Scripture: Matthew 25:31–45; 26:6–13
Friend, thou art set in place to do justice; but, in imprisoning my body, thou hast done contrary to justice, according to your own law. Oh, take heed of pleasing [people] more than God, for that is the way of the scribes and pharisees, they sought the praise of [people] more than God. Remember who said, “I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; I was in prison and ye visited me not.” O friend, thy envy is not against me, but against the power of Truth. —Elizabeth Hooton
Questions: What are some ways you could easily, alone or with a few friends, practice one of the six invitations Jesus praises in the parable of the sheep and goats? When and how have you been offered hospitality? How did you receive it? In what ways and to whom are you or your faith community being called to extend hospitality? How do you discern when it is time to celebrate extravagantly and when it is time to meet the basic needs of those in your community?
What does Jesus’ parable of the goats and sheep have to teach us? On first read, this parable might suggest that everyone who has ever neglected to tend to someone in need will suffer everlasting punishment – which is hardly a comforting message, for no person could ever meet this standard. To borrow an insight shared by Dennis, Sheila, and Matthew Linn in their wonderful book Good Goats: Healing Our Image of God, we are all “good goats.” They point out that we have all, on occasion, been sheep as well as goats. As in many of his parables, Jesus speaks symbolically – and perhaps here ironically – painting a dramatic scene of judgment to drive home the centrality of caring for the most vulnerable in God’s kingdom. Every time we care for those in need, we set foot in the heavenly kingdom, and every time we miss this opportunity, we grow more distant from God.
Likewise, the Book of Jonah presents a compelling, convicting narrative of an Israelite prophet who, like so many of us, struggles to accept a God whose love and mercy could be so enormous. When God forgives the Ninevites, Jonah’s foreign enemies, Jonah is furious. He could think of no one more completely deserving of God’s wrath and destruction. Nevertheless, God shows the Ninevites and all their animals mercy and forgiveness, waiting for Jonah to relinquish his anger and open his heart to the love of God, which extends to all people (including stubborn Israelite prophets). Jesus may well have had Jonah in mind when he created the character of the older brother in the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15. Like Jonah, the older son rages at his father for showing mercy to his wayward younger brother. All these stories – of the goats and sheep, Jonah, and the Prodigal Son – invite and challenge us into an expanded understanding and experience of the God of love.
In healing the sick, blessing the poor, and welcoming the stranger, Jesus lived out his message of God’s limitless love at every opportunity, even and especially enjoining us in the Sermon on the Mount to love our enemies and bless those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). Who in our lives are we called upon to offer God’s support, comfort, and provision? Who is the stranger we are called to welcome? The enemy? In urging us to care for the “least of these,” Jesus reminds us of God’s boundless love for all God’s children. God calls upon the self-righteous prophet and older brother in all of us, perpetually offering love to us, and inviting us to share that love with all others who suffer, are in need, or those whom we consider our enemies.
–Stephen Potthoff in “Friendly Perspective” from Matthew: The Life of Jesus