is not interested in our results, rather he desires that we remain faithful.
And so easily I turn this around. Despite the clear words of the Lord, I want results, I want efficiency, I want progress. I give money to a charity and expect good outcomes, I look down on all the needs before me and I choose whom I deign to help and I rile against God that he does not intervene as I see fit. The one dying can be expended for the sake of one who can live, the young prioritised over the elderly, the able over the disabled—all for the sake of progress, efficiency, results. “Lord, Lord,” I pray with myself, “have I not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name?” And finally, on the Last Day, he would reply to me, “I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!” (Matthew 7:22–23)
“Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.” For even a little act of kindness to one who cannot repay, to one who is in a worldly sense considered unworthy, to one on whom it would appear wasted, every act of kindness brings us closer to God. So the beggar holds out his hand not to ask us for change but to offer us the Kingdom and all it costs is a little money, the convicted offer us the chance to visit Christ himself, our hospitality to the stranger is an icon of God’s hospitality towards us.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, both the sheep and the goats are surprised at their destiny, the sheep because they have not acted in order to receive the Kingdom, the goats because they have only been acting when they think the Kingdom is at stake: therefore, be giving, be loving, be caring not expecting a reward but because we see a person bearing the image of God who is in need. Let us remember success is not necessary, rather that we should live our lives in faithfulness to the promises of God as revealed through his beloved Son.
May our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, who judges all, grant that we may serve the least among the brethren with joy and humility and come to knowledge of the one God and Father by the power and operation of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Brethren, food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. Only take care lest this liberty of yours somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if any one sees you, a man of knowledge, at table in an idol’s temple, might he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? And so by your knowledge this weak man is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. Thus, sinning against your brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food is a cause of my brother’s falling, I will never eat meat, lest I cause my brother to fall. Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
— First Corinthians 8:8–13, 9:1–2
The Lord said, “When the Son of man comes in his glory and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of 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 drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, 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 no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.’ And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
— Matthew 25:31–46