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The Lord said: 31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 And all the peoples will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 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. 35 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, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and come to you? 40 Then the King will answer and say to them, “Truly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.
41 Then he will say also to those on the left, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you did not feed me, I was thirsty and you did not give me a drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not take me in, I was naked and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit me. 44 Then they also will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you? 45 And he will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. 46 Then these will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
the explanation:
{magictabs} My Parish Newsletter::
Matthew speaks of judgment immediately before he speaks of Christ’s suffering and death. The subject of judgment is linked to the coming of Jesus in glory. The early church undoubtedly understood the coming of Jesus in glory to mean the Second Coming, at the end of time. The image used here is that of a shepherd who separates his sheep from the goats, placing the sheep on the right and the goats on the left. Jesus is the King who comes in glory, surrounded by his angels, and gathers all the peoples to judgment. Judgment is based on the treatment of the younger brother.
The measure of judgment is the other. Your attitude towards it is what determines your place on the Day of Judgment. To the extent that you are attentive to the other person, loving him, to that same extent you deserve to be among those placed on the right. The right is a place of honor and blessing. To be at the right hand of Jesus means to share in His glory, just as He shared in the glory of the Father by sitting at His right hand. We are not talking here about places, with God there is no place. We are talking about sharing in glory or not.
The Christian life is an orientation towards the other. The other, that is, every person you meet, needs you to be attentive to him. The hungry, the thirsty, the needy, the stranger, the naked, the imprisoned, and the sick, await your loving attention. Christ is in these people. Your treatment of them and your unbounded love is treatment of Christ and love for Him. The other is before you at all times; he is not absent from you and should not be. You meet him as if you were meeting Christ. Carry with him what you are able to carry. Christ himself bore your pain and your sin. You encounter Christ every day in the face of those who ask you for help. You will not inherit the Kingdom of God, and you will not be among His blessed ones if you do not pay attention to them.
تنال المجد اذا بذلت نفسك، اذا أفرغت ذاتك. العطاء عندنا لا يُحد، يمتد حتى الموت، لأن المحبة تعمِّده كل حين. “لأنه هكذا احب الله العالم حتى بذل ابنه الوحيد لكي لا يهلك كل من يؤمن به بل تكون له الحياة الابدية” (يوحنا 3: 16). المحبة لا تكون الا اذا كان ثمة مَن تُحب. لا يمكنك ان تكون مسيحياً و تلغي الآخر، او تهمّشه. لا يمكنك ان تلغي يسوع من حياتك. هو مبتغاك. بهذا المستوى عينه لا يمكنك ان تتغاضى عن الآخر، أياً كان هذا الآخر.
Christianity is not just a feeling. Feeling may not bring you closer to Christ. There is a sense of Christ’s presence with you every day. His presence is strong, it shakes you. He is the Son of Man in every sense of the word. He is the Son of Man because he suffers, he suffers for our suffering. And he was glorified because he bore our suffering. We are also glorified when we bear the suffering of others, when we make their suffering our own. Without this we go to eternal torment, and eternal torment means burning for not sharing in the glory of God.
الحب الباذل يلغي كل الفواصل الاجتماعية بين الناس. لم تعد المسألة مسألة غنى او فقر، علم او جهل … صار المسيح هو محكّ علاقتك بالآخر الذي يصبح بهذا المعنى إلهاً لك. تحيا بالحب لأن الله احبك دون مقابل، فانت قادر اذاً ان تحب كل الناس، حتى اولئك الذين تصعب محبتهم، لانه احبك واحبهم بقدر ما اتخذكم مسكناً.
Our fasting is a training to accept the Lord in His sufferings. The Lord will not come to you unless you first come to your brother. By sharing in the suffering of the one who is suffering, you share in the suffering of Christ, and then you will be qualified to share in His resurrection and glory.
Quoted from my parish bulletin
Sunday, March 6, 1994 / Issue 10
|||| Lattakia Diocese Bulletin::
The parable of the sheep and the goats shows that the final judgment at the Second Coming of Christ will not be based on my own inner thoughts and feelings, my spiritual visions and joys. Nor will my judgment be as great as my ascetic exercises, fastings, and prostrations (although these are important).
All I will be asked is whether I fed the hungry, visited the prisoners and the sick, and sheltered the stranger in my home!
بعبارة أخرى، سوف أُسأَل عن علاقتي بأترابي… كيف كانت علاقتي بالآخر؟.
هل عشت معه من منطلق روح المشاركة؟ هل كنت منغلقاً على ذاتي؟ أم شخصاً بكلّ ما للكلمة من معنى يعيش في شركة مع الآخرين؟. فبما أّنا نعيش اليوم في مجتمع باردٍ يتميّز بالميل المتزايد إلى الانعزال والقوقعة، فإنه مِن صلب رسالتنا المسيحية التأكيد على معنى الشركة المسيحية… أي يجب علينا أن نقاوم سيطرة الآلة “التلفزيون – الكومبيوتر…” ونؤكد قيمة المشاركة المباشرة واللقاء المباشر، لا لقاء الشخص بالآلة.. بل لقاء الشخص بالشخص الآخر، وجهاً لوجه..
coexistence with others
الآخر في مفهوم المسيح هو السماء بعينيها… فأنا أرى فيه صورة الله نفسه… “بما أنَّكم فعلتموه بأحد هؤلاء الأصاغر فبي فعلتم”
The basis of dealing and sharing with others is love.. Skills of interacting with others include the following steps:
- قبول الآخرين كما هُم وليس كما نريدهم أو كما نتخيلهم. فإن عدم قبول الآخر كما هو… يعكس عدم الإنسان لِنفْسِهِ..
- التفهم والتفاهم: أعطِ وقتاً لنمو حياة الشركة وروحها.. استمع كثيراً قبل أن تتكّلم… عبّر عن نفسِك بوضوحٍ..
- Initiative: Do not wait for others, but always take the first steps with a spirit of strength (with the strength of Jesus). Love always means initiative.
- التشجيع والتقدير والاعبتار: التشجيع كل وقت وكل الوقت… لا تنتظر التشجيع من الآخرين. أعطِهِ أو ً لا وستجدهُ يرتدَّ عليك… احذر من النَّقد والتجريح والإهانة لأي سبب.. إنما الفت الأنظار للخطأ بلطف ووداعة وحكمة ومحبّة..
- تجنب أساليب المحبة الخاطئة : وهي المحبة الحسّاسة، المحبة الحاضنة، المحبة المنتظِرة، المحبة الصامتة، الفاترة…
- امتلئ من دَسَم المحبة الإلهية: بالصلاة لأجل الآخرين… اصطحب أخوتك في قلبك وصلِّ لأجلهم… اشبَع بالمسيح وقدّمه لهم من خلال مشاركتك لهم باستمرار..
Quoted from the Lattakia Diocese Bulletin
Sunday 10-3-2002 / Issue 10
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