Table Talk Newsletter

Pastor’s Letter

Grace and peace to you in the name of Christ Jesus. I recently traveled to the Highlands of Guatemala for some mission work Lynn and I started 20 years ago. While on my journey I spent some time reading and reflecting on Matthew 25, more specifically verses 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 text goes way beyond commentary on animal husbandry - Matthew 25 speaks to our response to our call to discipleship. This passage speaks to how we respond to Gods love for us. It is expressed in terms of ethics, economics, and politics as well as individual generosity. God’s care embraces all things, but God has special concern for persons experiencing hunger, thirst, captivity, illness, poverty, and alienation.

The implication is that we are not to make distinctions between fellow citizen and stranger, Christian and non-Christian, past and present lifestyle, health or illness, or national boundaries. God cares for the “least of these” and calls us to do likewise.

Much attention has been given in the history of interpretation to the identity of the lowliest, “the least of these.” Are they a part of the community of believers or are they outsiders? Do they belong or not? Yet, the parable doesn't seem to be concerned about their identity other than to identify their suffering (hungry, naked, sick, imprisoned, etc.).

The parable is far more focused on living a life of mercy. The criterion of judgment is not one's confession but the mercy we have lived. The parable is far more concerned about how believers have lived out their baptismal vocation and let their light shine before others so that all may give glory to God.

There were lots of cults, religious groups, in antiquity. . . Those who worshipped Baal – “Taking care of our own.” Those worshipping Baal were concerned about the poor, the widow the orphan. Ah, but when times got tough, when the chips were down, they became discriminatory, saying “oh you aren’t one of us and we are going to show only limited mercy to you, if at all.” Not so with the Christians in antiquity, they were called to show mercy to Jew and Gentile, male and female, rich and poor.

Jesus in this text has bypassed, skipped over, talking about those who are responsible for putting people in those conditions. Perhaps he races by the obvious - it is a no-brainer that we should resist and avoid subjecting people to these circumstances. Subjecting people, our brothers and sisters nationally and internationally, to conditions of suffering is not only inappropriate but is also evil and sinful.

As we read in Matthew, Jesus is talking about a response, our response; it is all about the response, the response of nations and people of those nations, their response to the least of these. The text is very clear regarding the response to those who are hungry, thirsty, estranged, naked, sick, and imprisoned.

At a national level, God calls every nation to respond to the poor! Smart bombs, laser-guided missiles, and the military might of a nation means nothing to God. The economic strength of a nation is given to it by God only to enable it to respond to its people’s poverty and the poverty of the world. God doesn’t bless the nation whose politicians who talk about God or their religious faith the most, or whose politicians hold up Bibles for a photo-op. The only real question put to every nation is “What have you done with your poor and the poor of the world?”

The only sign of a nation’s faithfulness and obedience to God is how they have organized their life together to address the needs of those who are hungry, thirsty, lonely, naked, sick, in prison. The true spirituality of a nation is revealed, not by how much their leaders declare “Lord, Lord”, but what the disparity of that nation is between their richest citizens and their poorest peoples.

And what is true of nations is true of any group within that nation – whether Christian or not. Every unit of government, every city and village, every business and industry, every club, school or religious institution and – ultimately – every individual is called to respond. What have you done with “the least of these, your brothers and sisters”? That is the great judgment God brings upon all nations of the earth.

On a more individual level, regarding the least of these, we are to feed the hungry, provide drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, take care of the sick, visit those in prison. This is fairly straightforward - To show mercy and compassion to those society has overlooked and cast out.

If we somehow missed it in other parts of the gospel – if we somehow do not make the connection between Jesus as a model by which to live and our own lives, Jesus spells it out here! Jesus says that if you want to be my disciples, here is how you go about showing mercy. In this parable, Jesus does not seem to care about confession, and he never asks either group what they think about him; salvation belongs not automatically to those who have faith, but rather to those who practice their faith.

We need to read this text as a part of the whole gospel. This is not about works – our salvation is not somehow based on our good works. God does not see the story of our lives as we see the story of our lives. God sees as God sees.

This becomes our saving grace. We are saved, of course, by grace. Grounded in our belief in Jesus, what we hold to be true – that Christ came to us, lived among us, was crucified, died, and rose from death and ascended. In putting our faith in action, in responding to God’s love we are transformed . . . by God’s grace . . . we grow in deeper relationship with the Almighty and when we show mercy to our neighbor . . . we grow in relationship to our neighbor and the greater creation.

This is God’s plan for our lives, to love and be loved. Not through some reward system. No, no, no, it is our response to an already loving God . . . it is our response to a world in need.

Brothers and sisters, may loving God continue to strengthen you as you reach out and care for the least of these and in doing so grow in relationship to God and neighbor.

Salam, Shalom, Peace,

Pastor Raymond Waespi