November 24, 2002

In Baptism we entered sacramentally into God's reign of love. At the end of our liturgical year, we do well to ask ourselves whether we have faithfully responded to the love we have received. When we die, will we enter into the fullness of the reign of God in eternal life?

What will happen when we die? Will I be judged worthy of eternal life in the kingdom? Did I pray enough? Was I pure enough? Is my baptismal garment stained? It may seem odd that none of these criteria comes into play in the judgment scene depicted in Matthew's Gospel. All that is asked is whether we treated the lowly as God treated us - with generosity and compassion, like a good shepherd and a just King.

This sums up what it means to respond faithfully to God's compassionate love. On this final Sunday of the year, we see that it is simply a matter of passing on the compassionate love of our God. The shepherd King needs our eyes to seek, our hands to bring back, to bind up and to heal the flock he loves. To refuse to do so would be to deny the sheep of God's least ones is to respond generously to the generous love of Christ the King.

The most surprising aspect of the Gospel may be that the righteous do not even realize what they have been doing. "When we feed, welcome, clothe and visit?" they ask. The faithful response to God's abundant love just comes naturally. We cannot help giving when we recognize that everything, including our faith, is a gift from our generous God. Perhaps this is what it means to enjoy eternal life under the lordship of Christ our King.

SO THE QUESTION: WHEN HAVE YOU CARED FOR GOD'S "LEAST ONES?"

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