2 November 2024 - Commemoration of all the faithful departed
Wis 3:1-6.9; 1 Cor 15:51-57; Mt 25:31-46
Homily
Our Gospel is taken from Matthew 25. This is the chapter that immediately precedes the tragic process that will lead Jesus to his death. In the first part of this chapter, Jesus spoke to his disciples, reminding them of their responsibilities and inviting them to be vigilant, for example in the parable of the ten virgins awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom and in the parable of the talents.
In the passage from this same chapter that we read today, Jesus talks about how, at the end of time, he will face in judgement not his faithful followers - not those who have known him and heard his message - but the pagan nations. The story begins like this: ‘ When the Son of Man comes in his glory... he will sit on his throne of glory. All nations will be gathered before him’. For any Jew listening to Jesus -- and also for any Jew for whom Matthew was writing -- the expression ‘ all nations ’ could mean only one thing: all the Gentile nations, all the non-Jewish world, all those who had not heard of Jesus and had not been reached by his message.
Well then, Jesus distinguishes two groups among the Gentiles who have not known him here on earth and who have not had the opportunity to learn about his Revelation in the Bible. Some of them will inherit the kingdom of heaven and others will go to eternal punishment. And the impressive thing is that the difference between the two groups will not be based on their attitude towards God, but on their attitude towards their neighbour. They will not be asked whether they belonged to a religion or followed a spiritual master. They will be asked what they have done for their brothers and sisters. To some Jesus will say (and let's not forget that he is speaking to pagans!): ‘ Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. I was hungry and you gave me to eat... I was a stranger and you welcomed me...’.
And no doubt even more surprised will be those to whom He says: ‘ I was thirsty and you didn't give me anything to drink. Instead, you dried up my spring to irrigate industrial plantations; I was a foreigner, and you didn't welcome me; on the contrary, you refused me a residence permit and drove me back to the border, as you politely put it; I was naked, and you didn't clothe me; I was sick and in prison, and not only did you not visit me, you kept me in complete isolation. ’ And in response to their surprise (‘ When did we ever see you hungry and thirsty, naked, a stranger, sick or in prison, without putting ourselves at your service?’) he replied: ‘ Amen, I tell you, whenever you didn't do it to one of these little ones, you didn't do it to me either. ’
The situations that Jesus lists are well-known situations, which our newspapers and news bulletins are full of. And let's not take too much comfort in the fact that we are disciples of Jesus and not pagans; because if we behave like those whom Jesus calls ‘ goats “ as opposed to ” sheep “, if we ignore the needs of the hungry, the strangers, the prisoners, the sick, etc., we will be doubly guilty, since we will have read the Gospel all our lives, in which Jesus constantly identifies himself with these ”little ones".
The Gospel uses several titles to refer to Jesus. In this Gospel account, the title Jesus uses to refer to Himself is the Son of Man. And that makes a lot of sense, because the ‘Nations’, who have not had the revelation of the other titles of the Messiah, will meet the Son of Man on the Day of Judgement, the human being in the fullness of his dignity. And they will be judged on the way they have treated human beings throughout their lives. And so it will be with us. In the end, we will be judged on love.
As we come to the end of the liturgical year, let us ask ourselves what our attitude is towards our human sisters and brothers in our everyday lives. Do we have an attitude of ‘service’ - for that is what the goats in this Gospel admit they have not done: ‘When did we see you hungry, etc., without putting ourselves at your service?
Are we sheep or goats?
Armand VEILLEUX