I remember middle school baseball tryouts. A friend of mine, Robert, was trying to make the team to please his father, but his heart wasn’t in it. He was lackadaisical and unenergetic. When the final cut-list was announced and his name wasn’t on it, he was relieved. He realized the coach was not insulting him but essentially telling him, “Bobby, this only works if you actually want to play ball.” I was saddened he’d miss out on the fun, but I knew it was best. Putting Robert onto the team would not have been kindness. It would have made him miserable.
Jesus speaks to us today about his identity as our King and Judge. He separates those who inherit the kingdom from those who do not. The King explains, “Whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40). His judgment hinges on willingness to participate in love. Heaven is not a prize imposed at the end of life. It is a life freely chosen and engaged. Hell is not a destination prepared for human beings, but a terrible and sad acknowledgment of an opting out which God never intends for us.
Jesus’ role as judge proclaims to us: “Heaven only works if you actually want to love.” How do we know if we want it? How we serve the hungry, the sick, the imprisoned, and the forgotten. These acts of mercy are not arbitrary tests. They are the very shape of divine life. There is no better game to play than this. We ought to begin playing it right now. The King will come to judge us.
— Father John Muir
©LPi
General Mass Notes
Welcome
Mass Intentions
Universal Prayer (Petitions)
A.
