We Must See Jesus in Every Face

Sept. 28, 2025
There are two parables of Jesus about people going to Hell, and their sin is the same. In Matthew 25, we have the great parable of judgment in which all are divided into sheep and goats. The sheep are welcomed into the Kingdom of God, because they have seen Jesus in the distressing disguise of the poor, and had responded to Him. “Whatsoever you do for the least of my brothers and sisters, you do unto Me.” The goats are condemned to hell because they did not respond to Him in that distressing disguise.
   
The second parable of being cast into hell is the story we hear in today’s Gospel of Lazarus and the Rich Man. Lazarus is a desperately poor man living on the streets outside the rich man’s home. The rich man goes to hell because he does not care about Lazarus and his sufferings.

We must hear this message and learn to see the face of Jesus in the poor. There are two things that will sever us from relationship with God and cut us off from salvation—refusing to forgive those who have hurt us and neglecting the poor. Each of us must examine ourselves and determine whether or not we are doing what Jesus calls us to do.
—Fr. Mike Comer