Living between the times

Matthew 25:31-46

31 ‘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. 32 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, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 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; 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 welcomed me, 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 was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” 40 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.” 41 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; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 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.” 44 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?” 45 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.” 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’

This parable is frequently quoted and referenced. It is worth noticing that it unpacks what following Jesus looks like in the time while his return is delayed (Matt 24:48). That in the time between Jesus’ ascension to heaven and his return, the Christian community (the church) is to be a group of people who respond to the needs of the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the imprisoned.

There are two shocks in the story – the first is in vs. 37-39, where those who have helped people in need are surprised that Jesus says that in helping the poor and the hurting they were helping Jesus. The care for the neighbour was so much part of their lives that it did not feel like they were doing anything special or worthy of special notice. So, they are surprised that Jesus notices and highlights their actions.

The second shock is when those who have not helped people in need are condemned for not having helped Jesus. They say, “We didn’t know it was you. If we had known it was you, then certainly we would have helped.” Which is a statement of “We only help people who are important enough to be worthy of our help.” At core this parable takes us back to the conversation about the lost sheep little ones (Matt. 18:10-14) – the call to not despise – to not overlook – to not look down on someone as not being worth helping.     

In Jesus’ upside-down world, he is to be found among the poor and hungry, and to help the needy is to show love for Jesus. It is this business that the followers are called to in the time as they wait for Jesus to return.

PRAYER:

O Lord, we want to hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” show us the path of serving the needy and the lowly that those words might be said of us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.