Sunday, June 21, 2009

Matthew 25: 31-46: Verses I Can't Get Out of My Head

The Final Judgment
31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the 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 foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'

37
Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' 40And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'

41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'

44Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' 45Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."



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2 comments:

  1. These verses haunt me also. Especially when I drive by a needy person w/out providing food. Amanda always gets upset and wants us to feed them but I never do. It's fear over anything. But, what am I teaching my kids? I need to do better.

    Heather

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  2. You know, I've never given anyone on the street anything substantial. You don't see people on the road in Europe like you do in America, but you do see actual beggers in public places. They sit and hold out their hands and wait for someone to give them money. I'll never forget the first time I saw one in Germany; it was so surreal. I think I gave him 50 euro cents- so pathetic. I've never trusted them. I guess I've always thought that they were cheating people somehow.

    I read recently about some kids in Portland who make up paper bags of snacks and basic supplies and have them ready to hand to the homeless where ever they meet them. I think they also include a tract and info for outreaches in the city. A cool idea. I think that's what I'd do if I lived in America.

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