Matthew 25:31-46

“All the nations will be gathered in front of him.” Matthew 25:32a, CEB

I love the resolution of a story in a movie or tv show. When all the evidence comes together in a crime story and justice is served; or the love story through many challenges and often a comedy of errors culminates in a beautiful wedding. I recently finished reading a novel where the ending completely flipped everything that had been building and created an ending that was even more satisfying than what was expected. Endings matter. They often make you consider the story’s elements in a different light, to see what really happened just off camera, or the page, or underneath the surface. Endings give light to the whole story.

So, what happens when Jesus tells a story like this?

The final story in Jesus’ final sermon before the final events of Holy Week is a finale story; a preface to the last part of the last act of the last chapter in the story of humanity.

That feels really important.

There is something here that we must hear, we must heed.

The Son of Man sitting on the throne surrounded by his angels is bringing all the nations together for judgment. Not individuals…nations.

That’s a sobering thought, and a good reminder that it is not only what we do as individuals that matters, but what we do collectively…or not do as the story reveals. That means our responsibility doesn’t end with individual faith and actions alone. It’s a reminder back to one of the first stories in scripture after Cain killed his brother Abel and Cain’s response to God was, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” God’s implied response was, “yes, you are.”

If this story feels important it is because it is…for all of us together. Maybe that’s why Jesus declared the second most important commandment was “to love our neighbor as our self.” We are all in this together and how we treat one another collectively weighs on how the story ends…

…for all of us.