Matthew 25:31-46

This Sunday, Reign of Christ Sunday, is the last Sunday in the Christian liturgical year. Next week (November 29), Advent begins the new year, Year B, of the three-year lectionary cycle. And, therefore, this Sunday is the last of our readings and sermons from the Gospel of Matthew for this year.

 Our Scripture reading is Matthew 25:31-46.

 This passage is referred to as The Great Judgment. It is the last portion of the fifth and final long speech by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. If we accept that the Law of Love (see Matthew 22:36-40) is the foundational commandment of the Christian faith, what does this passage say about how we ought to practice the Law of Love?

 Read verse 37 closely. What is surprising here? What does this say to us about our tendency to over-estimate our righteousness?

 Rather than reading this teaching as a requirement for entering heaven (or a conviction to hell), reflect on whether its values make sense to you, and its declarations of judgment spur you to try harder to bear the Law of Love in this unjust world.