Readings Lev 19:1-2, 11-18 Mt
25:31-46
In the first
reading of today, God demands an ideal holiness which can only be attained by
caring our neighbors. Christ tells us in the gospel that our relationship
with our neighbors goes a long way to define our destiny on the judgment day when
“the sheep will be separated from the goats”. Christian neighborhood has no
geographical boundaries. Our neighbors, therefore, represent the Christ we often
do not welcome. Christ is in the beggar, the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the
sick and the prisoner. It is somewhat a scandal to witness a Christian community
with the richest in the society and the poorest; those living in extreme material
comfort and those living in abject poverty. Let us, therefore, welcome Christ who
is in our neighbors that He might welcome us on the last day into His eternal
bliss. 
