Are You a New Year's  Sheep or Goat?

by Betty Van Volkenburg
Webster NY, January 1

She related how, in this parable, sheep and goats were separated, with the sheep being sorted to the right of God for entry into heaven, and the sorting being based on their day to day activities, not their Holy Day church attendance, or sporadic gifts.

When an opportunity appears in our daily path, how do we respond?  Mother Dahn related how she had been shopping with her baby girl one day and was hurrying towards her car with a cart full of packages when a homeless beggar approached her. As she spoke I could empathize with her motherly and womanly instincts to protect herself and her baby as this strange looking man approached her so persistently.

She did not tell us if she gave him the money he was persistently demanding but reminded us that opportunities for giving will come up every day in our lives and God leaves it up to us to decide how we will respond.

Little things really do mean a lot and can add up over a lifetime. Meeting your pledges at church, or to the United Way is a very commendable act of charity. But these are also conscious, public acts whereas the little daily acts of charity and giving are spontaneous acts from your heart that only God and ourselves know about.

Rev. Gandell has since been called to lead her own church but every year around this time I remember her homily and I’m thankful to her for showing me that I was missing out on some golden opportunities for loving and sharing.  I can’t tell you how I plan to respond in the future – that’s between God and me, but if you see me smiling you’ll know what I’ve been up to. I plan to do a lot of smiling in the coming year.

How about you?   In which fold will you be this year -
the goats or the sheep?

Mathew:  25:31-46
The Judgment
25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.
25:32 All the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
25:33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
25:34 Then the king will say to those on his right,
‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
25:35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
25:36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’
25:37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
25:38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you?
25:39 When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
25:40 And the king will answer them, ‘I tell you the truth, just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it for me.’
25:41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels!
25:42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink.
25:43 I was a stranger and you did not receive me as a guest, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’
25:44 Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not give you whatever you needed?’
25:45 Then he will answer them, ‘I tell you the truth, just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.’
25:46 And these will depart into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”