Sunday of Meatfare; The Holy Great-Martyr Theodore the General; The Holy Prophet Zechariah.
1 Corinthians 8:8-9:2; Matthew 25:31-46.
Read Matthew 25:31-46
Relationships change. Some deepen and grow; some don’t last. As we and others change through personal growth, stasis, or decline, some friendships are cut off or left to drift. We don’t only choose a relationship once at its beginning, we re-choose it, or not, at critical junctures as we continue to engage with, or disengage from, the other person.
What stands out in what Jesus is saying here is the surprise of both groups of people. The “righteous” express genuine surprise and ask when they had seen the Lord in the conditions he describes. The “cursed” are likewise surprised.
There is a saying that you can learn a lot about someone by the company they keep. Indeed, that is one of the most informative ways of getting to know someone. Apparently, we should not be surprised at the company Jesus keeps – the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, and imprisoned.
The question is, do we see ourselves that way? If we do, we will identify with Jesus’s other friends and engage with them the way Jesus does. If we refuse to see ourselves that way, we exclude ourselves from the basis upon which Jesus receives us into friendship.
We may travel for some time down the road of friendship with Jesus and be struck anew at who he really is through seeing who he identifies with. In such moments we are given the opportunity to choose him all over again.