The Scriptures today remind us that God has fulfilled his word to Ezekiel.
God himself is now tending his sheep in Jesus. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is seeking out the lost and strayed, and healing the injured and sick. He is looking after each of us.
The Scriptures also remind us that there will be a day of reckoning, of mercy and judgment. Jesus will come again in glory and will separate those who have heard his voice and lived by it from those who have chosen to ignore what they have heard.
Those who have listened - who have chosen to serve Jesus in the hungry and the sick, have welcomed him in the stranger and clothed him in the poor - these will be welcomed into the kingdom that has been prepared for them from the creation of the world. Those who have chosen not to see and serve Jesus in their less fortunate brothers and sisters have condemned themselves already.
As we close the Church year and prepare to begin a new season of discernment, the Church encourages us to sharpen our focus as we go about our daily living. How we live today and tomorrow - whether or not we choose to see Jesus in one another and take care of one another’s needs in Jesus’ name - has eternal implications for each of us.
Jesus, our King and Shepherd, loves us and calls us by name each day. May our experience of his love send us to our knees in worship, and send us out into the world, eager to share his love with each person we meet.
