LAST JUDGMENT DISCOURSE MATTHEW 25:21 – 43
THE GOSPEL OF SOCIAL JUSTICE
“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 these 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.’
We practicing Christians take Matthew 25 very seriously. It tends to sum up the whole Gospel of Jesus that we are to love God and our neighbor. In fact, the most practical way of showing our love for God is how we love our neighbor. At the end of Mass we are dismissed with the words go in peace and live the Gospel. Matthew 25 also answers that nagging question, what I must do to get to heaven?
CATHOLIC CHURCH TEACHING CORPORAL WORKS OF MERCY
CCC 2447 The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities. Instructing, advising, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently. The corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead. Among all these, giving alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God:
ERA OF TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
After leaving Church, we step into the world in the era of Trump where we are bombarded by negativity, name calling, division, us and them. It reminds me of how soldiers were prepared to kill the enemy in the Vietnam War by calling them gooks and any other name but human. Even well intentioned Christians cannot help but be infected by the negativity and diminishing of those who are weaker and most in need.
Let me cite just a few areas in Trump policies that threatened a Christian response to those in need. Most recently, there has the draconian policy of zero tolerance at our Southern border, arresting everyone, declaring everyone a criminal, separating children from parents. Trump consistently attacks affordable health care including Medicaid, affordable housing, food stamps and offers other cuts to anti-poverty programs for our most vulnerable. We all live on same earth and our environment originally provided by God is there to promote life, the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we sow and harvest. The Trump administration aggressive deregulation policies endanger our air, our water and the food we consume.
COMMENTARY
Jesus was counter cultural and never shied from speaking truth to power whether they be political leaders or religious leaders of his time. Works of charity are good but is that all that is expected of us? I am going to cite a quote from Archbishop Dom Helder Camara, Archbishop of Brazil’s poor back in the 80’s. “When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.”
Charitable giving is not enough! We must look at the causes of those in need and address them as well in our advocacy and at the ballot box.
What is a human being? What is his role in the world? Where is he headed? How does he get there? If a human being is not yet perfected, what will perfect him? Social Justice always has the common good at its core as found in Scriptures and in the teachings of the Catholic Church.
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC #1907) states that the Common Good presupposes respect for each person. It requires the social well-being and development of everyone, including food, clothing, shelter, health care, work, education etc. It requires peace and justice for security of a just order…. . (CCC 1928-1942, 2419-2449) The fundamental principles of Catholic Social Teaching focus on the dignity and sacredness of each human person, the solidarity that we experience within one another, the promotion of the common good and the proper use and distribution of the goods of this world
SCRIPTURE
On coming into this world, a person is not equipped with everything he needs for developing his bodily and spiritual life. He needs others. Talents and gifts are not distributed equally as we see in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians chapter 12 where he compares the human body to the body of Christ, the Church.
“Now the body is not a single part, but many. Even if a foot should say, “Because I am not a hand I do not belong to the body,” it does not for this reason belong any less to the body. Or if an ear should say, “Because I am not an eye I do not belong to the body,” it does not for this reason belong any less to the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God placed the parts, each one of them, in the body as he intended…” I Corinthians 12:4-26
St. Paul goes on to say, “Indeed, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are all the more necessary, and those parts of the body that we consider less honorable we surround with greater honor, and our less presentable parts are treated with greater propriety, whereas our more presentable parts do not need this….
God has so constructed the body that there may be no divisions in the body so that the parts of the body may have concern for every other part. If (one) part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.” Just as it is in the human body so it is in the body of Christ, the Church.” Corinthians 12:4-11; 14-31
CONCLUSION
Why isn’t it enough to believe in God, be baptized, worship God on Sundays, receive the Sacraments and keep the Commandments not to kill, steal, lie, cheat etc.? In the first Epistle of John, chapter 4, verse 20, it reads, “Anyone who says I love God and hates his neighbor is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.”
Don’t blame poverty or lack of resources on God, He has provided us with all the natural resources we need. Here is the question to ask ourselves, “Why are there some with more than they need while there are others with less than they need?” Social Justice is not merely charity. In fact someone could do charitable giving for all the wrong reasons, to save on taxes, to feel good about himself, to receive the acclaim of others.
God’s divine plan wills that each will have their needs supplied by their neighbors. It is the Christian way. Today we represent Jesus’ compassion, empathy, and generosity. We have been, and remain, stronger on private charity than on social justice. Many Christians will give food or clothing to a needy person but, at the same time, refuse to look at the structures and policies that create poverty in the first place.. We are obliged by justice itself to come to the aid of needy people. Examination on Social Justice is a much harder examination for people. It may take us to some dark places we didn’t know were in us and a call to conversion.
The present situation within the world, where some individuals and nations have excess while others lack the basic necessities, is immoral, goes against the teachings of Christ, and must be redressed. The condemnation of injustice is part of the church’s essential ministry of preaching and is an essential aspect of the church’s prophetic role. At our Baptisms we are called to that prophetic role! Let’s get started!
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