Living in the Spirit
November 23, 2014

Scripture Reading: Matthew 25:31-46

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.’ — Matthew 25:41-46

Following parables about the Kingdom of God, Jesus closes out what is now designated as Matthew 25 with a discourse on sins of omission. Our society, particularly the church, tends to emphasize sins that we commit. Now don’t get me wrong, I do not think Jesus wants us to intentionally do things that separate us from God. What Jesus might be saying here is that the things that separate us most from God are the things that separate us most from each other. If we choose to target our lives at doing what we consider to be right by our own definitions without regard to others in the hopes of winning a place of honor in God’s Kingdom, we may be missing the mark.

I am writing this while printing gift cards for the people at my church to purchase to give as Christmas presents to those people who would be most honored by receiving such a card that says a contribution has been given in their honor to a mission project thousands of miles away.  The program Caminante, in Boca Chica, Dominican Republic is designed to help street children learn and grow into self-sustaining, whole adults. It is a wonderful program, locally operated and lovingly supported by the people who see the good that it does.

This is just one tiny way of acknowledging the vast diversity of people we are called to love who are citizens in the Kingdom of God. I am sure there are more ways than any of us could even imagine to give clean water to the thirsty, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, help the sick, provide restorative help for those in prison, and yes, welcome the stranger for they are strangers no more in the Kingdom of God, but they are our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Prayer: Lord, make us cognizant of our sins of omission and open channels of service to us that will help us turn them into commissions of service. Amen.

The quote in the picture above is by 18th century Irish political philosopher Edmond Burke.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.