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Life Arts    H2'ed 11/22/20

What We Do to The Least: The Most Political Sunday Readings of the Year!

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Jesus' response? "Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me."

But more than personal salvation is addressed here. Jesus homage to Ezekiel's sheep and shepherd imagery reminds us of judgment's political dimension. So does Jesus' reference to the judge (presumably himself) as "king." And then there's the church itself which centralizes this climactic scene precisely on this Solemnity of Jesus Christ King of the Universe. All three elements say quite clearly that "final judgment" is not simply a question of personal salvation, but of judgment upon nations and kingdoms as well. To reiterate: in Matthew's account, the final judgment centralizes the political.

And what's the basis for the judgment on both scores? How are we judged as persons and societies? The answer: on the basis of how we treated the immigrants, the hungry, ill-clad, sick, and imprisoned.

On that basis, Jesus' attitude towards the United States as earlier described ought to be quite clear. It's the same as Ezekiel's when he predicted the destruction of Israel at the hands of Iraq:

"Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me."

Ironically enough, that "fire prepared for the devil and his angels" is today embodied in the west coast's raging fires kindled by our mistreatment of Mother Nature - whom we routinely submit to the most horrendous form elder abuse.

As Ezekiel might say referencing his own words, "You read it here first."

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Mike Rivage-Seul is a liberation theologian and former Roman Catholic priest. Retired in 2014, he taught at Berea College in Kentucky for 40 years where he directed Berea's Peace and Social Justice Studies Program. His latest book is (more...)
 

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