Six Things To Do...(3rd Saturday of Advent)

We’ve come to the last parable of Matthew 25. This one is known as The Sheep and the Goats. Of the three, this parable is the least parable-like. Jesus is pretty explicit in making the connections for us. God is the Great Shepherd who will one day come as King to judge us and separate the sheep from the goats.

I won’t insult your intelligence by explaining the parable. What I want to focus on is the obvious point that Jesus is making: by serving others we are serving God. Yesterday we looked at what we ought to do with our talents. Today, Jesus has given us six explicit ways in which we can spend our talents and our time to serve God. My challenge for us is to take one of these six and go out and do it as a Christmas present for our Lord and for our fellow human beings.

First, we are to feed the hungry. This means that as we sit around holiday tables groaning under the weight of food we should not forget those who have nothing to eat. How hard would it be for us to buy an extra sack of groceries the next time we’re at the store? Remember too those who are spiritually and emotionally hungry. Couldn’t you make room at your holiday table for the lonely widow?

Second, we are quench the thirst of the parched. Again, we need to pay attention not only to those who are physically thirsty, but also on those who are spiritually thirsty. Remember Jesus’ conversation with the woman at the well?

Third, we are to offer hospitality to the stranger. During this holiday season most of us are frazzled as we try to balance a job, a family, shopping, Christmas parties and all the other stuff of the holiday season. Few of us have time to go out of our way to befriend new people. However, we all can take the time to be friendly to the strangers we see every day. For example, think about the difference a kind word or a gentle smile would make in the life of the checkout clerk at the supermarket.

Fourth, we are to clothe the naked. Now, we probably don’t run into stark-naked people too often (excluding the half-dozen or so traipsing about Bourbon Street the night I was in New Orleans). However, we are surrounded by people who are emotionally naked. For whatever reason, they have low self-esteem and are ashamed of themselves. As Christians we ought to find those who no longer see themselves as worthy persons and remind them that God loves them, even in their broken state.

Fifth, we are to comfort and treat the sick. How about rounding up some people at your church to go caroling at the local nursing home or hospital? Plenty of people face a dreary Christmas this year, one filled with needles, cold hospital rooms and the like. Surely they could use a little Christmas cheer, right?

Sixth, we are to visit those who are in prison. I must confess that I’ve never done this. I almost visited the brig at Naval Station Great Lakes, but none of the prisoners wanted to see a chaplain the day I stopped by. I’ve often wondered what I would say to a person in prison? How do you start a conversation with someone who is in jail for committing a crime? How do you bring hope to someone stuck in a cell for the next ten years or for life? I haven’t got the answers but I do know that God has called us to get out of our comfort zones to serve others. So let’s go serve!

Matthew 25:31-46 (NIV)

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 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. He will put the sheep on his
right and the goats on his left.

"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. 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, 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.'

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

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 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.'

"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?'

"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."