READ | SERMON NOTES
Summary l God’s heart is for the marginalised, vulnerable and powerless (MVP). As Christians and as the church we are God’s hands and feet for God’s love and redemption.
The passage describes a Judgment Day scene where nations are separated like sheep and goats. Goats can be people in church (including worship and church leaders) who call on the name of Jesus and have done many deeds in Jesus’s name yet are rejected by Jesus because they do not bear fruit in keeping with repentance (Mt 3:8). To do justice, Jesus is not saying there is a checklist of deeds we must do but that we must change our outlook on:
1) MVP
In the narrative, these are people who need assistance to be clothed, cared for and visited. To the world, they are the last and the least, often considered a burden to society, undeserving people because they are not contributing but wasting precious resources. To Jesus, they are members of his family (Mt 25:40), created in God’s image with a purpose and are precious in his sight. They are to be treated with dignity and not ostracised, exploited or abused (Jas 3:9,10).
2) Service and Ministry
There is no higher or lower calling in ministry. Missionaries, teachers, prophets and evangelists are not superior to those in hospitality, befriender and counselling ministry. Jesus identifies himself with the MVP and counts whatever we do to them as being done to him (Mt 25:40). To Jesus, caring is personal and no less important than saving of souls. Tim Keller in his book Generous Justice, outlines three levels of help in caring:
a) relief – immediate direct aid in financial or material sense
b) development- try to move MVP beyond their level of dependency e.g., provide tuition, scholarship, skills training
c) social reform- changing conditions they are in, e.g., social structures that exploit or oppress them, changing laws, culture and environment and advocating their rights.
3) The Scope of Help
In this narrative, they are simple acts of kindness that people could have done but failed to do so e.g., giving a cup of cold water to the thirsty (Matthew 10). It is not about how big a task or how much talent is needed but simple acts of kindness like sending an email, making a phone call, sending a card or crossing the road. One can also join our church’s social concerns, outreach, mission or prayer ministries.
It is about one act of kindness after another for people we can reach.
4) My Obligation
In the story of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10), Jesus redefines our neighbour as someone who needs our help. The lawyer in Lk 10 articulates the right theology about loving God with our all and loving our neighbour as ourselves (Lk 10:27) but confined his neighbour to his own race, group and maybe profession. He could not even bring himself to acknowledge the Samaritan as the neighbour. Like the lawyer, goats are people who set limits and boundaries on who their neighbour is. Are we too busy or distracted to help? Do we take the attitude that it is not our problem, not our obligation, give excuses or presume that someone else will come later to help? To quote Mother Teresa: “to seek God with our whole heart, we need to see Jesus in the distressing disguise of the poor.”
This glimpse of Judgment Day is God’s grace for us to correct our outlook and action.
May the Holy Spirit fill us and help us to love as God loves and do what God wants us to do, that we will not conform to the world’s pattern of segregating people according to their status but to have the heart of Jesus for the MVP. As the Father sent Jesus, Jesus sends us (John 20:21).
(Sermon notes by Woo Choi Yin)
PONDER | REFLECTION QUESTIONS
- Study Scripture
a) Read Mt.25:31-46 & Lk.10:25-37
b) Give modern-day excuses & reasons for not reaching out to persons in need of our help. - Recall Sermon
a) Which of the 4 points that we need to change in our outlook resonates with you? Why? - Relate Personally
a) With respect to the MVP, which negative worldly trait (eg. racism, cultural difference, social stigma, handicap) am I most susceptible to adopt in rejecting/avoiding their contact? - Commit to Action
a) “As the Father has sent Me, so send I you…” How can I serve the MVP with my gifts/resources?
b) Who is a person needing my help today?
