SHEEP AND GOATS

 

MATTHEW 25: 31ff

A few years ago, I bought this wool sweater. Wool comes from sheep. I am sure you can describe sheep: Female sheep are called ewes. Males are rams. Young sheep are lambs. Female sheep make a sound called a bleat to keep track of their lambs. Sheep eat grass or hay and live in pastures. They are covered with thick hair called wool. Because of their thick wool coats, sheep can survive in colder climates.

I am sure you can tell the difference between sheep and goats. One difference is that goats have shorter tails. Goat horns are longer and grow upward, backward and outward, and ram horns grow in a twisted spiral shape. Like sheep, goats enjoy being in a herd. They are livelier than sheep and their inquisitive nature makes them funny, enjoyable, curious pets.

In our Gospel, the Son of Man separates sheep and goats not because goats are not valuable or bad creatures, but Jesus uses them as a way to talk about God’s Judgment and Kingdom.

A shepherd can tell the difference between sheep and goats, just as you can. But can you tell the difference among people? Can you tell by looking which ones will inherit God’s Kingdom and which ones will be cast out? It’s difficult to tell the difference by looking at people. We can’t even tell by looking at their actions. Only the King (God) in our Gospel can tell by how each group of people treated the least important people in their lives.

Because God loves us, we love God, and show our love through acts of kindness and mercy to people that are not important to many others. Let’s be happy to do that today and every day, especially as we celebrate Thanksgiving.

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless all children, and give their fathers and mothers the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.