The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to examine the depth of our love and care as we reflect on the relevance of ancient Law and Jesus teaching on our response to the needs of others.
The reading from the Book of Leviticus is a guide for Ritual and Moral Holiness.
* [19:2] Be holy, for I…am holy: in the writings commonly attributed to the Priestly collection, Israel is called to be holy through obeying God’s precepts (11:44–45; 20:7–8, 24–26; Nm 15:40–41). Cf. Dt 14:2, 21; 26:19; and Ex 19:6.
* [19:11–13] Cf. the Decalogue commandments against stealing (Ex 20:15; Dt 5:19), wrongly using God’s name (Ex 20:7; Dt 5:11), and swearing falsely against another (Ex 20:16; Dt 5:20).
* [19:14] In Dt 27:18 a curse falls on the head of the one who misleads the blind.
* [19:17–18] These verses form a unit and describe different attitudes and actions towards one’s fellow Israelites. A separate passage is necessary to advise a similar attitude toward aliens (vv. 33–34). Cf. 25:39–46. The admonition at the end of v. 18 came to be viewed in Judaism and Christianity as one of the central commandments. (See Mt 22:34–40; Mk 12:28–34; Lk 10:25–28; cf. Mt 19:19; Rom 13:8–10; Gal 5:14). The New Testament urges love for enemies as well as neighbors (Mt 5:43–48; Lk 6:27–36; cf. Prv 25:21–22). (Leviticus, CHAPTER 19 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 19 praises God’s Glory in Creation and the Law.
* [Psalm 19] The heavenly elements of the world, now beautifully arranged, bespeak the power and wisdom of their creator (Ps 19:2–7). The creator’s wisdom is available to human beings in the law (Ps 19:8–11), toward which the psalmist prays to be open (Ps 19:12–14). The themes of light and speech unify the poem. (Psalms, PSALM 19 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus describes the Judgement of the Nations.
* [25:31–46] The conclusion of the discourse, which is peculiar to Matthew, portrays the final judgment that will accompany the parousia. Although often called a “parable,” it is not really such, for the only parabolic elements are the depiction of the Son of Man as a shepherd and of the righteous and the wicked as sheep and goats respectively (Mt 25:32–33). The criterion of judgment will be the deeds of mercy that have been done for the least of Jesus’ brothers (Mt 25:40). A difficult and important question is the identification of these least brothers. Are they all people who have suffered hunger, thirst, etc. (Mt 25:35, 36) or a particular group of such sufferers? Scholars are divided in their response and arguments can be made for either side. But leaving aside the problem of what the traditional material that Matthew edited may have meant, it seems that a stronger case can be made for the view that in the evangelist’s sense the sufferers are Christians, probably Christian missionaries whose sufferings were brought upon them by their preaching of the gospel. The criterion of judgment for all the nations is their treatment of those who have borne to the world the message of Jesus, and this means ultimately their acceptance or rejection of Jesus himself; cf. Mt 10:40, “Whoever receives you, receives me.” See note on Mt 16:27.
* [25:32] All the nations: before the end the gospel will have been preached throughout the world (Mt 24:14); thus the Gentiles will be judged on their response to it. But the phrase all the nations includes the Jews also, for at the judgment “the Son of Man…will repay everyone according to his conduct” (Mt 16:27).
* [25:37–40] The righteous will be astonished that in caring for the needs of the sufferers they were ministering to the Lord himself. One of these least brothers of mine: cf. Mt 10:42.
* [25:41] Fire prepared…his angels: cf. 1 Enoch 10:13 where it is said of the evil angels and Semyaza, their leader, “In those days they will lead them into the bottom of the fire—and in torment—in the prison (where) they will be locked up forever.”
* [25:44–45] The accursed (Mt 25:41) will be likewise astonished that their neglect of the sufferers was neglect of the Lord and will receive from him a similar answer. (Matthew, CHAPTER 25 | USCCB, n.d.)
David Crawford considers the idea that our own faith can be the source of barriers.
