Welcome
Tonight, 7 p.m. in the courtyard just behind the sanctuary, An All Saints celebration, Pastor Ashley, Nicole, and I will lead this service lifting our loved ones in prayer.
Next Sunday morning, after you’ve voted, we will gather in the parking lot facing the Heritage Chapel for a service of prayer and reflection as we move together, no matter who wins.
Today we continue our theme of How to make faith grow legs. We look at a familiar passage from Matthew 25 and explore what Jesus said to the people gathered.
Call to Worship
Springtime and Harvest, summer and winter, stars, sun and moon run their courses above. We join with all nature in manifold witness, to your great faithfulness, mercy, and love, O God. As we worship, help us feel your spirit bringing us love, encouragement, guidance and grace.
Pastoral Prayer
The roses on the communion table this day celebrate the births of so many children in our families this year and at least one on the way in December.
Earthquake in Turkey, elections, covid 19, deaths of Dale Flavin and Marie Foster
The Lord be with you, … Let us pray.
You are beyond all knowing, yet ever present in your creation. You are near as our next breath, yet untouchable. There are moments when we feel so close, and others when we feel lightyears away. We pray to draw near to you this morning, and to pour out our concerns for your people, and your world.
On this All Saints Day, we celebrate life. We recognize the precious gift in the children who have been born this year. We rejoice at all their firsts: smiles, teeth, steps, words. Their presence among us brings great blessings and a renewed hope for the world in which we live.
Yet we also celebrate life beyond this world. As we experience loss, individually and as a global community, we see that you are still at work in us, and in our loved ones.
The leaves of a tree, in death, provide a brilliant kaleidoscope of colors. We never have a rainbow, except first, the rain. We give thanks to you, O sacred one, because even in this season of loss, you reveal your love. Even in our grief you teach us the truth of life. Life in this world and life to come in your realm. Help us find comfort, help us rely on your peace and your strength when we feel so desperate, and so alone.
We pray for this nation as we vote this week. Let us find common ground and renew our commitment to working with each other toward our foundational goals of liberty and justice for all people.
And as a family of faith, remind us of this sacred calling to be present for each other, to meet the needs of brothers and sisters, wherever and whenever we can. In the spirit of Christ, let us look for you, in every encounter.
There are so many people, and situations, that we hold in our hearts. Remind us to not only pray about their needs, but to do what we can to bring some comfort and some resolution to their pain.
We pray these things, because we long to be more like you in our living in this world. In this endeavor, we pray as Jesus taught his disciples to pray.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen
Children’s Message
Read “Sharing God’s Plan” from Children of God Storybook Bible
God doesn’t have a body like we do. We call the church, the house of God, and God lives here in a way, but not in the same way we live in our houses. And sometimes it can be hard to know how exactly to show God our love because we can’t give God a hug or bring God a mug of hot chocolate or take care of God when God is sick.
But in our story today from Jesus, we learn that we can show our love to God by taking care of others, especially those who need extra help. Like people who are hungry or sick or in prison. We can give these people food or chamomile tea or write them letters. Jesus says that when we help take care of others, we are loving God. It’s that simple.
Let’s pray:
God, help us to love you by loving the people around us, even when those people are hard to love. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
Scripture
Our scripture this morning is a little long, and somewhat redundant. But I believe it adds to the emphasis Jesus is trying to make on his disciples. My friend, The Rev. Ernie O’Donnell called this “The Great Compassion” as we compared it to “The Great Commission” in Matthew 28. It’s also tempting to stop after the first section, where everything is neat and tidy. It’s a happy ending.
Matthew 25:31-46
‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 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 welcomed me, 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.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” 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.’
This is the word of God for all the people of God, thanks be to God.
Sermon
I never counted. And if I did, I would have lost count by now. I’m talking about the number of people I’ve helped through the years: a few dollars here, a meal there, a pair of work boots lately, some gasoline, a prescription; It could add up to a lot. Surely, that would put me in the sheep column. We’ve all done something, at least once, for someone else, right? Sheep, then.
But yesterday, she was standing on a street corner with a sign. He was walking back and forth, on the center median, with a plastic jar. The young man sitting outside of the Chinese take out asked for food. I said, “Sure, come in and I’ll buy something for you.” And he said, “I don’t want Chinese,” and pointed to a place across the street. I politely declined. That was a strange interaction. Why not beg over there? But my point is, there’s plenty of times I’ve been a goat.
So which is it? Is there some cosmic scale weighing our sheep moments against our goat moments? Weighing our sins compared to our righteousness?
I don’t believe so. I believe God is in the business of changing our hearts to be doers of the word, not merely listeners, and that, in the midst of this transformation, God makes room for grace. Grace, even when we feel like or act like goats.
Diana Butler Bass has done some research into early Christianity, in the days when these gospels were being written and just after. She writes:
“Throughout the first five centuries people understood Christianity primarily as a way of life in the present, not as a doctrinal system or promise of eternal salvation. When the followers of Jesus acted on his teachings, not only were the lives of the people around them changed, (literally, they were fed, clothed, and sheltered), but the lives of his followers were changed. The practice served as a spiritual pathway.” (Diana Butler Bass, A People’s History of Christianity: The Other Side of the Story (HarperCollins: 2009), 27-30.)
David Jacobsen invites us to pay attention to the idea in this scripture that neither the goats nor the sheep noticed when they were or were not doing these good deeds. For the sheep, as I noted last week with the quote from Martin Luther, it is second nature. It is what they are used to doing, day in and day out. It’s done before anyone even asks if it needs to be done.
