Words of Welcome

  Matthew 25:31-46 No one wants to go before a judge, at least not without a good attorney present! Perhaps, like me, you have had your day in court. My day came back in my 20s when I appeared in traffic court to make my confession of guilt for speeding. I didn’t need an attorney that day but some people do.  Here in Matthew 25 , Jesus speaks of the day when the Son of Man comes in his glory to gather the peoples of the earth to face the day of final judgment. On that day Jesus, the Son of Man, takes on the role of judge and separates the sheep from the goats. The question Jesus raises for us is whether we’re ready to face the judge. This reading from Matthew is sometimes thought of as a parable, but it’s not really a parable. Instead, Jesus issues a warning to us about the choices we make in life. He uses the images of sheep and goats. In this picture, on the day of judgment, the king will reward the sheep and punish the goats. The sheep are the righteous and the goats are the u