DESTINED TO BE SERVANTS SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD!

MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2011

By Lorenz S. Centino, Jr.

MATTHEW 25: 31 - 46
31	"When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.
32	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,
33	and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left.
34	Then the King will say to those at his right hand, `Come, O blessed of 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, `Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink?
38	And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee?
39	And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?'
40	And the King will answer them, `Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.'
41	Then he will say to those at his left hand, `Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels;
42	for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
43	I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'
44	Then they also will answer, `Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to thee?'
45	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.'
46	And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS:

A BLESSED MONDAY TO ALL!

HAPPINESS is an end that generally motivates and drives us all in everything that we do. No one would seem to do anything without the intention and desire, at least unconsciously, to be happy. Our experience of regret over anything that we do somehow attests to this general and natural human orientation to happiness. We regret because we realize that we did what we thought would make us happy but turned out to be creating the opposite. However, different people put this happiness at different sources. Some would put it on wealth and position of authority. Others would simply put it generally on anything that brings satisfaction to their desires and needs which generally bring a sense of pleasure. Many would consider PLEASURE as a gauge to happiness. And so many have tried to invest their wealth and energy on anything that can make them avoid pain and suffering.

The Gospel today offers to us an ORIENTATION of the HEART and PREDISPOSITION of the WILL that will make one attain true happiness despite pain and suffering. Jesus is teaching us in the Gospel today that true happiness starts from WITHIN and not from the outside. Many among us are motivated to be happy but their heart is set on what they can GET from exterior sources-money, power, position, professional degree, job, etc. Jesus’ Parable of the Separation of Goats and Sheep foreshadow the last judgment that reveals to us the SECRET of TRUE HAPPINESS which is not in GETTING but in GIVING.

What qualifies those who will be counted to belong to the Kingdom of God is SERVICE. God welcomes to his Kingdom those who gave him FOOD when He was HUNGRY and those who gave Him a DRINK when He was THIRSTY and HOSPITABLE to Him when He was a STRANGER and CLOTHED Him when He was NAKED and pay a VISIT when He was SICK and in PRISON. God identifies Himself with the NEEDY!

This parable invites us then to orient our hearts to the NEEDY and predispose our will to SERVE them. The parable is very clear about what will happen to those who IGNORE the needy. To disregard and ignore them is to IGNORE GOD. And so the parable ends emphatically with a WARNING:

“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."

The Lord clearly wants us to orient our hearts and predispose our will to matters that will lead us to eternal happiness. The parable seems to indicate that from the foundation of the world we are already destined for God’s Kingdom, and so it would follow that we are also DESTINED to SERVE HIM by SERVING those who are in NEED! The kind of life we live each day has a bearing on our final end. God will not just judge us by our WRONGDOING but also by what we have FAILED TO DO. The choices we make and the decisions we undertake will somehow shape the path we take. It would either be for ETERNAL PUNISHMENT and SUFFERING or ETERNAL LIFE and HAPPINESS!