Sonnet: Matthew 25:31-46

In ancient times the shepherding tradition

Allowed the intermingling of flocks
Until day’s end, when shepherds had the mission
To herd the sheep and goats as separate stocks.
The world is like those hills of Palestine,
With righteous and accursed from ev’ry nation.
We dwell as one, our lives to intertwine
Until the end time’s final separation.
And there before our Shepherd’s throne and feast
The nations learn the most surprising thing:
That service to the sick, the lost, the least,
In fact was service to this Shepherd King.
              Who's sheep?  Who's goat? Give me a heart that sees
               Your presence, Lord, among the least of these!

image: "The Last Judgment" 1917, Eric Gill