Grace, Gratitude, and Giving

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fireprepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (Matthew 25:31-46, NIV)


REFLECTIONS:
When I read this passage, I find myself trying to maneuver a way around the hard words of this teaching. How many times do you have to recognize Jesus among the poor? I wonder. Can you still be a sheep if you just did it once? Or a few times? I become like the lawyer who asks Jesus what a person has to do to inherit eternal life. When Jesus tells him to love God and neighbor, the lawyer asks, “But who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:25-37).

Some commentators support the wannabe lawyer in me by suggesting that the judgment in this passage is not of Christians but of the other nations of the world, those without faith. But I think that analysis attempts to fudge on the larger point of this passage. These verses convey a message about how we want to be found living when Jesus returns. So we take this teaching at face value as a call from Jesus to act with compassion toward those in need of our care. Each opportunity we have to offer food to the hungry provides an occasion to align ourselves with Christ’s total solidarity with the poor, the prisoner, the homeless, the sick. Each missed opportunity underscores our rejection of Christ. 

Our shock and dismay at the idea of rejecting Jesus brings us to another level on which we might consider this passage. The truth is , we can’t help every homeless person we meet, can’t visit all the sick and imprisoned—even if we make it our full-time job. So we are, by one standard, goats. And maybe it’s helpful to understand that we can’t enter the kingdom as righteous based only on our own striving. We need grace and depend on God for that grace just as the hungry depend on us for food. So we live in gratitude for the grace we have received, and our efforts to the poor come not only from a sense of obligation but from a sense of thanksgiving. 


PRAYER:
Bread of heaven, feed us and strengthen in us the will to feed others. Let us see your face in the face of the hungry, and serve you with generosity and gladness. Amen.


WHO AM I?
I am Tres Sansom, and I am deeply convicted by this passage. As I mentioned in my sermon this past Sunday, I desire to grow in my love and respect for all people. I want to be more like Christ, valuing and serving everyone who comes across my path.