Daily Gospel Reflection

Rediscover True North

Welcome back to Radical and Relevant. Today's gospel is from Matthew, Chapter 25, versus 31 through 46. When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations. And he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep at the right hand, but the goats at the left. And then the king will say to those on his right-hand, "Come, oh blessed of my father. And 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. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was imprisoned and you came to me." Then the righteous will answer him, "Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee? Or thirsty, and give thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee? When naked and clothed thee? And when did we see thee sick or imprisoned and visit thee?" And the king will answer them truly, "I say to you as you did it to one of the least of these, my brothers. You did it to me."

Then he will say to those on his left hand, "Depart from me you cursed, 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. I was a stranger and you did not welcome me. Naked and you did not clothe me. Sick and imprisoned and you did not visit me." And they also will answer, "Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty? Or a stranger, or naked, or sick, imprisoned, and did not minister to thee?" Then he will answer them, "Truly, I say to you as you did it not to one of the least of these. You did it not to me." And they will go away into eternal punishment. But the righteous into eternal life.

So who are these least of our brethren? They're in every situation, they're in every circumstance, they're in every community. We don't have to go to the other side of the world to find them but we should be mindful of the people on the other side of the world. But the reality is that the Gospel is inviting us to be on the lookout for the least among us. When we go into a room, you know? Maybe even go into a party, maybe it's a lavish party. But there's a least of us in the midst of that and it can have nothing to do with material possessions or advantage in this world. There can be the least of us might be someone with very real spiritual poverty, or very real spiritual hunger. And the Gospel is constantly taking people from the fringes and placing them right at the center of the narrative. And so if we're going to live the Gospel, we too have to go to the fringes of life to serve these least among us. And the reality is more and more, we have to go out of our way to find them sometimes. Because we can each lay our lives very much from the least among us. Go looking for the least among ye today. God bless you, have an amazing day. And remember, be bold. Be Catholic.