I suspect a good percentage of the goats Jesus dismisses were devout, faithful souls whose misguided adherence to some of God’s commandments was not founded on love. To borrow from our Leviticus reading, they may have been happy to reprove a brother, but in so doing incurred sin by not following the commandment to love their neighbor. How many times did Jesus challenge the Pharisees, a group known for piety, who objected to how Jesus conducted his affairs? And how often did Jesus extend mercy and kindness to the “unacceptable” folks who needed his healing and love? The sheep provide food, drink, welcome, clothes, compassion and love to the vulnerable.
Paul tells us (Ephesians 2:14) that Christ, who is our peace, breaks down the dividing walls. May we follow His example.
Loving God, remove the barriers so that keep us from loving our neighbors and our enemies. Let all of our words, thoughts and acts find favor before you, O Lord, our rock and redeemer. (Crawford, 2025)
Don Schwager quotes “Gathering and Separating,” by an anonymous early author from the Greek church.
"And he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats." So then, people on earth are intermingled, and not only intermingled in that the righteous live side by side with the wicked, but they are also indistinguishable. Between the righteous and the wicked there is no apparent difference. Even as in wintertime you cannot tell the healthy trees apart from the withered trees but in beautiful springtime you can tell the difference, so too each person according to his faith and his works will be exposed. The wicked will not have any leaves or show any fruit, but the righteous will be clothed with the leaves of eternal life and adorned with the fruit of glory. In this way they will be separated by the heavenly shepherd and Lord. The earthly shepherd separates animals by their type of body, whereas Christ separates people by their type of soul. The sheep signify righteous people by reason of their gentleness, because they harm no one, and by reason of their patience, because when they are harmed by others, they bear it without resistance. He refers to sinners as goats, however, because these vices characterize goats - capriciousness toward other animals, pride and belligerence." (excerpt from INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 54, the Greek fathers). (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 25:31-46 comments that every day Jesus comes to us in our suffering brothers and sisters and asks us to care for them.
As we begin Lent, we are all trying to open our hearts to God’s grace. What better way than to obey Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel? First, to see Jesus when we encounter a brother or sister in need. And second, to minister to Jesus’ needs by taking care of that person. It can be as simple as offering a cup of cold water or visiting someone who is sick. Every day, God is giving us opportunities to see and love Jesus in his people facing challenges. As we care for them, we will move one step closer to our Lord and to his heavenly kingdom.
“Holy Spirit, help me to see Jesus in people who are suffering and to respond generously to their needs.” (Meditation on Matthew 25:31-46, 2025)
Friar Jude Winkler comments about the gift of the Law to clarify to the people when they are committing sin and walking in the way of the Lord. In Matthew 25, Jesus clarifies that the good and evil done to others is done to Him. Friar Jude reminds us that like rain on the good and wicked we show love and consideration to all.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that as many scholars have agreed, the notion of a God-initiated, unilaterally fulfilled divine relationship is the highest peak of any spirituality, especially since most of us fear, deep down, that we’re unworthy of it.
It is deeply unfortunate that our interpretation of the old covenant is so enmeshed in our dualistic logic of “tit for tat” that most Christians remain untouched by Jeremiah’s proclamation of a spiritual revolution. We remain content with retribution and vengeance passing for justice. We would rather stand outside of love than receive a love of which we believe we are not worthy—or have not earned or cannot figure out. We think the old covenant at least tells us where we stand, even if it is outside of paradise. We seem to find certitude more comforting than we do trust or love. Infinite love is literally too much for most of us to comprehend. We think we know how to love—alone. But how do we know and love together with a “divine another” living within us? The answer is by participation rather than performance—riding the divine coattails, as it were. (Rohr, n.d.)
We ponder the example of Jesus and the Law that identifies the actions of “sheep” and “goats” and seek guidance of the Spirit to extend our love and support to all people in need.
References
Crawford, D. (2025, March 10). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved March 10, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/031025.html
Leviticus, CHAPTER 19 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 10, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/leviticus/19?1
Matthew, CHAPTER 25 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 10, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/25?31
Meditation on Matthew 25:31-46. (2025, March 10). The Word Among Us. Retrieved March 10, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/03/10/1224100/
Psalms, PSALM 19 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 10, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/19?8
Rohr, R. (n.d.). The “Threat” of Unconditional Love. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved March 10, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-threat-of-unconditional-love/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Eternal Life Versus Eternal Punishment. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved March 10, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=mar10
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