Imagine four people in a room. The first is a powerful dictator who rules a country. He commands armies, directs the lives of millions, and his wishes become law and are enforced. He possesses a brutal power.
Next to him sits a gifted athlete at the pinnacle of his physical prowess. This is one whose speed, strength, and endurance have few equals. His is a graceful power for which he is much admired and envied. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the Solemnity of Christ the King: 46 And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” There are only two possible outcomes to the judgment. The phrase “eternal life” is already familiar to us from 19:16, 29 (cf. also 7:14; 18:8, 9) where it has been seen to be synonymous with being saved or with entering the kingdom of heaven. This is, however, the only time we meet the phrase “eternal punishment” in Matthew, or indeed in the whole NT. It appears to be synonymous with the “eternal fire” of v. 41 and of 18:8, and cf. the “fire of Gehenna” of 5:22 and 18:9. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the Solemnity of Christ the King: 41 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. The words spoken to those on the left are the mirror image of those spoken in v. 34 to the “righteous:” “depart” instead of “come,” “accursed” instead of “blessed,” “eternal fire” instead of kingship, and a fate prepared in advance, though in this case not specifically for “you” but for the devil and his angels, whose lot the unrighteous are to share. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the Solemnity of Christ the King: 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the Solemnity of Christ the King: 32 And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. The distinction and division in the end times does not make its first appearance here at the end of Matthew. The image has recurred in many different contexts in this gospel; to note several instances: 7:13–27; 8:11–12; 10:32–33; 13:40–43, 49–50; 16:25–26 and the whole of 24:36–25:30. Now it is underlined by an image perhaps based on Ezek 34:17 where God, the shepherd, judges between different members of his flock. In the Middle East sheep and goats were (and are) often pastured in mixed flocks. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the Solemnity of Christ the King: 31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, 32 and all the nations will be assembled before him.” Matthew, writing to a largely Jewish Christian audience, has, from the beginning, relied heavily on OT imagery and scenes. And as this commentary explores, and has already noted, the verses are particularly dense with OT references. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the Solemnity of Christ the King. This passage from Matthew is particularly dense with OT references, uses language that has already appeared in earlier Matthean verses (thus already having a contextual meaning), and because of its eschatological setting, invites comparison with other sacred writers, especially, St. Paul. Hence a bit more “context” is needed, or better said, background. Continue reading
I promise – this is the last background post….This coming Sunday is the Solemnity of Christ the King. It is probably right to read “least brothers” as a description of disciples. But to draw that conclusion does not establish that the “sheep” are commended because their treatment of disciples reveals their positive attitude to Jesus himself. For the striking feature of this judgment scene is that both sheep and goats claim that they did not know that their actions were directed toward Jesus. Each is as surprised as the other to find their actions interpreted in that light. They have helped, or failed to help, not a Jesus recognized in his representatives, but a Jesus incognito. As far as they were concerned, it was simply an act of kindness to a fellow human being in need, not an expression of their attitude to Jesus. They seem closer to what some modern theologians call “anonymous Christians” than to openly declared supporters of Jesus himself. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the Solemnity of Christ the King. Brian Stoffregen, a Lutheran Pastor, writes that he has a love/hate relationship with this gospel:
“I hate it, because it seems to make works the requirement for being blessed by God. There is no mention of faith or justification or forgiveness or the cross — the acts of God that bring us salvation. Rather, the text is all about human actions.” Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the Solemnity of Christ the King, Lectionary Cycle A. The gospel readings for the 29th through 31st Sundays in Lectionary Cycle A all describe a series of confrontations between Jesus and religious authorities of Jerusalem, namely the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 22 and 23). While not a part of Ordinary Time readings, Chapter 24 continues this theme of imminent destruction and coming tribulation (Mt 24:1-28). It is at this point that we turn the page to Matthew 25. It is here in Matthew 25 that we will finish the final three Sundays of this cycle of Ordinary Time: Continue reading
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