11/22/20

Sermon Notes:

What Jesus says in Matthew 25:31-46 was countercultural when he said it, and it is countercultural as we read it today. Jesus is repeating the same message all of the prophets brought: take care of the weak and vulnerable, hungry and lost.

Jesus uses shocking language of either “inheriting the kingdom” or being cast into “eternal punishment” based on whether or not people took care of the “least of these.”  Both the people who inherit and the people who go to punishment are surprised when Jesus says he himself WAS the least of these for whom care was given or denied.

What saves the people who inherit the kingdom? 

They are saved by love. They are saved by acts of compassion. 

Who are we and what is really motivating us when we serve? Only God can know the answer. We cannot judge ourselves, nor can we judge one another. 

When we help people in need, we are not saving them, they are saving us. 

No doubt this passage is disturbing. Here is a question that helps me investigate that disturbance:

Am I disturbed by the threat of eternal fire or am I disturbed by the idea that there may be people in my life and in my world that I do not see as Jesus? Are there saving acts of love and compassion that I miss out on because I judge some people as worth more than other people?