This week’s readings are all from Matthew 24-25. Click here to see a full listing of each day’s reading and the full chapters of Matthew 24-25. Full readings of each day’s smaller segments of the readings will be posted on this site during the week.
Today's Reading
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another like 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, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 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 invited me in, 36 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.’ 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 naked and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘I tell you the truth, just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared 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 receive me as a guest, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not give you whatever you needed?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘I tell you the truth, just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.’ 46 And these will depart into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
To me, this part is like the practical explanation that Jesus sometimes gives to his disciples after his parables… with the virgins and with the talents, the point is not to just wait for the Jesus to return before you do good to honor him; we should always be doing things to serve others. Love mercy, seek justice, and walk humbly.
So, we are serving in Guatemala this week, and had a big game day for all the kids here yesterday. It also kinda reminds me of the way some played this game, “Clean Your Room”: while music plays you’re supposed to throw the balls to the other side, keeping your side more “clean.” When the music stops, you must freeze, hands up, and we count to see which side is cleanest. There are always some who hold a bunch of balls and wait for the music to stop and try to quickly throw them over, but that makes their team automatically lose.
Not that a kid’s game is the same as eternity and judgement 😳 but I feel like it is similar! If we are just waiting for the specific time, we are playing it wrong, AND we miss the fun and adventure of running around and doing the things that were intended. It’s more fun to PLAY THE GAME! 😉
@travisbruno3 You wrote something else back in May that resonates still and I think is also a part of these parables:
I feel like I am often trying to find better words to express this idea, and one way it has come to mind as I read these chapters is this: Jesus is yearning for us to discover the point. It’s not successful religion that is “the plan,” but it is unhindered wholeness. Unhindered because it’s not just within myself, but it should spread to all people…
The point is always unhindered wholeness. The Master of the house leaves his possessions in the care of his stewards to be used for wholeness, and if they (we) engage in that work then there will be no surprises when the Master shows up. When this happens the wholeness of the Master's will has continued, unabated, with all of the provisions shared among all his servants. The Master's talents (not ours...they were never ours) are multiplied and shared with the most needy and broken, as though the stewards were serving the Master himself ('whatever you did for the least of these'). Unhindered wholeness.
@jimmy and if the whole point is that wholeness, what do you do with such a stark contrast of the results of sheep vs goats? That is still kind of a hard thing for me to reconcile in these passages.
Is it just because Jesus is increasingly close to the cross, so he gets a bit more dramatic in the stories? Like he knows he running out of time and can see that so many still miss it. “Please, my people! That is not the way to life!”
Reading these passages again I am struck with the futility of trying to determine the date of “The End”. We need to be about the work of caring for those in need and in growing our relationship with our loving Heavenly Father.