Ordinary Time 
Pause
Come before the throne of Jesus Christ, however you will:
lift up your heart or kneel at his feet,
raise your voice in song or let your tears fall,
proclaim his praise or ask for what you need.
You are loved and you are known. You are welcome here —
everywhere — Jesus reigns.
Listen
“Now when the Human One comes in his majesty and all his angels are with him, he will sit on his majestic throne. All the nations will be gathered in front of him. He will separate them from each other, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right side. But the goats he will put on his left.”
Matthew 25:31-33
Think
Separating things into categories is one of the things humans do best. From the time we are very young we learn to compare, contrast, and divide. A classic toy is a box with different-shaped holes, challenging a child to fit different-shaped blocks into their matching holes. The cylindrical block into the round hole, the cube block into the square hole…
When we get older we use this categorize-and-divide skill in other ways. In our science classrooms, we recognize the differences between species. In our laundry rooms, we learn to separate red clothes from white ones. Some categorizations and divisions are helpful tools to understand the world, and some are downright necessary if you don’t want your white laundry to end up pink.
Too often, though, we also try to categorize and separate people. In Matthew 25, Jesus says the king alone will compare, contrast, and divide the “sheep” from the “goats.” It is not our job, our responsibility, or our right to create categories and divide “the nations.” This is good news!
Nikki Finkelstein-Blair
Question to Ponder:
How has the tendency to compare and divide people been used for bad and for good purposes throughout history? What do we gain when we do this? What do we lose?
Pray
Forgive me, God, for the times when I have tried to put people into categories that keep us separate from one another.
Help me to see how we all belong to you, and give me humility to know that you call me to follow you, not to judge others.
Amen.
Go
Now go to the places you would least expect; your king is already there.
Lift those who are low. Kneel with those who bow.
Join your voice, weep together, bring food to share.
Offer welcome, praise, and joy, however you will.
Everywhere, Jesus reigns!
