Welcome to the final week of our series, Just Love! It has been eight rich weeks of learning about God's heart for justice. If you have not read the previous posts in this series, we encourage you to check them out as well!
Throughout this series, we have taken a journey toward understanding what a Biblical vision of justice looks like. We have established that restorative justice, which is the Biblical ideal, seeks not just to repay wrongdoing but that God wants to create more just societies that uplift the marginalized and prioritize their needs. Justice is a Biblical mandate; it is not optional, but rather essential, for the Christian.
Additionally, we have looked at each member of the "quartet of the vulnerable," as many Biblical scholars call it: the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, and today, the poor. What we will see, as we examine a famous passage in Matthew, is that Jesus' heart is clearly with the poor and vulnerable, and that Jesus' followers are clearly meant to show sacrificial love toward the poor.
Matthew 25:31-46
31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne.
32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world.
35 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.
36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink?
38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing?
39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.
42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink.
43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’
45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’
46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”
Before we jump into this interpretation, let’s talk a little about the context of this passage. This is the last parable in a series of Jesus’ teachings related to the final judgment. It is also the culmination of Jesus’ entire body of teachings in the book of Matthew, as it is the final parable before the Last Supper and before Jesus is handed off to be crucified. Throughout the book of Matthew, Jesus repeatedly teaches about the Kingdom of Heaven and, in particular, describes how his followers are to live in response to the coming Kingdom.
Now, in our Heaven and Earth series earlier in the year, we talked about the idea that rather than escaping to Heaven when we die, the Bible teaches us that at the end of the age, the Earth will be redeemed. God, as we often say, is working to redeem and restore all of creation back to Him. Jesus taught that instead of thinking we only need to worry about ourselves, we, as the followers of Jesus, should be working to make Earth look more like Heaven.
The trouble, of course, is that not everyone is on the same page. Something interesting about this text is that the goats know Jesus and seem to believe that they lived righteously. ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’
Of course, they would have helped Jesus, if they had seen Him. They just couldn’t see Him because they did not notice the need around them.
How often are we guilty of the same thing? Of course I would help Jesus, if Jesus were in front of me and needed my help. But would I help them?
An unhoused person?
A lonely elderly person?
Someone who has no job?
A refugee?
Someone experiencing neglect?
Youth in crisis?
Foster kids?
People who are excluded from the social circles I inhabit?
People who experience racism?
Those who lack healthcare?
People with disabilities?
The poor?
I would help Jesus, but would I help them?
In our culture, our tendency is to move toward what is convenient and what is best for us and avoid things that might cause us discomfort.
But Jesus moved toward the vulnerable, the poor, the unclean, the marginalized, so much so that He identifies Himself with them in this parable:
“What you did for the least of these, you did for me.”
So, how do we see the vulnerable around us, and seek justice for them?
There is a principle among theologians that we call the “Preferential Option for the Poor.” According to Rev. Dr. Deirdre Brower Latz from Nazarene Theological College in Manchester, it takes notice, as we have throughout this series, that in the narrative of the Scriptures, God cares particularly for the poor and vulnerable in society. It emphasizes that God has a special concern for those on the margins of society—the oppressed, widows, orphans, and the disempowered and vulnerable in society.
This does not mean God ignores the wealthy or middle class, but it does mean that the Church must prioritize the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable. And part of this call to prioritize the needs of the poor and vulnerable is in our daily lives. But it also goes beyond acts of charity, like food banks or clothing centers.
This principle of the “Preferential Option for the Poor” also calls for the church to, whenever possible, fight against the systems that cause these needs in favor of a more just society.
To ask the question, why are there hungry people in our community and society? Why are people naked? Why are they without homes? And to try to work to fix those issues as well.
This may feel intimidating, and for good reason! There is no way that one of us could do it alone. But there is a reason we are the body of Christ. And as Mother Theresa of Calcutta put it:
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can all do small things with great love.”
We might have the chance once or twice or more times to participate in making systemic changes in favor of the vulnerable. When that happens, we should do so.
But in our day-to-day lives, we can listen to the Spirit. We can bake some muffins even when it feels insignificant or too small of a thing, we can bring dinner to someone who needs it. We can give a ride to someone who would otherwise walk an hour to get home from work. We can do small things with great love.
And if we pay attention, we can discern and perceive the Holy Spirit compelling us to do so.
Original sermon by Pastor Alexander Freytes
Blog post adapted by Allison Freytes
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