Justin Martyr (ca. 100–ca. 165), puts it like this: “We who formerly . . . valued above all things the acquisition of wealth and possessions,”
I have to stop right there. Does it blow your mind that people 2,000 years ago dealt with the temptations of wealth and possessions?
I’ll start over. “We who formerly … valued above all things the acquisition of wealth and possessions, now bring what we have into a common stock, and communicate to everyone in need; we who hated and destroyed one another; and on account of their different manners would not live with men of a different tribe, now, since the coming of Christ, live familiarly with them, and pray for our enemies . .”
(Justin Martyr, First Apology, chapter 14, as quoted in Rowan Greer, Broken Lights and Mended Lives: Theology and Common Life in the Early Church [Pennsylvania State University Press: 1986], 13.)
Sadly, some of the hatred and destruction still linger thousands of years later.
Christianity, following Jesus and doing what Jesus did, was a way of life for our ancestors. How do we make that true for us?
It begins with a desire to know Christ, to know God, more fully. Remember Tevya, from “Fiddler On the Roof.” One of his desires, If he were a rich man, was to sit and discuss holy scriptures all day with the Rabbis. But more than reading and discussing, … this scripture is about doing.
Mother Theresa wrote that when she was among the people who suffered, she grew closer to God. Want to be more in touch with God, do the things Jesus did. Less judging, more compassion. Less division, more grace, less deciding who “The Other” is, and more emphasis on finding our common ground.
One self help technique is to act “as if.” Want to be confident? Act that way, even if you don’t feel it on the inside, and let it grow on you. Want to be friendly, helpful? Start doing things along those lines until your feelings catch up to it. (Disclaimer: I don’t think this strategy works with math).
But return to the text with me one last time. At the beginning, when the son of man comes, he will gather, … the nations. Scholars suggest this isn’t just a personal journey. It is one for the nations. As a people, are you caring for the least; As a community, are you clothing the poor; Are you doing, as a nation, all you can to lift up every soul? It is doing the individual work to help the person right in front of you. And, finding the ways to change their course. The women’s center in Fort Worth, doesn’t just provide temporary housing, they teach women how to use computers, earn their GED’s, dress for an interview and practice the skills needed to be hired. Trinity Habitat, Habitat for humanity, helps people build their own homes, for low cost and no interest loans. Their success stories bring tears to your eyes when you see how a garden in a back yard, or riding a bike in front of the house your family owns changes more lives than just the parent.
Three years ago, seems like twenty, but just about three years ago, our youth went on a mission trip to Heifer International. All the quarters you donated to this quarter tube, added up to enough money for us to donate an “Ark.” We didn’t have to build one, measuring out the cubits. But that donation gave two of several kinds of animals to a village, in order for them to feed themselves, and barter for other supplies. That gift became a Ark of sorts, helping that community survive and helping the children of that community thrive.
This passage, “The Great Compassion,” comes after the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. Maybe God is telling us to go search for the ones who are lost, those who have lost their way, those whom society has left behind.
So, on the one hand, I want you to hear this scripture as a personal invitation, to be faithful in giving. But to also hear it as a calling to us as a community, to give ourselves away for our neighbors.
“Christianity did not begin with a confession. It began with an invitation into friendship, into creating a new community, into forming relationships based on love and service.”
― Diana Butler Bass, Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening, Harper, 1976.
I’m looking forward to the ways God will recreate us in God’s own image in the coming days.
Communion
One of my friends said this week that we need a simple gospel these days. Nothing fancy, nothing complicated, nothing mysterious. Just something straightforward and please, please, please let it be hopeful.
I think our scripture today is a simple gospel. It’s something spelled out for our Zoomed out minds and weary hearts and fragile bodies:
We can pray a simple prayer in response to this:
Feed the hungry.
Give the thirsty something warm to drink.
Welcome the stranger, even when we’re scared or unsure.
Put clothes in the backs of the ones who need them.
Visit and check-in and call the imprisoned, the shut-in, the stranded, and the lonely.
These are things we can wrap our minds around. These are things we can do with our restlessness. As the church, as the Body of Christ, we tend to the body of God by tending to the bodies of those around us.
Words of Institution:
It is with this simple gospel that we tell the story that on the night he was betrayed, Jesus broke the bread and said, “This is my body, broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
And then he took the cup also and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Drink it in remembrance of me.
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” All are welcome at the Table of Christ.
Join in me prayer.
Jesus, we can’t see or touch you, not like your disciples could that night. But we can pass the bread to those who are hungry. We can pour another glass for those who are thirsty. Help us do that in remembrance of you. In your name we pray, amen.
Sharing our Resources
“In ways we haven’t thought of yet.” That’s the phrase we borrowed from a sister church to put on our offering cards. It was meant to stretch our thinking, stretch the way we behave in our living out of our faith. Doing something for God that is outside of our comfort zone. It’s an expression that we are willing to commit to ministries we haven’t even imagined yet. Doing worship is one of those things that we hadn’t imagined 8 months ago. And there will be more. I invite you to give financially to this ministry, to pray about your financial commitment to this congregation in the coming year and to fill out a pledge card, but I also invite you to dream, to dream big for God’s love to be made real to the people around you, and then do something real toward that dream.
Benediction
It is one of my favorite quotes, from Theresa of Avila. Let it be our benediction:
Christ has no body but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes through which He looks with compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which He blesses all the world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.