Posts Tagged ‘Matthew 25:31–46’
Befriended by the King – Br. Keith Nelson
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Ephesians 1:15-23 & Matthew 25:31-46
My first encounter with a true mountain range occurred at age sixteen. These mountains were the Austrian Alps, so it was quite the introduction. The summer moon was full, and their peaks were crowned with gleaming snow. Tears of pure wonder streamed down my face. God’s power was written in such large figures and I was so small, but in that smallness I felt significant. I fell to my knees.
My presence in that Austrian valley on that summer night was a wonder in itself. Months before, my high school chamber choir director had announced plans for the choir to go on tour to Austria, Germany, and the Czech Republic. The price of the trip was unaffordable for me; paying my school tuition already entailed sacrifice for my parents. I took this news in stride, though as the school year progressed, it became clear that I was the only student in the thirty-member choir who would not be going, and my sense of belonging felt fragile. One morning, a telegram (of all things!) arrived at our front door with a cryptic, unsigned message. Someone wanted to pay my way, on the condition that they remain anonymous. The courier awaited my reply. I accepted humbly and gratefully… but the identity of this benevolent stranger continued to puzzle me for weeks. I suspected anyone and everyone. Everything took on the quality of a gift: a gift I did not earn and no longer took for granted. I had been honored by the generosity of a king in disguise. Read More
The King Whom We Serve – Br. James Koester
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Feast of Christ the King: Proper 29A
Ezekiel 34: 11 – 16, 20 – 24
Psalm 100
Ephesians 1: 15 – 23
Matthew 25: 31 – 46
We all know that a shift has taken place in the world, and we see it most clearly in last year’s election in this country and the BREXIT referendum in the UK. The shift appears to be away from a global, universal outlook to a more individual, nationalist one. Me First appears to be the watchword, and that has become true about nations as well as individuals. We see this in foreign as well as domestic policy, ranging from trade, to immigration, to security, to health, to education, to gun laws, to the environment, to civil and human rights. We see this as society becomes more stratified and neighbourhoods and communities more uniform. We are losing, or perhaps have lost, our concern for the other and appear to live in a culture that says that I can do whatever I want, and the other person, or neighbourhood, or nation, simply doesn’t matter. Some political commentators see evidence of this, not just at one end of the political spectrum, but at both ends. And some argue that this isn’t a recent phenomenon, but has its roots back several decades.
But this Me First attitude is in stark contrast to the kind of life we are trying to live as Christians, and as a Christian community. It is such a stark contrast, that I have spent some time pondering what it is that sets us apart from the world, and shapes our life as Christians in a fundamentally different way, so much so, that not only are we set apart from the world, sooner or later our values as Christians will set us in conflict with a world where a Me First attitude is king. And that, I think, is the key for us, at least for today: who or what is king over our lives? Who or what rules supreme in our lives? To whom or to what do we owe our ultimate allegiance? Read More
God’s Preference for the Poor – Br. David Vryhof
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Matthew 25:31-46
I have to confess that I haven’t always felt that this familiar gospel story of Jesus separating the sheep from the goats was necessarily ‘good news.’ As a boy I was reasonably sure I’d be numbered among the sheep – (I did go to church regularly and did my best to be good) – but there was always a bit of uncertainty in my mind about whether I’d done enough to actually get in. Plus, I hadn’t actually given clothes to someone who was naked – (I think I would have remembered that!) – or gone to visit anyone in prison. It was a bit worrisome.
I don’t think I’m alone on this. Our first reaction to this story might be “Yikes!” Not only does it feel a bit threatening, but it also seems to run contrary to much of our inherited theology about being saved by grace and not by works. So what should we make of this? Read More
From the Archive: I Was Hungry… – Br. David Vryhof
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
In this sermon, originally preached on July 5, 2009, Br. David Vryhof challenges our traditional views of what the judgment of God entails, finding in this concept far more proof of salvation than damnation.
Matthew 25:31-46
You may have noticed that my brothers have allowed me to choose a different gospel lesson from the one designated for this day. I chose this passage from Matthew because I want to talk about judgment. Now before you say, “Oh-oh, what are we in for now,” I want to assure you that I rarely deliver ‘fire and brimstone’ sermons and that, in spite of my background as a Calvinist, I am not likely to preach a sermon entitled “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”i Judgment is not a favorite theme of mine.
I suppose that if I were to write my own gospel, “The Gospel According to David,” I might be tempted to delete from my scriptures words like these about God’s forthcoming judgment. I might be tempted to take a passage like the one we’ve read and simply cut out all the language of judgment. Read More
I Was Hungry… – Br. David Vryhof
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Matthew 25:31-46
You may have noticed that my brothers have allowed me to choose a different gospel lesson from the one designated for this day. I chose this passage from Matthew because I want to talk about judgment. Now before you say, “Oh-oh, what are we in for now,” I want to assure you that I rarely deliver ‘fire and brimstone’ sermons and that, in spite of my background as a Calvinist, I am not likely to preach a sermon entitled “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”i Judgment is not a favorite theme of mine.