GOATS FROM SHEEP - 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)

Homily for the 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)

Based on Mt 25:31-46(Gospel), Ez 34:11-12, 15-17(First Reading) and 1 Cor 15:20-26,28(Second Reading)

From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”

GOATS FROM SHEEP

“He will separate men one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats” (Mt 25:32)

The Gospel for this 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A) is taken from Mt 25:31-46.

Verse 31 says: When the Son of Man comes in glory,^e escorted by all the angels, then he will take his seat on his throne of glory. Footnote  ^e says “The perspective changes: it is now a question of Christ’s last coming at the end of the world.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Mt 8:20 - Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man^h has nowhere to lay his head.’ Footnote ^h says  “With the exception of Ac 7:56, Rv 1:13; 14:14; this title appears only in the  gospels. There is no doubt that Jesus used it of himself, and indeed preferred it to others. At times he uses it to express his lowly state, 8:20; 11:19; 20:28, especially the humiliation of the Passion, 17:22, etc. At others times it is used to proclaim the definitive triumph of his resurrection, 17:9, of his return in glory, 24:30; of his coming in judgment, 25:31. That this title, Aramaic in flavor, could bring together these seemingly  opposed qualities is clear from the following considerations. The phrase originally meant ‘man’, Ezk. 2:1+, and by reason of its unusual and indirect form it underlined the lowliness of man’s state. But the title suggested glory, too. It was used in Dn 7:13+, and later in the Jewish apocalyptic Book of Enoch, to indicate the transcendent figure, heavenly in origin, who was to receive from God’s hand the eschatological kingdom (the kingdom ‘at the end of times’). In this way therefore the title both veiled and hinted at (cf. Mk. 1:34+; Mt. 13:13+) the sort of Messiah Jesus was. Moreover, the explicit avowal in the presence of the Sanhedrin, 26:64+, should have removed all ambiguity.”

2.       Mt 16:27 - For the Son of Man is going to come  in the glory of his Father with his angels, and, when he does, he will reward each one according to his behavior (v. 27)’ⁿ Footnote ⁿ says “‘his behavior’; var. ‘his works’.”

3.       2 Co 5:10 - For all the truth about us will be brought out in the law court of Christ, and each of us will get what he deserves for the things he did in the body, good or bad.

Verses 32 and 33 say: All the nations^f will be assembled before him and he will separate men one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats. He will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left. Footnote ^f says “Every human being of every period of history. The resurrection of the dead is presupposed though not mentioned, cf. 10:15; 11:22,24;12:41f.”

Parallel text of verse 32 is Ex 34:17 that says: You shall make yourself no gods of molten metal.

Verse 34 says: Then the King will say to those on his right hand, “Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world.^g

Footnote ^g says “Christ, the Messiah-King, ushers the elect from his own kingdom to that of his Father, 13:43+.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Is 58:6-8 - Is not this the sort of fast that pleases me-it is the Lord Yahweh who speaks^e- to break unjust fetters and undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke (v. 6), to share your bread with the hungry, and shelter the homeless poor, to clothe the man you see to be naked, and not turn from your own kin? (v. 7). Then will your light shine like the dawn and your wound be quickly healed over. Your integrity will go before you and the glory of Yahweh behind you (v. 8). Footnote ^e says “‘it is the Lord Yahweh who speaks’ added with Greek. The gospel will elaborate this profound concept of penance which must be accompanied by charity.”

2.       Rm 8:17 - And if we are children we are heirs as well: heirs of God and coheirs with Christ, sharing his sufferings so as to share his glory.

3.       Ep 1:4 - Before the world was made, he chose us, chose us in Christ, to be holy and spotless, and to live through love ^c in his presence. Footnote  ^c says “First blessing: through their union with the glorified Christ the faithful already enjoy, in a hidden sort of way, the eternal happiness to which the chosen are called. ‘Love’ here is primarily the love God has for us, and that leads him to ‘choose’ us and to call us to be ‘holy’, cf. Col. 3:12, 1 Th. 1:4, 2 Th. 2:13, Rm. 11:28, but does not exclude our love for God that results from and is a response to his own love for us, cf. Rm. 5:5.”

Verses 35 to 39 say: For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you made me welcome; naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me.”^h Then the virtuous will say to him in reply, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed  you; I was thirsty and you gave me drink? When did we see you a stranger and made you welcome; naked and clothe  you; sick or  in prison and go to see you?” Footnote  ^h  says “Me are judged by their works of mercy (here described in OT terms, cf. Is 58:7; Jb 22:6f; Si 7:35f, etc.) not by their occasional exploits, cf. 7:22f. In addition to these meritorious acts we find in 10:32f the profession of faith.”

