When You will come to earth in glory, O God, and all creatures will tremble before You,
the river of fire will flow before Your judgment-seat, and the books will be opened and all hidden things revealed, deliver me from the unquenchable fire and make me worthy to stand at Your right hand, O righteous Judge.
Although it may be difficult to understand in light of the Kondak we pray on this weekend of Meat Fare, the designation of this parable as The Last Judgment, is somewhat misleading. It is an imaginative scene in which is set the core of the moral teachings of Jesus. The parable, in truth, is really about love of neighbor. All of us, because we have received the gift of Christ’s love, are called to freely love others in return. We get distracted, however, because of the river of fire and the image of God as Judge mentioned in the Kondak, that we miss, I think, the true meaning of the parable.
We know that all people need personal love that is recognition by others of their uniqueness. We also know that people who are sick, thirsty, and hungry and in prison are frequently denied this personal love. We also know that however narrow and limited our sphere of influence is, each one of us is called by God to see that His love is expressed to others through us. We are not here on earth only for ourselves but, rather, to help make God’s Kingdom real. We also know that this helps us.
Thus the parable spells our unconditional love for others. The evangelist has Jesus say: inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, you have done it unto Me! Jesus clearly identifies Himself with those to whom service is given or refused, and their behavior toward men is their behavior toward God. St. John reiterates this by saying, you cannot say you love God and hate your neighbor!
The surprise in the parable is that those condemned never accepted the fact that they encountered Jesus in other men and that they were not able to distinguish between their duties to God and their duties to man. What is also highlighted is the fact that both the righteous and the wicked have made decisions that are irrevocable. Free Will makes all of us responsible for how we treat others. To hate others because they hate us is not an excuse. The choice to return hate with hate is ours alone! We must take personal responsibility for our own behavior!