Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
Matthew 25:31-46
Gospel Passage
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, 32 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. 33 He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ 40 And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ 41Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ 44 Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ 45 He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ 46 And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
- Who separates the sheep from the goats? Who are the sheep and the goats? What do the sheep receive after being separated from the goats?
- The King tells the sheep that they fed Him, gave Him a drink, welcomed Him, clothed Him, cared for Him, and visited Him in prison. They respond that they had not done so to Him. What is His response? Why do you think that is?
- Inversely, the goats do not do these things. What is the King’s response?
- Sins of commission are sins which we commit by performing a certain action. Sins of omission are sins which are committed by not performing a certain action. What type of sin are the ones who go off to eternal punishment guilty of? Based on your answer, do you find this to be a disproportionately harsh punishment?
- At Duke, it might be uncommon (albeit not impossible) to see the hungry and thirsty. Is it possible that hunger and thirst are not merely physical? If not, what could this mean for us?
- At Duke, it is not at all uncommon to see those strangers who feel they are on the outside. Perhaps you have felt that way or feel that way now. Keeping in mind the king’s words to the sheeps and goats regarding strangers, how might the alienated be encouraged? How might insiders be charged?
- In this passage, Jesus refers to Himself as a king. The King has made Himself known to the sheep and goats through the poor and suffering. How do kings typically make themselves known? How does this compare with how Jesus makes Himself known as king? What does this tell us about true royalty and honor?
- Is it more difficult to avoid sin or to do the right thing? Why?
- Do you find it difficult to serve the poor and suffering? What are things that might impede us from serving those in need?
- How are we going to serve the poor and suffering before us this week?
Reflection
In the Gospel passage, Jesus calls us to see him in all we encounter. He calls us to see him in the hungry, in the naked, in the sick, in the imprisoned. This call is radical. For Jesus tells us that we cannot just do these things sometimes and let that be enough. We cannot excuse ourselves from ignoring someone sometimes because we did something nice another day. Rather, Jesus calls us to live in constant service and love of the other.
In seeing Christ in all we encounter, Jesus calls our attention to how we are called to serve: by recognizing the dignity of each person. For our dignity comes from being children of God, and when Jesus calls us to see him, the son of God, in all, he calls us to serve by starting from a place of dignity.
Who are the hungry, the thirsty, the strangers in our lives? On one hand, there are many here in our community who do not have enough to eat, who do not have clean water to drink, who feel alone and abandoned. Do we take the call to serve these individuals and their needs seriously? Do we recognize this as a core part of our faith, not simply a nice thing to do? When we serve, do we serve from a place of love? Do we serve and recognize the dignity of those we are serving? If we do serve, is our service rooted in Christ?
But at the same time, there are many in our campus community who are hungry, thirsty, strangers in a spiritual rather than physical sense. Our hearts long for Christ. Those without him are hungry. To these, do we bring them the water of Christ's love, do we bring them belonging, do we carry the good news to them. Do we do this from a place of love, recognizing their dignity, seeing them the way God sees them?
When we see each individual as a reflection of Christ and a member of his mystical body, it becomes natural to serve both their physical and spiritual needs. As we go out this week, let us view our neighbors through this lens and learn to love them as Christ calls us.
Clare Sparling ‘24
In seeing Christ in all we encounter, Jesus calls our attention to how we are called to serve: by recognizing the dignity of each person. For our dignity comes from being children of God, and when Jesus calls us to see him, the son of God, in all, he calls us to serve by starting from a place of dignity.
Who are the hungry, the thirsty, the strangers in our lives? On one hand, there are many here in our community who do not have enough to eat, who do not have clean water to drink, who feel alone and abandoned. Do we take the call to serve these individuals and their needs seriously? Do we recognize this as a core part of our faith, not simply a nice thing to do? When we serve, do we serve from a place of love? Do we serve and recognize the dignity of those we are serving? If we do serve, is our service rooted in Christ?
But at the same time, there are many in our campus community who are hungry, thirsty, strangers in a spiritual rather than physical sense. Our hearts long for Christ. Those without him are hungry. To these, do we bring them the water of Christ's love, do we bring them belonging, do we carry the good news to them. Do we do this from a place of love, recognizing their dignity, seeing them the way God sees them?
When we see each individual as a reflection of Christ and a member of his mystical body, it becomes natural to serve both their physical and spiritual needs. As we go out this week, let us view our neighbors through this lens and learn to love them as Christ calls us.
Clare Sparling ‘24