Devotion • July 17
Today's Scripture
Matthew 25:1–46
“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. 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, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 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; 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, 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.’ 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? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 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.’ 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; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 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.’ 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?’ 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.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (NRSV)
Reflection
Seeing Christ in others creates life, vitality, and well-being. Failing to see Christ in others creates suffering. That’s one way to describe the arc of this scripture portion.
We could get consumed by questions about the consequences of failing to see Christ in others. “Is this literal? What kind of God would punish humans eternally?” (Not the God I worship, but that’s another story). This focus on the negative consequences shifts the focus to fear for ourselves, the readers, and the disciples and takes the focus off the people Jesus is pointing to in this scripture. It misses the gem of possibility offered in this teaching.
See them, Jesus tells us. Notice them: the hungry, the thirsty, the sick, those without clothing, those without freedom, those we don’t know — the “strangers.” See me in them. If you love me, look at them and love them too.
How would our lives change if we really did this? Jesus wants so vehemently for his disciples to change their perspective on these groups of people that he gives both positive and negative reinforcement of his message. Do this! Don’t not do it!
See. Care. Serve. Help. The more we do these things, the more we honor Jesus.
Prayer
God of possibility and healing, help me to see you! Let my love for you grow so much that it overflows my heart and becomes a healing balm in the lives of others. Amen.
Written by Nanette Sawyer, Associate Pastor for Discipleship and Small Group Ministry
Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church
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