DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
St. Matthew 25:31-46 (3/2) Gospel for
the Sunday of the Last Judgment or Meatfare
The
Uncalculating Heart: St. Matthew 25:31-46, especially vss. 37-39: “Then
the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry
and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take
You in, or naked and clothe You? Or
when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?” It is a blessed day of
illumination, albeit of dread recognition, when one looks within and confesses,
“I am starving, emaciated, mad with thirst, naked, unclothed,
shame-ridden, spiritually sick, and imprisoned.”
The Lord teaches all who come to Him concerning this blessed state of
destitution (Mt. 5:3-12). Then,
like Mary of Egypt, our soul learns the pain of alienation from Life, still
unable to return to the world. All
is empty for the “poor in spirit.” We may only cry, “Lord, Jesus
Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me, the sinner.” In that instant, the blessed discover
the hand of the Lover of Mankind.
They inch toward Him, and He points toward the perilous, narrow trail of
repentance. He steadies with His
gracious hand. He gives the Bread
of Life, slakes the parching thirst.
He becomes clothing, healing, and freedom - the true Friend Who
embraces.
Imagine what the pitiful poor-in-spirit will do if he meets a fellow
sufferer along the way. Naturally,
he will share whatever he has. His
heart, now stained indelibly with love, gives simply because there is
need. He does not calculate, but
simply responds. As he cannot turn
back from a true Friend. Likewise,
he can only continue steadily toward others, always remembering to feed and to
forgive. Yes, he will share
whatever he has.
We have the wonderful example of this in the Roman soldier, Martin. He served in the army solely because his
father wished it, but Martin was blessed to discover Christian faith. He became a catechumen. One winter day, while on duty, as he
came into a city, he was stopped by a beggar: “Would he give
alms?” Martin had no
money. He did see that the beggar
was blue with cold and shivering.
He took off the cloak of his uniform, cut it in half with his saber,
gave one part to the beggar, and went on into the city. We know that blessed soldier as
The Gospel for the Saturday of the Last Judgment considers the
Lord’s “great glory” when He comes again openly in Divine
Majesty. An inescapable element of
that glory will be the judgment of all men. What will the Lord look for in us? He will look for gratitude, delight, and
love. He will not review our giving
to charity, nor our work in prison ministry, nor our gifts to relieve world hunger. It is dangerous to take assurance from
any efforts we invested in such activities.
St. John of Kronstadt teaches that “The purer the heart becomes,
the larger it becomes; consequently it is able to find room for more and more
loved ones.”[2] How easy it is to forget the poor, the
neglected, the homeless, the destitute, the old, the sick, and the
brokenhearted. Were not the Lord to
heal our hearts, there would be no capacity in us at all to love. God help us!
I have no life, no light, no joy or wisdom; no strength except in Thee, O God. Enable me at all times to speak and act to Thy glory, with a pure spirit, with humility, patience, love, gentleness, peace, courage, and wisdom.[3]