Worship 10/20/2020
Let us worship!
Psalm 95, verses 6-7
So come, let us worship:
bow before God,
on your knees before God, who made us!
Oh yes, God our God,
and we’re the people God’s pastures,
the flock God feeds.
Prayer for the week
O God of all creation,
We come to you this day with glad hearts and great thanksgiving.
In these days of stress and stain, too easily we forget the wonderful things that we have been given, the comforts that we take for granted.
Help us to pause this week and remember all that has been given to us by your mighty hand.
New life each day.
New hope each breathe.
New joys before us.
Open our eyes to all that we have and let us rejoice! Amen
Psalm 100
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship God with gladness; come into God’s presence with singing.
Know that the Lord is God. It is God that made us, and we are God’s;
we are God’s people, and the sheep of God’s pasture.
Enter God’s gates with thanksgiving, and God’s courts with praise. Give thanks to God, bless God’s name.
For the Lord is good; God’s steadfast love endures forever, and God’s faithfulness to all generations.
Matthew chapter 25
verses 31-45 from The Message
The Sheep and the Goats
31-33 “When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.
34-36 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:
I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’
37-40 “Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’
41-43 “Then he will turn to the ‘goats,’ the ones on his left, and say, ‘Get out, worthless goats! You’re good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—
I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.’
44 “Then those ‘goats’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn’t help?’
45 “He will answer them, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.’
46 “Then those ‘goats’ will be herded to their eternal doom, but the ‘sheep’ to their eternal reward.”
Reflection:
In a time when our country is so divided, the gravity of this Scripture comes to life in a new way for me. I tend to like to live in a gray world, one that sees shades of differences, allows for different thoughts, different interpretation, different ways of expressing one’s self. As my youngest daughter said the other “you do you and I will do me.” However, over the last decade or so I have watched as our society has begun to divide into black and white, left and right, conservative and liberal, with little compassion or understanding for the other side. We, as a society have started to group people into categories, those that see things like we do (sheep to us) and those who do not see the world as we do (our own goats).
It has become so easy to see the other side as the evil and unfaithful, sheep versus goats, no matter what side of the issues you are on. Although we normally place ourselves happily with the sheep.
Our culture has twisted the Scriptures to met our own needs. Many Christians have begun to read the Bible through their own narrow lens, seeking only the Scriptures that match their preconceived notions. Making the Holy Scripture not something earth shattering, counter cultural and ideal challenging, but into a book that simply justifies their own actions and desires. Both sides tend to throw out the parts of the Bible that might challenge their own beliefs. They use their own narrow lens of faith to shame other Christians around them. Black and white, sheeps and goats, determined by human eyes.
I can easily see why people get fed up with churches and walk away from the institution we call church. So much blaming and name calling, so much human judgement that can lead to hate not love.
If all Christians could focus a little more on loving God and loving their neighbor in word AND deed, we might see more people interested in the faith instead of turning away from it.
This Scripture reminds us that it is not us who will do the judging. It is God and these words from Matthew seem to put it all so simply, with very little wiggle room, very little gray. Yet too often this Scripture is skip over and the tenants behind them neither lived out in word OR deed while people focus on their own measuring stick of ‘good Christianity’.
The author puts it very clearly. Those who
Fed the hungry,
Give drink to the thirsty,
Shelter the homeless,
Clothes those who are cold,
Visit the sick,
And care for those who are imprisoned (and I would dear say that imprisonment reaches beyond literal prisons in this text. A prison could be the prison of mental illness, gender identity struggles, addiction and many other prisons that people find themselves in).
Those who do these things will receive the reward of heaven.
I for one, am glad that it is God who gets to decide the sheep from the goats, and not humans. What a great world it would be if all Christians would all be called back to these tenants, focus our efforts enacting these principles without judgement. Think what a glimpse of heaven we would see on this earth if we, as Christians, would care for the hungry, thirsty, homeless, cold, sick and imprisoned. What would it look like if we treated the least of these among us as if they were Jesus himself! What a world of kindness and love we would see. Division would melt away as we began to care for those around who were in need without worry of their ‘worthiness’. If we could see everyone for the wonderful child of God that they are, and extend a hand of comfort and support to others when they need it. If we could set our own comforts aside to make sure the least of those among us were cared for. Oh, what a world that would be.
This holiday season when the world seems darker than ever, when people are struggling emotionally, financially, spiritually, what a great time to reach out with compassion and care to the least of those among us; to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, provide heat to the cold and comfort to the sick. Let us shine bright in the darkness around us and give comfort to those near us!
Think of a time that you helped the ‘least among you’. What was that time like?
What did you do to help?
How did helping make you feel?
What do you think the effect or outcome was for the person you helped?
Did you see the face of God in the person you helped?
Do you think they saw the face of God in you?
Have you ever past by someone in need without helping?
What was that time like?
What made you not help them?
How did that make you feel?
What do you think the outcome for the person in need was?
What holds us back from helping others most often?
Activity
Thinking of ways we can help?
Answer these statements…
I can help feed the hungry by_____________
I can help those without water to drink by__________________
I can help the homeless or those without shelter by_________________
I can help those who have less means than me by_________________
I can visit_________who is sick or in need of a visit
I can support _________________who is imprisoned by____________
Now, go be a sheep and help the least among us and in so doing you, you do so to God!
Let us pray…
Holy God,
we have been given much by your mighty hand.
Help us now to give back to those around us.
Help us to see those who have been overlooked and ignored in our society
and help us to reach out and care for them.
Help us to see in the faces around us, your face.
Help us to love those around us, with your love.
Help us to be the light in the darkness that you call us to be.
As we count our blessings and give thanks this week,
Help us to see how we can be a blessing to others.
Help us to reach out, to feed the hungry, to give shelter to those in need, to comfort the sick, not matter their illness and help those who are imprisoned, whatever their bars may be.
You love us with unfathomable love.
Helps us to reflect that love to all those around us.
Give us courage.
Give us strength.
Give us hope.
Amen
Going out.
Go out to love the Lord
and in all that you do, may the Lord our God guide you and uphold you
Let all God’s people say: AMEN
