Matthew 25:31-46 - A Little Service Please!

This is the first of a series of sermons on serving God, so this is the "set-up" sermon.

MAIN IDEA – This scripture is one of the most difficult ones for me to read and take seriously. It pushes a kind of “works” righteousness that many would like to avoid, and yet the works that it pushes are those which I do not want to avoid. When I read this passage I wonder if I am true to my Christianity. It is easy for me to offer prayers, to praise God, and to avoid hurting others, but this passage is suggesting that this is not enough.

Yet how much is enough? The needs of the hurting and the suffering are so great, that I can’t imagine that I could ever stop caring for and helping others, and I run the risk of burning out. I want to help, I want to serve God, but I get tired, I find that I yearn rest, and look for moments of peace to myself.

Perhaps what worries me most about this passage is that it gives me a sense of guilt and anxiety. I read this passage and I realize that there is work to do. I read this passage and I wonder how I can do enough. I read this passage and I realize in a very real way that my salvation hinges on the salvation of others. How can I read this passage and continue to sleep well in my faith?

God give me the restlessness to continue to look for you amongst the least of your children. Never let me cease from serving you through serving others. Yet give me the grace to rest, to relax, and to find moments of peace in all that I do. Let me serve you completely in work, rest, prayer, and play. Amen

THEOLOGICAL IDEA – This passage is about judgment. There is no other way to look at it. The passage suggests that there will be a moment, a time of judgment and our actions will be in question. When grace is so strongly emphasized, how can we understand this passage of works? Sanctification should come into play in this tension. We are growing in our faith, and that should effect our actions. If this is the case, then we need to continue to be deliberate in choosing the right thing to do, always relaying on grace.

The principle of subsidiarity is one that teaches that the plight of the least affects the plight of all. This is a much more communal way of looking at salvation – it moves from the individual to the community. If one suffers than all suffers. If one is hungry than all are hungry. This also pushes the idea of locality rather than a global or even a national effort. All decisions should take into consideration the least.