NOTES for Mat 25:31-46
31 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: |
32 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: |
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. |
34 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: |
35 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: |
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. |
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? |
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? |
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? |
40 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. |
41 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: |
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: |
43 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. |
44 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? |
45 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. |
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. |
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When we read today's Gospel text, we usually become very afraid, because we do not dare to imagine that the Lord will count us among the righteous. And we feel how our reason, with all its strength, demands Purgatory. This is a difficult question; at some point each person resolves it for himself. And although we understand that the line between good and evil runs through the human soul, we must still hold firmly to the Word of God, setting aside, as far as possible, the entire cultural burden of two thousand years, which at times only darkens our perception.
So the Lord speaks about the separation of the righteous from the wicked. Let us not look for our own place in this "icon," but look at it as we usually look at icons, discerning the theological meaning in the depth of the symbolism. The main message of this text, as we understand it, is that there will be no more half measures: good will be completely separated from evil. But what about that share of evil present in everyone whose mother bore him "in sins" (Ps 50), that is, in every human being?
The solution to this difficult problem may be Purgatory, or it may be Forgiveness. We have no right to impose our solution on anyone; each person comes to this himself, provided only that we respect another person's choice.
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Readings for 23 February 2026
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