Sunday Reflection (November 22, 2020)

The prophet Ezekiel envisioned a future in which God himself would shepherd the people with fairness and justice. The leaders of ancient Israelite society had not practiced fairness and justice (Ezekiel 34:1-4, 11-12, 20-22).  It was a society in which the strong and influential forgot that the advocate for the poor, the weak,  and the vulnerable was none other than God!  Maybe it is not unlike our society!

Likewise, Jesus notes (Matthew 25:31-46) that fates are determined by “how we treat the ‘least of these.’”  God judges us not only for the wrong we have done but also for what we have failed to do.  This is not the things beyond our ability to do, but the things within our ability, that we have failed to do.  We are judged as individuals and as a nation by how we have treated the poor, the weak, and the vulnerable.  God has entrusted us with treasures so that through our actions the world can get a glimpse of God’s kingdom of care and love.