Matthew 25:31-46 – deacon rudy's notes

November 20, 2020November 19, 2020

Christ the King

Jesus holding a globe with puzzle pieces for continents

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The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe Mass Readings

First Reading: Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17
Responsorial: Psalm 23:1-3, 5-6
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28
Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111520.cfm
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My brothers and sisters, what does it take to be saved? The answer to that question is what today’s Gospel is all about! If you are the type of person who needs rubrics for the judgment we will all face, then today is your day! In today’s Gospel, Jesus sorts the puzzle of humanity.

We begin by accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. As disciples, we set out on a great quest for holiness marked by selfless love. We also try to help others find their hope in Christ Jesus. But how do we know we are disciples? What separates the good work we do from any other NGO?

Jesus says, “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. 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. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me,’” (Matthew 25:31-36)

Now the disciples listening are shocked and they ask him when was he hungry or thirsty or naked or in the hospital or in prison. How does Jesus respond? He says, “Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me,” (Matthew 25:45)

And then he ends by saying, “And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life,” (Matthew 25:46).

That’s it. No more and no less. This is the rubric against which you and I will be judged. Notice what he didn’t say? Jesus doesn’t say you be judged by how often you attended mass or how many times you went to confession or how many times you went to adoration or how many times you prayed at all, let alone the rosary. How is that possible?

Let’s break it down.

What does it take to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and imprisoned?

Look at how Mother Teresa’s ministry began. Twenty years after she joined the Sisters of Loreto, she began teaching poor children whose families couldn’t afford to send them to school. Recognizing the dignity of these poor children, she tried to equip them with the basic tools they needed to break the cycle of poverty. Later, she began to collect dying people from the side of the road – literally dying people thrown in ditches alongside of the road – and she ministered to them through their death. She gave them clean beds to rest. She bathed them. She tended to their wounds. For her, there was no such thing as rationing healthcare! No life, no matter how near to death, is unworthy of attention! Why did she do all of this? She recognized the dignity of the dying person, and she tried to help them meet their maker in peace.

That’s why for centuries the Catholic church has run so many food pantries, hospitals and schools. It’s like we discussed last week about the ART of social justice. We meet a person’s immediate need. Through our acts of charity, we help the person appreciate their own dignity and self-worth. We try to give them the tools they need to live a life of dignity. And we advocate for changes to prevent people from becoming trapped in poverty.

What does it take for me to help the poor, the sick and imprisoned? I have to be willing share what I have – my money, my time and my talent. I can’t outsource my obligation by saying my taxes go to help the poor. Too many of our government programs do not affirm human dignity. Too many programs trap people in poverty or worse dismiss their lives as worthless deciding who can be aborted and who can and cannot receive healthcare. So, no, we cannot rely on government to fulfill our obligation under today’s Gospel.

If we find it difficult to help others, then we need to ask what is standing in our way. Are we placing money, prestige, power above God? If we are not careful, our possessions become a god. Scripture tells us, you cannot serve both God and mammon (Matthew 6:24).

But it’s not just money or possessions that can stand in our way. It can also be hubris, right? There is the intellectual movement poising thought in our educational systems from our universities to our primary and secondary schools that denies the existence of God or any notion of objective truth. To such people, helping the needy isn’t about recognizing the God-given dignity and worth of the human person.

If I can’t see God in the needy, then how can I possibly ever feed them, quench their thirst, clothe them, visit them when they are sick or in prison. If I can’t do any of these things out of love, then have I really accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior?

The great challenge of today’s Gospel isn’t about opening up our pocketbooks. It’s about helping us discern our relationship with God. Do I have a healthy relationship with my time, my money, my talents and my thoughts? I am not saved by my works, but my salvation is evidenced through the way I live my life.

But Satan is clever! We don’t need black Friday sales to remind us of all the comforts and luxuries offered by the world. How do we resist?

