Matthew 25

    The end of chapter 24 and the beginning of chapter 25 are about watching and waiting, being ready.  Ready for… Jesus’ return, or perhaps for our trips to heaven, OR perhaps our being ready to live in the Kin-dom of Heaven, being ready to take a part in, to help bring, to help facilitate the realm of heaven right here where we are, NOW.

     In 25: 31-46, Jesus reminds us that how we treat others, our brothers and sisters in humanity, is how we treat HIM.  He tells us that he expects us to treat everyone, whether we think they are worthy or not, as we would treat HIM.  Welcome the stranger, feed the hungry, clothe the poor, care for the sick and more.

     I don’t think he just means personally though.  I’m pretty sure that it is also a collective task, one we do, not ONLY as individuals, but as a community, small and large, as groups — civic and faith, as towns, cities, states, regions, nations, and yes, as the world as a whole.  The collective can do so much more than one person.  It does start on an individual level but when we come together that individual impact is so much greater.

     And this is how we are to wait, how we are to be ready.  

     We are in the midst of Advent right now.  Advent means arrival or coming.  During this season, we are expectantly waiting for the Christ.  When I was preaching during advent, I always talked about actively waiting.  This is that.  We aren’t called to sit and wait, we are called to act, to move, to do as we wait.

      It’s in the waiting, in the actively waiting, that we find and come to the Kin-dom or realm of heaven or when it comes to us.  It’s in the doing for others, in the lifting up of those in need. It’s in the love we share, freely given that we come to live in the realm of God, the Kin-dom of heaven, right here, right now.  It’s not some far off place in the sky that we hope to go to when we die, it’s right here, right now.  It’s here in the waiting, it’s here in the doing, in the giving, in the receiving, in the sharing.  As we open our hands to give, we need to also open our eyes to see the realm of God, the realm of heaven in each person we come into contact with, open our eyes to Jesus standing before us.  He is each person we meet, each person we help and each person we don’t help.  

     Closing our eyes to the pain, the need, the suffering, the injustices, the cruelty, the hate only moves us further from the realm of God, further from Jesus.  It’s not just what we do as individuals, it’s what we do collectively too.  It’s in our actions, our words, our thoughts, our votes.   It’s in who we choose to follow and how we choose to lead.  Once again, we need to let love guide us, let love lead the way.

     May we actively wait this advent — loving, serving, helping — eyes wide open, hands open to give as we work as individuals and collectively to bring, to see, to experience, to share the Kin-dom of God right here, right now.

Until next time…♥️