Meatfare Sunday / Hieromartyr Haralampus / 1 Cor. 8.8 – 9.2; Matthew 25.31-46
F/S/HS. Brothers and sisters, this morning is the next to last Sunday in preparation for Great and Holy Lent; what our church fathers and mothers call the Sunday of Great Judgment, wherein mother church gives us perhaps our Lord’s more magnificent teaching on the great and final judgment that will one day awaits all of us.
Will I, will you, be one of righteous sheep, who sits on the right hand of our Lord, who inherits the Kingdom of God? Or will I be one of the goats, placed far off to the left of our Lord, who inherits “everlasting punishment”?
And I must lament, as I probably do every few years on this particular Sunday, that Matushka and I have both sheep and goats on our small farm, and that it is our goats and not our sheep that curry far more favor down in my heart. What, I wonder, does that portend for my final judgment!
And I remember as well on this particular Sunday a homily delivered several decades ago on this very day, from our great pastor St. John Maximovich to his flock in San Francisco. In that homily, St. John gently scolds his beloved parishioners, some of whom he knew were thinking far less about their judgment day and far more about the fact that today is also Meatfare Sunday. May our final judgment day carry far more value down in our hearts, St. John exhorted, than does foregoing meats for the next 55 days!
So what does our Lord say about that final judgment day? His words come near the end of Luke’s Gospel, chapter 25. They are the climax of His long discourse over the course of nearly three chapters. Shortly afterwards Jesus will embark on His Passion. The Lord of the universe, our sweetest Jesus, will be arrested, tried, and crucified.
At the heart of this morning’s Gospel is the criteria by which all of us will be judged at the Great and final judgment; whether we will be one of the sheep, or one of those goats.
Throughout all four Gospels, and leading up to this morning’s Gospel, Jesus has given various criteria for inheriting eternal life. Those who will inherit eternal life, He says, are those who have faith in Him. They are those who take up their cross and follow Him. Who are as like a child. Who recognize their need for a savior, and who repent and are contrite of heart.
They are those who are poor in spirit, who are humble and absent of pride. Who trust in God. Who are dispassionate about their wealth, who give of their material possessions to those in need. They are those who love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and who, like the Good Samaritan, love their neighbor.
And throughout the Gospels, who does Jesus say are those who will be condemned, who will not inherit eternal life? They are those who do not believe in Him. Those who refuse to enter through the narrow gate. Those who have done wrong. Those who reject Jesus’ teachings and testimonies. They are those who do not repent and have no recognition for a savior. Who are not humble but instead proud. Who do not sacrifice their life for God or their neighbor. They are those who are not childlike. And those who violate God’s Commandments.
Just some of the many criteria named by our Lord at different times throughout the Gospels, about who will inherit eternal life and who will be condemned on the great and final day of judgment.
Which brings us to this morning’s Gospel and the majestic climax of Jesus’ teaching about that day. Why so majestic? Because Jesus raises his hearers up and gives them sight of the glory of the Son of God who one day will sit on His judgment seat and judge the entire world.
On that day the heavens will open up. All of the angels will be present. Every one of us, including all of the nations, will be separated, assigned either as righteous sheep or unrighteous goats.
Whereas Luke’s Gospel opened with Jesus coming into the world in utter humility, born a baby unto the Virgin Mary, who served others and will die upon a cross, now Luke’s Gospel concludes with this same Lord risen and in full glory. He will come as a royal King and righteous Judge.
And what dear ones is the primary standard, the primary criteria by which the Great Judge will judge? It is our uncalculated mercy towards those in need. Let me repeat that standard one more time, so important is it. Our final judgment will be based on our uncalculated mercy towards those who are in need.
Specifically, those who are in need of food and drink when they were hungry or thirsty. In need of clothing. In need of a visit when they were sick. In need of our presence and prayers, when they were imprisoned.
And here is the great mystery in this morning’s Gospel. Namely that when we show uncalculated mercy to others we are showing mercy to Jesus Himself. In other words, that person in front of you and me, who is in need, is Jesus Christ Himself. To love and be merciful to another is to love and be mercifully to Jesus.
Conversely, to not be merciful to another is to ignore Christ, who mysteriously dwells in that person. In the words of the Apostle Paul in this morning’s epistle reading: But when you thus sin against your brother, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ (v.12).
Down through the centuries of Christianity, all the way to today, some will ask or quarrel: Doesn’t Jesus’ criteria amount to works righteousness? Really! Will we really be judged and saved based on doing good to others? Based on our works of mercy? Aren’t we saved, aren’t we justified by faith alone and not works?
After the Apostle Paul, Orthodox Christians have never separated three key ingredients to salvation: God’s grace, our faith, and our good works. Paul’s classic formula in Ephesians 4.8-10 states that it is by God’s grace that we are saved, through our faith, for the purpose of good works. Remove any one of those three from that tripartite formula and you are engaged in heretical teaching!
Dear ones, I’m guessing that each of us this morning has examples of loving Christ by showing uncalculated mercy and love towards another in need. While writing this homily, that scene from the movie Man of God, about the life of Saint Nectarios, burst forth before me. Nectarios, along with several clergy, is amongst the crowds on the streets of Greece.
He stops before a poor beggar who is inclined against the stone wall. He looks down at the beggar, his eyes full of compassion. Then sits down next to him. The other clergy look rather askance at Nectarios. He engages the beggar. They talk. And then Nectarios removes his shoes and gives them to the beggar. Assuredly I say to you, Jesus says in this morning’s Gospel, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to me (v. 40).
When you cook meals for those in our parish, as some of you recently did for Juliana and Gustavo during their time of need, you are feeding not just them. You are feeding Christ as well. When you give someone a ride to church who cannot drive, you are escorting Christ to Church. When you give alms in one form or another to those in need, you mercifully attend to Christ by giving to Him.
When you love and are grateful to your spouse, your children, your parents, your friends, your neighbor, even your enemy, you love and show gratitude to our Lord, who mystically indwells that person, who is that person.
Conversely, when you fail to show love and mercy and gratitude, you show yourself and all the angels as one condemned before our Lord, with no one else to blame but ourselves. Assuredly, I say to you, Jesus answers those who are surprised, even stunned, that they are numbered amongst the goats, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me (v. 45).
And so dear ones, as Great and Holy Lent approaches let us take time to prayerfully judge ourselves, in preparation for being judged by the Divine Judge on that day of Great Judgment. Let us ask ourselves whether we are showing uncalculated mercy to those in our families, our church, our friends, those strangers we encounter, knowing that our merciful acts are a way to love not just that person but Jesus Christ our Lord. To Him be all glory, honor, and worship, He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen!