Parallel text of verse 35 are:

1.       Tb 4:16 - Give your bread to those who are hungry, and your clothes to those who are naked. Whatever you own in plenty, devote a proportion to almsgiving; and when you give alms, do not do it grudgingly.

2.       Jb 31:17…or taken my share of bread alone, not giving a share to the orphan?

3.       Si 7:34 - Do not fail those who weep, but share the grief of the grief-stricken.

4.       Ezk 18:7 - He oppresses no one, returns pledges, never steals, gives his own bread to the hungry, his clothes to the naked.

5.       Heb 13:3 - Keep in mind those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; and those who are being badly treated, since you too are in the one body.

Verse 40 says: And the King will answer, “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me”.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Mt 10:40  - “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me; and those who welcomes me welcome the one who sent me.

2.       Mt 18:5 - Anyone who welcomes a little child like this^a in my name welcomes me. Footnote ^a says “That is to say, one who through the virtue of simplicity becomes a child again, cf. v. 4.”

3.       Pr 19:17 -The man who is kind to the poor lends to Yahweh: he will repay him for what he has done.

4.       Lk 10:16 - Anyone who listens to you listens to me; anyone who rejects you rejects me, and those who reject me reject the one who sent me.

5.       Ac 9:5  - “Who are you, Lord?” he asked, and the voice answered, “I am Jesus, and you are persecuting me^e Footnote   ^e  - says Whatever is done to the disciples for the sake of the name of Jesus is done to Jesus himself, Mt 10:40+.

Verse 41 says: Next he will say to those on his left hand, ’Go away from me, with your curse upon you, to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

Parallel text is Jm 2:14-17 that says: Faith and Good Works^f. Take the case, my brothers, of someone who has never done a single good act but claims that he has faith. Will that faith save him (v. 14)? If one of the brothers or one of the sisters is in need of clothes and has not enough food to live on, and one of you says to them, ‘I wish you well; keep yourself warm and eat plenty’, without giving them these bare necessities of life, then what good is that (v. 16)? Faith is like that: if good works do not go with it, it is quite dead.^g Footnote   ^f says “The different points of view of James and Paul, Rm. 3:20-31, Ga. 2:16, 3:2,5, 11f, Ph. 3:9, are not wholly irreconcilable. Paul is anxious to rule out the view that a human being can earn salvation without having faith in Christ, since such a reliance on self0-made sanctity would be contradicted by the radical sinfulness of unredeemed man, Rm. 1:18-3:20, Ga. 3:22, and would make faith in Christ superfluous, Ga. 2:17, cf. Rm. 1:16+. But Paul does not  deny that the saint who has been made holy by grace must show his faith by actually loving, Ga. 5:6, cf. 1 Th. 1:3, 2 Th. 1:11, Phm. 6, and in this way, obeying the Law, Rm. 8:4, i.e., the Law of commandment of Christ and his Spirit, Ga. 6:2, Rm. 8:2, which is the commandment of love, Rm. 13:8-10, Ga. 5:14. It is perfectly true, however, that in order to teach the same truth as Paul, James in a different context and under different circumstances explains the case of Abraham in a completely different way from Paul.”; and  Footnote ^g says “Lit. ‘it is dead by itself’.

Verses 42 to 45 say:  For I was hungry and you never gave me food; I was thirsty and you never gave me anything to drink; I was a stranger and you never made me welcome, naked and you never clothed me, sick and in prison and you never visited me.’   Then it will be their turn to ask, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or naked, sick or in prison, and did not come to your help?‘’ Then he will answer, ‘I tell you solemnly, in so far as you neglected to do this to one of these, you neglected to do it to me.

Parallel text of verse 42 is Jb 22:7 that says: you have grudged water to the thirsty man, and refused bread to the hungry.

Verse 46 says: And they will go away to eternal punishment, and the virtuous to eternal life.’

Parallel texts are:

1.       Dn 12:2 - Of those who lie sleeping in the dust of the earth many will awake, some to everlasting life, some to same and everlasting disgrace.^b  Footnote ^b  says “One of the key texts of the OT on the resurrection of the body, cf. 2 M 7:9+.”

2.       Jn 5:29…those who did good will rise to life; and those who did evil, to condemnation.

The First Reading is taken from  Ez 34:11-12, 15-17.

Verses 1-12, 15 and 16 say: For the Lord Yahweh says this: I am going to look after my flock myself and keep all of it in view. As a shepherd keeps all his flock in view when he stands up in the middle of his scattered sheep, so shall I keep my sheep in view. I shall rescue them from whatever they have scattered during the mist and darkness. I myself will pasture my sheep, I myself will show them where to rest – it is the Lord Yahweh who speaks. I shall look for the lost one, bring back the stray, bandage the wounded and make the weak strong. I shall watch over^e the fat and healthy. I shall be a true shepherd to them. Footnote  ^e says “‘I shall watch over’ versions: ‘I shall destroy’ Hebr.”

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       Is 40:11 - He is like a shepherd feeding his flock, gathering lambs in his arms, holding them against his breast and leading to their rest the mother ewes.

2.       Lk 15:4-7  - ‘What man among you with a hundred sheep, losing one, would not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the missing one till he found it (v. 4)? And when he found it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders (v. 5). And then, when he got home, call together his friends and neighbors? Rejoice with me,” he would say ‘I have found my sheep that was lost (v. 6).’In the same way, I tell you, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine virtuous men who have no need of repentance (v. 7).

Verse 17 says: As for my sheep, the Lord Yahweh says this: I will judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and he-goats.

Parallel text  is  Mt 25:32-34 that says: All the nations^f will be assembled before him and he will separate men one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats (v. 32).He will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left (v. 33). Then the King will say to those on his right hand, “Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world (v. 34).^g Footnote ^f says “Every human being of every period of history. The resurrection of the dead is presupposed though not mentioned, cf. 10:15; 11:22,24;12:41f.”; and Footnote ^g says “Christ, the Messiah-King, ushers the elect from his own kingdom to that of his Father, 13:43+.”

The Second Reading is taken from1 Cor 15:20-26,28.

Verse 20 says: But Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, the first of all who had fallen asleep.

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       Rm 8:11 - And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you^g. Footnote ^g  says “The resurrection of the Christian is intimately dependent on that of Christ, 1 Th 4:14; 1 Co 6:14; 15:20f; 2 Co 4:14; 13:4; Rm 6:5; Ep 2:6; Col 1:18; 2:12f; 2 Tm 2:11. It is by the same power and the same gift if the Spirit, cf. Rm 1:4+, that the Father will raise them to life their turn.  This operation is already being prepared: a new life is making the Christians into sons (v.14) in the likeness of the Son himself, 8:29+, and they are being incorporated into the risen Christ by faith, 1:16+, and baptism, 6:4+.”

2.       Col 1:18 - Now the church is his body, he is the head, ^f As he is the Beginning, he was first to be born from the dead, so that he should be first in every way. Footnote  ^f  says “On the church a Christ’s body, cf. 1 Co. 12:12f, he is called the ‘head’ of his own body both in a temporal sense (v. 18, i.e., he was the first to rise from the dead) and in a spiritual sense (v. 20, i.e. he is the leader of all the saved).”

3.       1 Th 4:14 - We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and that it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus: God will bring them with him.

Verse 21 says: Death came through one man and in the same way the resurrection of the dead has come through one man.

