Jesus told his followers:

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in. 36 I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, and give you a drink? 38 When did we see you as a stranger, and take you in; or naked, and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?’

40 “The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers‡ , you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you didn’t give me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me in; naked, and you didn’t clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

44 “Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn’t help you?’

45 “Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you didn’t do it to one of the least of these, you didn’t do it to me.’ 46 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Matthew 25:31-46 - World English Bible

We can divide the Final Judgment scene in Matthew into two parts: 1) the arrival and call of the Son of Man and 2) the judgment itself. Jesus portrayed the Son of Man coming like a conquering king with his army (angels) and taking the judgment seat to settle accounts. He would call the faithful who mingled among the wicked to his right (the sheep); those remaining stood on his left (the goats). Like a shepherd's whistle to his flock, the king's call beckoned loyal subjects to move toward his blessing.

Once he separated those to be judged, the king proclaimed his sentence. The charitable and hospitable would receive honor and blessing; the selfish would receive shame and curse. Notice Jesus did not address the question of faith; he spoke of welcome; the stranger given help or ignored symbolized the Christ. What a change of meaning! Contemporaries of the Nazarene saw the Christ as a powerful, larger than life figure. How could the least (a vagabond missionary, destitute widow or orphan, familiar servant in the Church) be the Messiah? The moral of the parable was simple: charity trumped any other virtue in the Kingdom.

How have you welcomed strangers this week?