Dear Fathers, Friends in Christ,
The Good Shepherd will judge us according to our merits ( Saint Matthew 25:31-46)
Judging people is very much part of the society we live in . Not only is it done by the courts, but off and on we are quite good at doing this ourselves. In the workplace too, it is very much common practice, although they have a different word for it, namely "your appraisal", but in the end it is a kind of judgement.
Society is also marked with wrong judgements being pronounced in the courts and we ourselves judging people completely the wrong way. In fact we should not be judging them at all.
Those of us, who are committed Catholic Christians know the story of Jesus of the Good Shepherd very well, especially where Jesus looks after the lost sheep.
We tend to forget the judging part as described in Saint Matthew 25:31-46.
Sometimes we get in the habit that we feel that this does refer to us, because we go to Mass every Sunday and we put money in the collection plate.
But if you read the Gospel story very carefully, you will come to the conclusion that a lot more of us is required as committed Catholic Christians. Here we come to the section that tells us about feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty and shelter to the stranger.Jesus , Himself does not ask to be fed or to be clothed or to be given shelter, Jesus wants us to this to others in His Holy Name.He wants us NOT to be servants of the Church, but servants of Himself.
Life is short and we dont know to how much time we have left , but let us ensure
that when we stand before the Lord of the Sheep that we are not standing on His left.
During this most Holy Season of Lent we are spending time reflecting on all Christ has done for us, The Holy Sacrifice on the Cross, the least we can do is going out into the world and doing His Work and by putting real love into practice.
Lenten Blessings,
Father Ed Bakker
Anglican Catholic Church / Original Province
Mission of Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne
Bendigo - Australia
