When Jesus, the Son of Man, returns in glory at the end of time there will be a final judgment of all the nations. The dead will rise and everyone who has ever lived will be separated as sheep from the goats. Those sheep on his right will go to eternal life, and those goats on his left will be sent to eternal punishment. For both, the judgment is eternal, there is no appeal and no parole. There is no taking back the life and no end to the punishment. Therefore, it is critically important that you find yourself on the right hand with the sheep in that judgment. As with many things, to pass the judgment is all about who you know.

Today we remember all those who have died in Christ and passed from this valley of sorrow into the arms of their savior.

What would you do to help a friend? What lengths would you go to for a loved one if you knew you could help them? In today’s gospel lesson, Jesus is teaching and healing in the city of Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee. He has just returned from the other side of the sea, where people told him to leave when he healed two demon-possessed men by driving the demons into a herd of pigs which ran off a cliff. Unlike that region, the people of Capernaum are clamoring for the healing Jesus brings.

If I had a nickel for every church tagline or mission statement that said “love God, love people,” I would be able to end the national coin shortage single-handedly. There is something particularly appealing in Jesus’ response to the lawyer’s question – which is the greatest commandment in the law? Yet the four-word phrase, “love God, love people,” while very catchy and memorable, doesn’t supply much meaning. What gives it broad appeal is that the meaning can be provided by whoever reads it. “Love God, love people” – what god? The god I want to love. What people? The people I want to love. What does love mean? What I want it to mean.

We know hypocrisy in others when we see it. We see it in the TV preacher who acts holy but seems most interesting in getting his viewers’ money. We see it in the politician who rails against the rich and goes to dinner galas where the plates cost more than an average car. We even see it close in home in false friends who betray us to look good in front of others. No one likes hypocrisy in other people. To say one thing and do another seems so unthinkable and cold.

As often happens in death, Mary and Martha grieved differently for their brother. People came from all around to console them. It wasn’t until Jesus came that they really moved. At least Martha moved. Mary stayed home. Martha went because she was the kind of person who could not sit in grief.

Imagine being the deaf mute man who is brought to Jesus by his friends. Your world is silent, you cannot speak rightly, then Jesus takes you aside privately and comes up close to you. He sticks his fingers in your ears and you see him spit and touch your tongue. You see Jesus look up to heaven and sigh and then “Ephphatha.” Ephphatha. Be opened. Not just a word, but the first word you ever hear. And the first word you hear is the word by which you hear.

As Jesus taught, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and keep it!” (Luke 11:27). This, from the words of Christ in Luke, is why we remember St. Mary today. It would be truly wonderful to be the one who bore and nursed Jesus, the Son of God who became man. Mary is truly blessed among all women for this honor. Yet we are not pointed to look at Mary for herself. We see Mary as an example of faith, one who heard the Word of God and kept it.

Have you cared about a place so much you would weep to see it go? Jesus, having entered the city of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, now weeps over it. Jerusalem was never His home. He was not born there, that was Bethlehem. He did not grow up there, that was far north in Nazareth. Yet Jesus has been to Jerusalem many times. It was where the temple was, and for those who believed in God in the Old Testament, the temple was the place where God was present for salvation. Yet Jesus knew that this place where the faithful came to worship would be destroyed. Why? God was judging the people for their rejection of Him, which is a sign for the future final judgement. The temple was becoming obsolete. Soon all would worship in the name of Jesus, who comes to us, in spirit and truth.