Parallel text is Rm 5:12-21 that says: Adam and Jesus Christ^h. Well then, sin entered the world through one man, and through sin death,ⁱ and thus death has spread through the whole human race because everyone has sinned. ^j (v. 12). Sin existed in the world long before the law was given. There was no law and so no one could be accused of the sin of ‘law-breaking’ (v. 13),Yet death reigned over all from Adam to Moses, even though their sin, unlike that of Adam, was not a matter of breaking a law. Adam prefigured^k the One to come (v. 14),But the gift itself considerably outweighed the fall. If it is certain that through one man’s fall so many^ldied, it is even more certain that divine grace, coming through the one man, Jesus Christ, came to so many as an abundant free gift (v. 15).The results of the gift also outweigh the results of on man’s sin: for after one single fall came judgment with a verdict of condemnation, now after many falls comes grace with its verdict of acquittal (v. 16). If it is certain that death reigned over everyone as the consequence of one man’s fall, it is even more certain that one man, Jesus Christ, will cause everyone to reign in life who receives the free gift that he does not deserve, of being made righteous (v. 17).Again, as one man’s fall brought condemnation on everyone, so the good act of one man brings everyone life and makes them justified (v. 18) As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous (v. 19).^mWhen lawⁿ came, it was to multiply the opportunities of falling, but however great the number of sins committed, grace was even greater (v. 20); and so, just as sin reigned wherever there was death, so grace will reign to bring eternal life thanks to the righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ our Lord (v. 21). Footnote   ^h  says  “Sin dwells within man, Rm 7:14-24; now death, sin’s chastisement, came into the world as a result of Adam’s fall, Ws 2:24; from this Paul concludes that sin itself entered into all men through that first fall. We have here the doctrine of original sin. Its interest for Paul lies in the parallel it enables him to draw between deadly work of the first Adam and the more than sufficient compensation of the ‘second Adam’, vv. 15-19; 1 Co 15:21f, 25. It is as the new head of the human race, the great image in which God remakes his creation, Rm 8:29+; 2 Co 5:17+, that Christ is mankind’s savior.”; Footnote ⁱ says “Sin divides man from God. This separation is ‘death’, death spiritual and eternal; physical death is the symbol of it, cf. Ws 2:24; Heb 6:1+.”; Footnote ^j says “Meaning disputed. Either by sharing in Adam’s sin, (‘all have sinned in Adam’) or else by their own personal sins, cf. 3:23. In this second interpretation the Greek could be translated ‘for this reason that everyone…’ a phrase introducing a situation actually occurring which allowed (eternal) death to threaten all mankind. Sin’s power which through Adam made its entrance into the world did in fact bring about eternal death by means of personal sin, itself an acquiescence in Adam’s rebellion (Paul is of course speaking of adults). A further translation is possible ‘by reason of which (i.e. of the death-situation brought about by Adam’s sin) everyone has sinned’.”; Footnote ^k says “‘prefigured’, 1 Co 10:6+: the likeness, therefore, is not complete – hence the comparison, begun in v. 12 and interrupted by the long parenthesis of vv. 13 and 14, becomes a contrast in v. 5.”; Footnote ^l says The word ‘many’ means all mankind, cf. v. 18; see Mt 20:28.”; Footnote ^m says “Not only at the Last Judgment (for Paul regards justification as a present condition, cf. 5:1, etc.)’ but progressively as each individual becomes reborn in Christ.”; and Footnote ⁿ  says “‘law’ without the definite article, i.e. a state of things in which law is the governing factor.”

Verse 22 says: Just as all men die in Adam, so all men will be brought to life in Christ.

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       1 Co 15:45-49  - “The first man, Adam, as scripture says, became a living soul;^m but the last Adam has become a life-giving spirit (v. 45). That is, first the one with the soul, not the spirit, and after that, the one with the spirit (v. 56). The first man, being from the earth, is earthly by nature; the second man is from heaven (v.47).As this earthly man was, so are we on earth; and as the heavenly man is, so are we in heaven (v.48) And we, who have been modeled on the earthly man, will be modeled on the heavenly man (v.49). Footnote ^m  says “Something that is alive because it has a psyche giving it a merely natural life, subject to decay and corruption.”

2.       Si 25:24  Sin began with a woman, and thanks to her we all must die.^h Footnote   

Verse 23 says: but all of them in their proper order: Christ as the first-fruits and then, after the coming^f of Christ, those who belong to him… Footnote ^f says “Parousia (presence), a Greek word adopted by early Christians to indicate the glorious coming of Christ on his ‘day’, 1 Xo 1:8+, at the end of time, Mt 24:3+; cf. also 1 Th 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:32; 2 Th 2:1; Jm 5:7,8; 2 P 1:16+; 3:4, 12; 1 Jn 2:28. In 2 Th 2:8,9 the same word is used to indicate the coming of the Lawless One. Cf the similar terms ‘revelation’, 1 Co 1:7+, and ‘appearing’, 1 Tm 6:14+.”

Parallel text is Ep 1:22 that says: He has put all things under his feet, and made him, as the ruler of everything, the head of the Church.

Verse 24 says:

After that will come the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, having done away with every sovereignty, authority and power.^g

Footnote ^g  says “All forces hostile to the sovereignty of God, cf. 1 Co 2:6; Ep 1:21; Col 1:16; 2:15; 1 P 3:22.”

Parallel text is Ep 1:22 that says: He has put all things under his feet, and made him, as the ruler of everything, the head of the Church.

Verse 25 says: For he must be king until he has put all his enemies under his feet…

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       Ps 110:1 - The Messiah: king and priest^a Yahweh’s oracle to you, my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand^b and I will make your enemies a footstool^c  for you. Footnote ^a    says “The prerogatives of the Messiah, worldwide sovereignty and perpetual priesthood, cf. 2 S 7:1+; Zc 6:12-13, are no more conferred by earthly investiture than were those of the mysterious Melchizedek (Gn 14:18+. V. 1 is accepted in the NT epistles and elsewhere as a prophecy of the ascension of Christ to the right hand of the Father.”; Footnote  ^b says “The risen Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, Rm 8:34, Heb 10:12, 1 P 3:22.”; and Footnote ^c  says “Cf. Jos 10:24; Dn 7:14.”

