Becoming Who God Intended!

Monday, February 19, 2024

Lv 19:1-2,11-18; Mt 25:31-46

Today’s Gospel on the Final Judgement has twofold implications. 

1.Change in Moral Perspective:

Generally, we understand morality in two ways: avoid evil and do good. Avoiding evil is easy because all we need to refrain from are those evil thoughts that lead us to commit evil actions. For instance, if we avoided having grudges or hatred toward our enemies, we would not think of harming them. Whereas doing good requires an attitude that has to go out of one’s way. For instance, if we need to feed someone hungry, then we should become capacious enough to spot those who are hungry, make efforts to know what they need, and finally fulfill it in action. This is why, we find it comfortable to avoid evil and refrain from doing good. In today’s Gospel, those found on the left side of the Lord are judged not for what they did but for what they failed to do. They are judged for their ‘sins of omission’ (as against ‘sins of commission’). Christian moral life is not minimalistic in orientation. It is maximalist, meaning that we are called to ‘do good’ and ‘avoid evil’ without ever bisecting the two. Jesus wants our moral lives to be enriched by this change of perspective.

2. Finding Jesus in Little Ones: 

Jesus gets very inventive in his preaching when he invites us to find him in needy humanity. When he says, ‘Whatever you did for one of these least brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me,’ Jesus disguises himself as someone in need. In effect, who we may be overlooking might be Jesus himself, when we are indifferent toward our needy neighbor. Along this line, I have learned that ‘Beggars sell moral merits.’ Not just beggars but anyone in need not only reflects Jesus but also helps us become good, just as God has intended. 

Let us reflect on these two aspects and become the good people that God wants us to be!

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar