The Judgment of Nations

by Rev. Canon David B. Tabo-oy

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Matthew 25:40
When General Dobey, British commander of Malta during World War I, was stationed in the Holy Land in 1916, an aide approached him and said, “sir, this is a funny war we’re fighting. The Muslims won’t fight on Fridays, the Jews won’t fight on Saturdays, and the Christians won’t fight on Sundays.” With Solomonic wisdom, Dobey replied, “Well, if you can find four other world religions that refuse to fight on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, because of their holy days, you have solved the problem of world peace.” According to one website (study.com), war is an armed conflict that transpires between two or more groups. War has existed since at least the beginning of recorded history, nearly 5,000 years ago. No generation has ever truly been free of the threat of war, and war remains one of the world’s most significant problems. War is caused by many different things, including competition over land, religious conflicts, and nationalism. Imperialism, racism, and slavery have also been causes of armed conflict.
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From 2,678 wars in the 12th century, the total increased to 13,835 in the first quarter of this century. Wilbur M. Smith estimated that “up to the close of nineteenth century… 14 billion people have been killed in the wars of the human race.” From 1496 B.C. to A.D. 1861, the world knew 3,130 years of war and 227 years of peace. In the last four hundred years European nations have signed more than eight thousand peace treaties. In this century 37.5 million died in World War I, and 45.4 million died in World
War II. In the Vietnam conflict 57,605 U.S. lives were lost and 304,000 U.S. military personnel were injured. (The Speaker’s Quote Book). Today, there are two major wars affecting world peace. The Russo-Ukrainian War is an ongoing international conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which began in February 2014. Recently, a series of coordinated attacks, led by the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas, from the Gaza Strip into bordering areas in Israel, commenced on 7 October 2023, a Sabbath day and date of several Jewish holidays. The surprise attack comprised a barrage of rockets, while around 3,000 militants breached the Gaza–Israel barrier and attacked Israeli military bases and civilian population centres, as well as a music festival near Re’im. More than 800 Israeli civilians and more than 200 soldiers were killed during the invasion and an estimated 240 Israeli and foreign nationals were taken as captives or hostages to the Gaza Strip (Wikipedia). In response, the Israelis declared a state of war by conducting an extensive aerial bombardment campaign in which 6,000 bombs were dropped on Gazan targets over six days and by imposing a total blockade of the Gaza strip followed by a large-scale ground invasion of Gaza. As of 23 November 2023 according to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 14,300 Palestinians, including over 6,000 children, have been killed, making this the deadliest war for children in modern times.
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Neville Chamberlain wrote, “In war, whichever side may call itself the victor, there are no winners, but all are losers.” And Henry Ford once said, “No one ever wins a war.” There are so many reasons and justifications why wars are fought and thousands more are written and said against it, yet they still happen. Why? To the Christian believers’ war is the result of a failure to live by God's standards.
Conflicts result to war because we do not submit to God’s command of loving others as we love ourselves. Can you imagine humans treating one another as they want themselves to be treated?
Otherwise, we shall be judged by our actions: the violence of war. Nations will be judged by their inaction or disobedience to God’s rule of peace and love.
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In Matthew’s Gospel, we read of a king sitting on his throne who is busy executing judgment. This is a story about the final judgment. This is not a story about the judgment of individuals, but rather a story of judgment of the nations. What is being judged are the attitudes that lead either to apathy and neglect for those in need or to compassion and service. Jesus makes clear that the attitudes that devalue those most in need among us must be destroyed; it is truly a deadly attitude. So how does our nation measure up? How does our church measure up? How do we measure up? Do we run the risk of claiming to base our values on Scripture while completely ignoring the call of Scripture? What can we do to turn the tide
of apathy and neglect, including among those who claim to follow Jesus? As with all change, change must start with us, with our own attitudes, choices, and behaviors. War devalues human beings; it devalues God whose image we are created. The Lord’s teaching on the final judgment challenges every disciple of Jesus to be a harbinger of God’s kingdom in a broken world.
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Christus Rex. In God’s kingdom Christ is King. This is the last Sunday in the Church Calendar’s season of Pentecost. The gospel reading is about the Last Judgment wherein Christ is seated in his royal throne as King and Judge. The feast of Christ the King brings the church’s year to a close and with it comes a reminder that the cycle of our lives here on earth will also reach its completion. The end of the year is a review time and affords us the opportunity to take stock of our behaviors as members of God’s household. The gospel points out very forcibly that admission into our eternal home depends on the effort we make to aid and comfort the needy. We will be assured of a place in Christ’s kingdom only if we treat others as Christ treats them. Amidst the situation of uncertainties because of war, fake news/information, Artificial Intelligence and more human creations that creates people in need and in
the margins, this is a challenging gospel which takes on exceptional importance as it portrays a powerful image of judgment and presents us with the stark choice of being for or against Christ. There is no in between. None of us can reflect upon it without seeing areas of our lives where change and improvement are needed.
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Our faith in Christ is confirmed by works of mercy on behalf of the poor. This is not a cheap activism but a real call from Christ to imitate him since he likewise emptied himself completely for us. The way of mercy is also the way of the Cross–emptying ourselves for the sake of others–and it is nothing less than his Cross that the Lord asks us to shoulder in love and works of mercy. Following this Way, the life of the believer will be whole, faith confirmed, the Spirit rejoicing, love abounding unto glory everlasting. Jesus tells us that he has come “not to be served but to serve.” Service is Jesus’ calling and mission. Likewise, service is the calling and mission of those who would follow him. The hungry are fed, the thirsty are
given water, strangers and those on the margins are welcomed, the naked are given clothing, the sick are taken care of, and prisoners are visited. In other words, everyone who is poor, hungry, outcast, sick, or despised is treated with love and dignity in real, tangible ways. This is God’s Kingdom, and this is, in large part, what we pray for whenever we say, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.”
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Jesus tells us that his kingdom occurs whenever the poor are clothed, the hungry are fed, the sick are tended to, the outcasts are welcomed, the “least of these” (as Jesus calls them) are cared for. In caring for them, we’re caring for Jesus. And whenever we don’t do those things, we’re neglecting Jesus.
This concept was at the heart of Mother Teresa of Calcutta’s ministry. Many of her admirers asked Mother Teresa, “How can you keep serving the poor, the sick, and the dying with such vigor? What’s your secret?” Mother Teresa responded many times saying, “Whenever I meet someone in need, it’s really Jesus in his most distressing disguise. It’s him I help.” What would happen if we began to really see Christ in others, even in his most distressing disguises in those around us, and then treated them the way we would treat God in Christ? What if, the next time we saw someone suffering from poverty, hunger, or thirst, we saw Jesus? Or the next time we saw someone sick and suffering or without proper clothing or even a prisoner or a stranger, we saw Jesus? The king we claim to follow tells us that we will see him in the people we least expect, and he won’t look anything like an earthly king or ruler. If we
recognize Christ in all people like this then – there will be no more war.
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As the world around us is put into our hands in trust and stewardship, Christianity lays great stress on involvement in the community. Jesus is still walking the earth in the guise of our neighbor who is suffering and in want. Our shortcoming as a people is that we fail to recognize this fact. He has laid it on the line that in the evening of life we shall be judged upon the love we have shown and the small acts of mercy we have performed. Often a word of encouragement, a little recognition or a friendly smile can mean more to the poor than food, clothing or shelter, as they carry the warmth of acceptance and make them feel valued. Christ becomes real to the people around us only in so far as we reach out and show
concern for their welfare and commit ourselves to fostering their dignity. Whatever good or evil we do to others is done to him. Christ rules our hearts and in the world around us when we give of our time, energy and love in performing acts of charity. In so doing, we create a charity of war.
Let us pray.
Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. **