2.       Rv 20:14 - Death and Hades were emptied of the dead that were in them; and everyone was judged according to the way I which he had lived. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the burning lake.^j  Footnote ^j says “After the Last Judgment death itself will lose its power.”

3.       Rv 21:4 - He will wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will be no more death. And no more mourning or sadness. The world of the past has gone.’

Verse 26 says: And the last of the enemies to  be destroyed is death, for everything is to be put under his feet.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Ps 8:6…make him lord over the work of your hands, set all things under his feet.

2.       Rm 6:9 - Christ, as we know, having been raised from the dead will never die again. Death has no power over him anymore

Verse 28 says: And when everything is subjected to him, then the Son himself will be subjected in his turn to the One who subjected all things to him, so that God may be all in all.

Parallel text of verse is that says:

1.       Rm 9:5- They descended from the patriarchs, and from their flesh and blood came Christ who is above all, God forever blessed.^d Amen. Footnote ^d says “Both the context and the internal development of the sentence imply that this doxology is addressed to Christ, Paul rarely gives Jesus the title ‘God’ though, cf. Tt 2:13, or addresses a doxology to him, cf. Heb 13:21, but this is because he usually keeps this title to the Father, cf Rm 15:6, etc., and considers the divine persons not so much with an abstract appreciation of their nature as with a concrete appreciation of their functions in the process of salvation. Moreover, he has always in mind the historical Christ in his concrete reality as God mad man, cf. Ph 2:5+; Col 1:15+. For this reason he presents Christ as subordinated to the Father, 1 Co 3:23; 11:3, not only in the work of creation, 1 Co 8:6, but also in that of eschatological renewal, 1 Co 15:27f; cf Rm 16:27, etc. Nevertheless, the title “lord’, Kyrios, received by Christ at his resurrection, Ph 2:9-11; cf. Ep 1:20-22; Heb 1:3f, is the title given by the LXX to Yahweh in the OT., Rm 10:9,13; 1 Co 2:16. For Paul, Jesus is essentially the ‘Son of God’, Rm 1:3-4,9; 5:10; 8:29; 1 Co 1:9; 15:28; 2 Co 1:19; Ga 1:16; 2:20; 4:4,6; Ep 4:13; 1 Th 1:10; cf. Heb 4:14, etc., his ‘own Son’, Rm 8:3,32, ‘the Son of his love’, Col 1:13, who belongs to the sphere of the divine  by right, the sphere from which he came, 1 Co 15:47, being sent by God, Rm 8:3; Ga 4:4. The title ‘Son of God’ became his in a new way with the resurrection, Rm 1:4+; cf. Heb 1:5; 5:5, but it was not then that he received it since he pre-existed not   only as prefigured in the OT., 1 Co 10:4, but ontologically, Ph 2:6; cf 2 Co 8:9. He is the Wisdom, 1 Co 1:24,30, and the Image, 2 Co 4:4, by which and in which all things were created, Col 1:15-17; cf. Heb 1:3; 1 Co 8:6, and have been re-created, Rm 8:29; cf. Col 3:10; 1:18-20, because into his own person is gathered the fullness of the godhead and of the universe, Col 2:9+. In him God has devised the whole plan of salvation, Ep 1:3f, and he, no less than the Father, is its accomplishment (cf. Rm 11:36; 1 Co 8:6 and Col 1:16,20). The Father raises to life and judges, so does the Son raise to life (cf Rm 1:4; 8:11+ and Ph 3:21) and judge (cf. Rm 2:16 and 1 Co 4:5; Rm 14:10 and 2 Co 5:10). In short, he is one of the three persons enumerated in the Trinitarian formulae, 2 Co 13:13+.”

2.       Ep 4:6 - and one God who is Father of all, over all, though all and within all.^b Footnote ^b  says “Var. (Vulg.) ‘within all of us’.”

3.       Col 3:11- And in that image there is no room for distinction between Greek and Jew, between the circumcised or the uncircumcised, or between barbarian and Scythian, slave and free men. There is only Christ: he is everything and he is in everything.^f Footnote   ^f says “The new creation will not be divided into races and religions and cultures and social classes in the way the present creation has been since the Fall: the whole world will be reunited in Christ.