My brothers and sisters, Christ our King provides! Christ gave us the Church and the sacraments to nourish our minds, our hearts and our bodies. Why do we go to mass every week? Not to check a box on a form. No! We go to mass every week and we receive the sacraments and we pray often to worship God and to ask for the strength to resist temptation and to help us see all the ways God has graced this world. And these graces help us on our quest to be holy disciples who, out of selfless love for Jesus, feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and imprisoned.

Homework! Nourished by the Word of God and the Eucharist, I encourage you to reflect on the following two questions.
First, how would you describe your relationship to your possessions or your opinion? Are these more important to you than God?
Second, as Advent begins, what sorts of things can you do the help shift your attention to God present in the needy?

Doing our homework will help us live our lives of salvation. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! Now go make disciples! May almighty God bless you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! +Amen!

Image Credit: Artist unknown. JPG file.

Notes: Unless otherwise indicated, all Bible quotes are taken from The Bible: A Study Bible freshly translated by Nicholas King. Buxhall, Suffolk UK: Kevin Mayhew, 2013.

References:
1. Mitch, Curtis and Edward Sri. The Gospel of Matthew. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2010. Kindle.
2. Montague, George T., SM. First Corinthians. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2011. Kindle.

Catechism References http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm:
1. Christ as Lord and King: 440, 446-451, 668-672, 783, 786, 908, 2105, 2628
2. Jesus and the poor: 544, 1373
3. Christ as Judge: 678-79, 1001, 1038-1041
4. Works of mercy: 2447
5. “The Kingdom Come:” 2816-2821

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/112220.cfm
Lectionary: 160

Reading 1
Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17
Thus says the Lord GOD:
I myself will look after and tend my sheep.
As a shepherd tends his flock
when he finds himself among his scattered sheep,
so will I tend my sheep.
I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered
when it was cloudy and dark.
I myself will pasture my sheep;
I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD.
The lost I will seek out,
the strayed I will bring back,
the injured I will bind up,
the sick I will heal,
but the sleek and the strong I will destroy,
shepherding them rightly.

As for you, my sheep, says the Lord GOD,
I will judge between one sheep and another,
between rams and goats.

Responsorial
Psalm 23:1-2, 2-3, 5-6
R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Reading 2
1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28
Brothers and sisters:
Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since death came through man,
the resurrection of the dead came also through man.
For just as in Adam all die,
so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,
but each one in proper order:
Christ the firstfruits;
then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ;
then comes the end,
when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father,
when he has destroyed every sovereignty
and every authority and power.
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
When everything is subjected to him,
then the Son himself will also be subjected
to the one who subjected everything to him,
so that God may be all in all.

Alleluia
Mark 11:9, 10
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
Matthew 25:31-46
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.
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.
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.’
Then the righteous will answer him and say,
‘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,
or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’
And the king will say to them in reply,
‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Then he will say to those on his left,
‘Depart from me, you accursed,
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,
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.’
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?’
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.’
And these will go off to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life.”

September 2, 2020September 2, 2020

ATC 19 Being a Christian Today

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Hola and welcome to another edition of All Things Catholic. I’m your host, Deacon Rudy Villarreal, and together we are going to explore what it means to be Catholic. If you have a question that you’d like me to address, send it to me. You may use the comment form on the website or by email to rudy@deaconrudysnotes.org. I invite you to share this podcast with everyone you know!

In today’s episode, we’re going to talk about being a Christian today. I think being a Christian today, or more specifically, being a Catholic today, can be rather tricky. There are so many voices out there all vying for our attention. Some of those voices tell us frightful things like how wrong Vatican II was, or how the “signs of the times” should reshape our entire understanding of the faith and the Church’s teachings.

As an ordained clergy with a graduate degree in theology and currently working on a doctorate in ministry, I’ve got to tell you that it’s often challenging for me to determine which voices are authentic and which are not. I realize that I too am one of those voices, but, paraphrasing Horace Slughorn, myself, I always try to walk within the light of faith in Christ shining through His church on earth.

