The Most Terrifying Passage in the Gospel
1. The preaching of
Jesus Christ bears the stamp of gentleness and kindness towards
humanity, especially towards sinners. There is, however, one passage in
the Gospel which inspires real dread. Let us quote it in full.
“When the Son of Man shall come in his majesty, and all the angels with
him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory; and before him will be
gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another,
as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and he will set the
sheep on his right hand but the goats on the left.”
“Then the
king will say to those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my father,
take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world; for I was hungry and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty and
you gave me to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; naked and you
covered me; sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to
me…’ Then he will say to those on his left hand, ‘Depart from me,
accursed ones, into the everlasting fire which was prepared for the
devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you did not give me to eat; I
was thirsty and you gave me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not
take me in; naked, and you did not clothe me; sick, and in prison, and
you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer and say, ‘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?’ Then he will answer them,
saying, ‘Amen, I say to you, as long as you did not do it for one of
these least ones, you did not do it for me.’ And these will go into
everlasting punishment .” (Cf. Mt. 25:31-46)
These are terrifying words, in the light of which each one of us has something with which to reproach himself.
2. Why should the Eternal Judge punish or reward us in accordance with
our own deeds of charity and of mercy towards our unfortunate
fellow-men? Simply because Christianity consists mainly of charity,
since God Himself is charity. “God is love, and he who abides in love
abides in God, and God in him.”(1 John 4:16) When charity is genuine,
being the love of God above all things and of our neighbour as
ourselves, it is “the bond of perfection,” (Col. 3:14) and “bears with
all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
(1 Cor. 13:7)True love, in the Christian sense, presupposes faith, hope
and all the other virtues, whereas faith without charity is, as St. Paul
says, as futile as “a tinkling cymbal.” (1 Cor. 13:1) Even the devils
have faith, but their faith will not save them. “He who does not love,”
St. John tells us, “abides in death.” (1 John 3:14)
3. Do we hope
to be saved and to hear on the day of judgment that welcome invitation:
“Come, blessed of my father, take possession of the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world.” (Mt. 25:34) If we do, let us
be charitable. Let us root out the spirit of egoism from our hearts,
have compassion on the misfortunes of our needy brethren, and help them
in any way we can. Above all, let us recognise the person of Jesus
Christ Himself dwelling in His poor, and let us love them even as we
love Him. Let us show our love in deeds, not merely in words, for the
Gospel warns us that if we fail to do this we shall be damned forever.
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