Matthew 25:31When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Fr. Chris Tessone has a good entry today, pointing to an entry by Sister Mary Sue of the Order of Santa Ignora, on the necessity of seeing Lent not merely as a "journey" but also and much more importantly as an opportunity to confront the sin in our lives. Today's gospel reminds us of the stark choice confronting us -- an easy, comfortable religion that doesn't challenge us to conversion has no salvific power -- only an encounter with the Crucified can lead us to the sacrificial, self-giving way of life that leads to salvation. We may very well be a "resurrection people" and the a-word may be "our song", as the song says -- but the Resurrection only happens after the Crucifixion.
Our parish was recently given a beautiful purple chasuble, stole, and maniple for Lent by an Episcopal priest friend -- but wearing a beautiful stole without taking on Christ's yoke of sacrificial service, or a maniple without being prepared to wait tables for the hungry (the maniple, sadly not worn much anymore due to the minimalist excesses [yes, that is an oxymoron, but an accurate one] of the liturgical movement, was an early napkin that bishops, priests, deacons, and subdeacons wear/wore as a symbol of our service) benefits us nothing.
May this Lent not be merely about religious devotions (not that there's anything wrong with devotions!), but may it be about the conversion that leads us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and the prisoners.
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