13. Wednesday after Second Sunday in Advent.
Lord, teach us thy word, and help us
to walk in the light which it gives. Amen.
Matthew 25, 31-46. When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
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Christ and his judgment seat separate us into two divisions. That which decides the eternal fate of each individual is the relation in which he has placed himself to Christ in this life. All who with humble hearts and true faith live in him and do good, shall stand acquitted over yonder and enter into the joy of their Lord. But those who have led a worldly life without Christ, whether it be in outward piety or in open wickedness, must depart into everlasting fire. Those who are saved inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world; they inherit it as the children of God in Christ; they have not themselves earned it by their works; they pretend to no merit of their own. When have we done any good to thee, our Lord? They served him unceasingly, but their left hand knew not what their right hand did. The fact, that they were able to do good, was pure grace; how, then, can it be their merit? And yet the Lord counts it as such; he remembers their good works and rewards them. It is he who does good in us, yet regards it as though we had done it of ourselves. The saints depend on his grace alone; there is, indeed, nothing else which has saved and does save them. They are imperfect in all their works, and deserve nothing but punishment; but the Lord disregards their imperfection, and he finds in them only glorious deeds. He sees, that what they have done, down to the most insignificant act, has been done for him, and he permits nothing thereof to lose its reward.
On the other hand we hear the blind, self-righteous spirit ask: When have we seen thee and not served thee? This is an impious question. Woe be to us, if we are so blind that, knowing neither ourselves nor the grace of God, we pride ourselves on having done well before the Lord! Woe be to us, if he alone is not our righteousness and our life, so that we serve him by doing good to his needy members on earth. O, that these words might cut through our very marrow and bones: “These shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.”
Holy and righteous God, who of thy mercy didst become the Son of Man, in order that we might have in thee a merciful judge; grant that we may live our life here on earth in true faith and charity, and that we may stand with all who are thine at thy right hand on the day of thy glory. Amen.*
Great God, what do I see and hear!
The end of things created!
The Judge of mankind doth appear,
On clouds of glory seated;
The trumpet sounds; the graves restore
The dead which they contained before;
Prepare, my soul, to meet him.
The dead in Christ shall first arise,
At the last trumpet’s sounding,
Caught up to meet him in the skies,
With joy their Lord surrounding;
No gloomy fears their souls dismay;
His presence sheds eternal day
On those prepared to meet him.
* Here the head of the family says a short morning or evening prayer in his own words, and closes with the Lord’s Prayer and the Benediction. This is to be done every day. If the stanzas are not sung, they may be read in their proper place before the impromptu petition and the Lord’s Prayer.