Friends, adding to the tension, are the painful things I’ve witnessed so far during this election cycle on social media. I’ve seen Catholics using social media to tell other Catholics that they’re not Catholic if they vote a particular way or if they hold to certain beliefs. I’ve even seen and heard priests say similar things, which is shocking, to say the very least.

Painful as it is to admit, I think we need to acknowledge that we live in a post-Christian world, and to my way of thinking, that changes many things (Dreher, 4, et al). First and foremost, we cannot assume the people around us are believers, nor can we believe they are tolerant of believers. We can’t even accept that the people standing beside us in the pews at mass, at an appropriate distance, of course, are true believers. But that doesn’t mean we need to adopt a defensive posture, nor does it mean that we need to insult or berate them.

No, I think the task of the Christian in the world today needs to be that of a missionary disciple. I say missionary because the task of evangelization needs to begin much closer to home. To do that, we need to get back to the fundamentals.

Ok, what does it mean to be a disciple? At a minimum, discipleship means three things: accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, deepening our relationship with Jesus through prayer and study, and sharing the Good News with other people.

First, when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, that means we not only accept Jesus, but we believe in all of it: that God created this world and created us in His image and likeness; that He sent His only son born of the Virgin Mary, to suffer and to die for us; that Jesus rose from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of the Father; that the Holy Spirit animates Christ’s church on earth, in the one, holy, universal church founded on Peter and the apostles; that we are forgiven, that the dead shall rise again and that the saved will have eternal life. Sound familiar? When we accept Jesus, then the Creed becomes the foundation of our lives.

Second, what does it mean to grow our relationship with Jesus through prayer and study? Well, have you ever fallen in love with someone? If you never tried to learn more about them and their life story, then you might be in for quite a surprise one day. Right? So, we try to get to know the people we love. The same is true with Jesus. We approach Him in prayer, and we try to learn more about Him through study. Between you and me, I think we overcomplicate the study part. Look, the key to understanding the Ten Commandments and the 613 Jewish commandments is this: they are not merely a list of things to do or to avoid. At their core, the commandments teach us about loving God (Hahn, 235). Once we understand that love is the key, then all the technical stuff is so much easier to understand.

What is love? Well, that’s an uber topic that we can’t possibly address today, but I know this: love has to be shared. If you don’t share love, if you never tell someone you love them, then your relationships will be stunted. That’s the third aspect of discipleship. We are called to share the love of Jesus Christ – the love that is God – with everyone around us. How do I know that? Because Jesus gave us the rubric of judgment.

Read Matthew 25:31-46. I think the sainted Mother Teresa sums it up quite nicely: At the end of our lives, we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made or how many great things we have done. We will be judged by “I was hungry, and you gave me to eat. I was naked, and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.”

It’s quite clear that the proof of our conversion is our willingness to dedicate ourselves in service to others. That’s what being a missionary is all about – going out and in love, serve those around us. And by our service, they will know we are Christians, and they will be drawn to the source of our joy. They will be drawn to Christ Jesus.

Being a Christian in the world today means that we need to return to the fundamentals. We need to dedicate ourselves to prayer, study, and service to others, all through the lens of love. That means that if we don’t understand the Church’s teachings, or even if we disagree with the Church’s teachings, we are called to prayer and study so that one day – perhaps years from now – we come to understand. We don’t beat up our fellow Christians on social media. We journey with them. And while we journey, we share Christ’s love in humble service to a world that desperately needs a message of hope.

Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! Now go make disciples! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!

You’re listening to All Things Catholic. What are your thoughts? Leave a comment – I’d love to consider what you’re thinking. If you’re on the webpage, just click the title of the podcast, then scroll to the bottom and you should be able to post a comment. Do you have a question that you’d like me to address? Please send it to me using the comment form on the website, or send me an email to rudy@deaconrudysnotes.org.

