All Nations...

I am always moved by Matthew 25, and hearing yesterday's reading was no exception. Although the passages move me every time I hear them, it is interesting to me to hear fresh points of view. In his Homily yesterday, the priest made two interesting points. First, unlike most of the parables, this one is harder to project oneself. It is easy to see oneself in either group, the goats or the sheep.

Sometimes we answer a call for charity, other times we turn a deaf ear. The priest noted that it may not even be possible for us to always answer, since we are human not God.

The other point he made which I had never considered is that there are actually three groups, not two. There are the sheep and the goats, but also the people in need, with whom Jesus directly associates with the Son of Man.

It has always been clear to me that the answer to Salvation is always the same. The criteria in yesterday's reading are nearly identical to the criteria given by Jesus in the parable of the Good Samaritan. But the priest's observation that there are three groups got me thinking. In re-reading the passage again last night, it struck me that the Son of Man does not call all people before him, but "all nations". Further, both the damned and the saved are surprised at their fate. God's work was not recognized as such by either group.

This has me pondering on rather or not there is a lesson on our need to work as a community of faith, not just as individuals. It also has me wondering if the things we think matter to God are what we will, in fact, be judged on. Perhaps we need to answer Jesus' calls to service as broadly as we can, just in case...