Generosity as Thanksgiving – Matthew 25:31-46

Lectionary Readings for Nov. 22, 2020        Reign of Christ / Thanksgiving Sunday
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24  v16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.
Psalm 100     v1-2 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy.
Ephesians 1:15-23 Paul’s Prayer for Spiritual Wisdom
Matthew 25:31-46 v35-36 Jesus: “For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.”

Peace Quotes

“Thanksgiving Day is a good day to recommit our energies to giving thanks and just giving.” ~ Amy Grant

“I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

Having peace in our hearts and minds comes more naturally when we strive to be thankful each and every day. People will notice when you focus on being thankful for what you have rather than being consumed by what you do not have. Your spirit of gratitude can be contagious and thus sow seeds of peace in those around you.

Any time I preach or lead a group, regardless of age, I start the same way. I’m going to say three short sentences. Please repeat each sentence, with enthusiasm.
God made me.           God loves me.            God has plans for me.

Preface to Today’s Scripture Reading

Today’s Scripture reading is the third and final story Jesus tells in Matt. 25 as He tries to explain what the Kingdom of God is like. Two weeks ago, the lesson was to be prepared for when God calls us into action. Last week, the lesson was to trust and not fear God while we work to make the most of our God-given talents in service to others. Each story has been challenging and this week is no different. The thread of social justice continues to weave its way through all three stories in this chapter.

Today’s reading one again temps us to imagine a God who is watching our every move and somewhat anxious to judge us as unworthy. As in the past two weeks, I urge you to reject that temptation and instead, ask the question, “How does this story help us understand and live into Jesus’ Great Commandments: Love God, love yourself, and love others?”

As you process this story, also appreciate the humanity of today’s author. Matthew was a devout Jew writing his story of hope and salvation experienced through a personal relationship with God, with Jesus. But after years of miraculous healings and countless words of profound wisdom, many of Matthew’s fellow Jews had not yet accepted Jesus as their savior. By now, Matthew has become disappointed and frustrated, and more than happy to separate the converts from the rejecters, the sheep from the goats. We can temper Jesus’ words in Matthew’s account with Jesus’ words in John’s account John 3:16-17: “Indeed, God did not send the Son [Jesus] into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” Today’s story tells us how we can share that love with others.

Let’s open our ears, minds, and hearts as we read today’s story.

Read Matthew 25:31-46.

This might not sound like a comforting message, but I believe it is. There’s a great deal about this passage that’s fascinating. And I believe there is some absolutely profound and wonderfully life-giving theology in this passage, namely, the idea that Jesus is present in every person we meet.

An obvious and disturbing detail appears to be God’s readiness to separate the righteous from the unrighteous. What exactly qualifies someone to be “righteous?” According to this story, the only answer is quite simple: Did you actively try to alleviate the suffering of your neighbor? Recall the lesson from the story of the Good Samaritan, everyone is your neighbor, no exceptions. Justice is only justice when it is shared freely with all and experienced equally by all.

You may have noticed in this story that both groups of people – the righteous and the unrighteous – had the same question: “Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison?” Neither group recognized the presence of God’s spirit in the weak, suffering, neglected people around them. Neither group saw these people as their spiritual neighbors.

What is glaringly absent from this story is any theological list of beliefs (i.e. doctrine) required for “salvation.” Jesus never says, “Do these things AND you must believe _________.” Jesus never says, “Once you’ve achieved a certain age or level of education, training, or resources, or been baptized, or behave… THEN you can start doing these things.” No.
Jesus says, “Here’s what needs to be done; get going.”

I also find it interesting that there are no target quotas. Jesus never says, “Once you’ve fed 5,000 meals, clothed 200 people, saved 100 lives, and visited your local prison 50 times, THEN you can stop.” No; there is no stopping.

According to today’s story, there are no prerequisites for taking action. And make no mistake, as followers of Jesus, Jesus leads us into lives of action and involvement. What that looks like for each person is as unique as our fingerprints.

As I’ve been thinking about this passage, I can’t help but reflect on our HOPE Food Pantry.
Last night I looked at our latest numbers – these numbers quantify the blood, sweat, tears, and love, so much love, that’s flowed through our food pantry. Remember, we had nothing but an idea in early April this year. Seven months later, our volunteers have invested over 3,100 hours while serving more than 1,300 clients representing over 4,400 hungry mouths at home.
In the process, we’ve helped connect our clients with additional local resources – both public and private – to address other aspects of their needs such as clothing, shelter, and heating.
n the process, we’ve begun developing relationships and trust with businesses and organizations around town. We anticipate these relationships will begin to help us identify and address deeper, systemic issues in our community.
So on behalf of Jesus, let me say, well done folks and the work is ongoing.

And therein lies the ongoing challenge for each of us and for our faith community: how are we helping people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities step into lives of service? What more can we do? People are coming to us on a regular basis saying, “I want to get involved; I want to help. What can I do?” That’s a great question and we need to have great answers and great opportunities for them.

As I was finishing writing this last night, I received a text message from a dear friend who… he and his wife are not “stereotypically churchy” people. But make no mistake, they both work every day to make the world a better place – each in their own unique ways. I’ve omitted the dollar amount from his text message because it doesn’t matter. If it’s $1 or $1 million, the amount is irrelevant, the perspective and intent is everything.

“Hey my friend let’s talk tomorrow. I need help giving $______ to others in need for Thanksgiving. We are so blessed. We have income, a house and our family is safe. We have friends like you and your family to help us get through this crazy time. Not sure how all of this fits into God’s plan, but, at this moment, we must help others with food insecurity. Cheers my friend.”

I’ll tell you exactly how this fits into God’s plan. Here’s God’s plan for humanity: Love God, love yourself, love other; now go. That’s it; that’s the plan! Whatever happens, that’s the plan.
Are you having a nice sunny day celebrating a personal victory with family? Same plan.
Are you having a horrible day when nothing goes right? Same plan.
Fire, earthquake, tornado, hurricane, Corona virus, elections…??? Same plan. Love God, love yourself, love other; now get working on that.

As you give thanks to God this week for your many blessings, I encourage you to ask God to give you wisdom, direction, opportunities, and the courage to combine all of those into action. If we continually ask God for that package of blessings, we will certainly make God’s loving presence known to ourselves and to the people around us.

Amen? Amen!