the goats on his left. The king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, blessed of my Father! Take
possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. For I was hungry,
and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you
welcomed me into your home. I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me.
I was in prison, and you came to see me.’

Then the righteous will ask him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, and give you food; thirsty,
and give you something to drink; or a stranger, and welcome you; or naked, and clothe you?
When did we see you sick, or in prison, and go to see you?’ The king will answer, ‘Truly I say
to you: just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it to me.’

Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Go, cursed people, out of my sight, into the eternal fire,
which has been prepared for the devil and his angels! For I was hungry, and you did not give
me anything to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you
did not welcome me into your house; I was naked, and you did not clothe me; I was sick, and
in prison, and you did not visit me.’

They, too, will ask, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, thirsty, naked or a stranger, sick or in
prison, and did not help you?’ The king will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you: just as you did not
do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.’ And these will go into eternal
punishment; but the just, to eternal life.”

Reflect:

The response of the souls on the right to the King is surprising: “Lord, when did we see you hungry
and gave you food, thirsty and gave you drink...?” How disarming an ignorance and innocence! And
when the King explained whom they had been actually helping, their only response might have been
one of surprise and delight—an “aha” experience! What does it tell us? That these righteous ones had
no idea that it was the Lord they had been serving when they cared for the poor and the needy! They
didn’t help because they “saw” the face of Christ in them; nor because the Bible or the Torah or the
Koran commanded them to do so. They did so simply because it came naturally for them to help;
because their heart was full of love and it simply overflowed to the neighbors. I wonder if these
souls wouldn’t be closer to God’s throne, as they shared in the true nature of God himself!

© Copyright Bible Diary 2022