This episode was produced by deacon rudy’s notes. Our theme music was composed by Silent Partner. You can find all sorts of helpful information on the website at www.deaconrudysnotes.org. I’m your host, Deacon Rudy Villarreal. All Things Catholic will be back next month, and don’t forget to tune in for the weekend edition where we break open the Word. Peace!

References:
1. Dreher, Rod. The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation. New York, NY: Penguin Random House, 2017. Kindle.
2. Hahn, Scott W. and Curtis Mitch. Romans. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academics, 2017. Kindle.

February 3, 2019February 3, 2019

16 How Will You Respond to God’s Love

Mother Teresa holding a baby and quote not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love

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Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
First Reading: Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19
Psalm: Psalm 71:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 15,17
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13
Gospel: Luke 4:21-30

What happens when people can’t be bothered by the Truth?

In the first reading, God warns Jeremiah that the people will fight against him. Well that news can’t be easy to swallow! In the Gospel, Jesus’ own friends and neighbors run him out of town and try to throw him off the hill their town is built on!

Isn’t it interesting that when God comes into people’s lives, it can be all too easy to reject His Word? Maybe it’s because they like we don’t want to be bothered. We don’t want to mess up our comfortable lives, so we don’t really want to believe what we’re hearing. This can’t be the Truth, right? This can’t be what God is asking of me!
Maybe it’s because we think we’re living a good life – a life rooted in the Spirit. But St. Paul warns us in his letter to the Corinthians that if we exercise faith to move a mountain, but we act without love, then we have nothing! Whoa!

So what is the challenge of love? Love is not something we horde. Love is something we give away – something we share. We act on love. So Jesus gives the people two examples: the widow in Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian. In both examples they were not Jews, but they responded to God’s Word and experienced His mercy and love. In contrast, Jesus tells the people, they are like the Jews of the past who were closed off to God’s Word.

How do the people respond? They say, “isn’t this the son of Joseph?” In other words, they look for reasons to doubt both the message and the messenger. In fact, they are so angry they want to pitch Him off the hill! Why are they so angry? Because the Truth challenges them to respond. What is that response? You can’t keep the love and mercy God showers on you all to yourself. You need to share it with others. How? Remember Jesus’ message that when you love the least of these, you love me.

When you give drink to the thirsty, food to the hungry, clothes to the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned, that’s how we share the love of God with others and in turn how we truly show our love for God. The message that Jesus is giving us today is that we need to respond to God’s love and the way we respond to the Father’s love is to reach out to those around us. That makes sense, doesn’t it? Like we heard last week, we are all part of the Body of Christ. If part of the body is in pain, then we need to reach out to that part of the body and help it. This idea underscores our understanding social justice. Social justice is not just about doing good deeds. Anybody – nonbelievers – can do good deeds. But as Christians, as His disciples, social justice flows out of our belief in the Good News.

So the challenge is not to come up with excuses to avoid the Truth: isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Or, I’m too busy. I don’t have time right now. I’m too old. Or the clergy sex abuse scandal means I shouldn’t trust or help the Church! Let’s face it – all of that is bologna! It doesn’t matter how busy you think you are or how old you are. And we shouldn’t the scandal as an excuse to not live out God’s call in our lives. It’s not because we are perfect that we gather at the table of the Lord. It’s because we are broken and we are sinners that we come together. We gather for God’s mercy and love. So no more excuses!

There’s always a way we can contribute – at minimum through our prayers and financial support, of course, but perhaps there’s other things you can do. Can you help make baby blankets, knit beanies for the homeless, share your professional experience with the Church or a nonprofit organization who needs your help? As the sainted Mother Teresa said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

Homework! Nourished by Christ in the Word proclaimed and in the Eucharist, let’s reflect on the following two questions:

First, what is God calling you to do?
Second, how are you going to respond to God’s love?

We need to draw courage from what Jeremiah says to us today: God will be with us as our strength and ally. Do you get it? Good! May each of us come to know the mercy and the love of Jesus Christ. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. +Amen!

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