"I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark. I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD. The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy, shepherding them rightly." ~Ez 34:12, 15-16
Today’s readings contain both hope and warning. The Lord Himself promises to gather His people, like a shepherd watching over his flock. He promises that those who have served Him will enter into the kingdom of heaven, and that every kindness they have shown to their brothers and sisters will be recognized as done to Him. But there is another side to His promise. Jesus also promises that those who have failed to care for others will be punished severely. This isn’t quite what we expect of Jesus, but there it is in the readings: “Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire…”
So we will have
to account for everything. When I think of that, I sometimes wonder if I will
be sent to the left or the right, because I know there have been times I have
served Jesus but also many times I have failed. I can’t count on myself to win
heaven, although I must do all I can to serve the Lord. I must give Him my
heart each morning and ask His pardon for my failings each night. Above all, I
must trust in the mercy of Jesus.
Praise God, our
King is merciful. In these difficult
times, when our world often does seem so cloudy and dark, Jesus comes like the
Good Shepherd to begin to gather us in. Just as Jesus came and drew me back when
I was lost out there in the shadows, I trust Him find those who are still
wandering, still lost - the strayed, the injured, and the sick. Jesus will
provide what we lack, if we just turn to Him with repentance and trust.
Jesus loves
us so much that He died for us and opened the Way to heaven. Let us do our best
to follow Him, to serve Him by caring for the least of our brothers, and never
fail to trust in Jesus, so that someday, we may hear that beautiful invitation,
“Come, you who are blessed of my Father, and inherit the kingdom…”
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