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Blogging Toward Sunday, September 25th, 2016
What Disciples Do:
"Rolling Up Our Sleeves -- Disciples Live to Serve"
'When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand,
"Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me." Then the righteous will answer him, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?" And the king will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me."
Then he will say to those at his left hand, "You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me." Then they also will answer, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?" Then he will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me." And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal
life.'
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 Sheep, Goats, and Service
These words of Jesus follow a string of other parables in Matthew's gospel that deal with folks getting ready (or not), anticipating the return of Christ (The Talents, The Wise and Foolish Bridesmaids, and The Unfaithful and Faithful Servants). This parable prepares them and us for the coming of the kingdom of God and "Son of Man" in glory. The nations will be assembled (not only Israel -- not just Jews and Christians), and all will be distinguished as either sheep or goats. The time to repent and be transformed, along with the time to care for the needs of neighbor, however needy, is past. Judgment arrives unexpectedly, with surprise among both sheep and goats.
This parable points to the connection between seeing a need, feeling compassion, and acting on it, engaging the one who has need in relationship. Recently, at our first Peace Connect Wednesday night potluck and time of fellowship, a number of children, youth, along with a couple of youthful adults, enacted an impromptu rendition of another parable, this one from Luke, which illustrates the "seeing, feeling, acting" connection. All three passers-by "see" the wounded man in the ditch at the side of the road, but the first two, upstanding religious types, "pass by on the other side." The surprising response of the third man, a Samaritan who was repulsive to the Jews, was that he not only "saw," he was further "moved to pity," acting in concrete ways to transform the misfortune of the victim whom he saw as neighbor. The story of suffering became a redemption story.
This three-pronged approach to serving lovingly is modeled by Jesus in his parables and in his own interaction with people. He routinely sees, really sees people, has compassion on them, and acts to free them from whatever makes them less than whole: the woman weeping for her son, those who are sick, hungry, suffering in body, mind and spirit. He taught with his words and his actions that we should do the same for others. Engaging with others, really seeing them as people Jesus loves, helps us see Jesus, just as it help them see Jesus as love is demonstrated to them in life-changing ways.
This weekend (and every day) we have an opportunity to practice this active, loving service as we build relationships with each other and our community though many projects all day on Saturday and Sunday afternoon. On Sunday morning, we'll gather at all three worship services (8:15, 9:30 and 11:00). Don't forget the Ministry Fair in the Portico before and after the 9:30 and 11:00 services. This will be a weekend for our children, youth and adults of all ages focused on serving our neighbors in transformative ways. We just may see Jesus (or be Jesus) as we serve them!
See you in church, at the Ministry Fair, and all around the community!
LeeAnn
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