Saturday March 22nd 2014

Saturday, March 22 — Psalm 38:1-8, Exodus 28:15-43; Matthew 25:31-46

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S (SCRIPTURE): Matthew 25:40
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!

O (OBSERVATION): Jesus' solidarity with humanity is marked by the least of these.  Again we see Jesus' power made perfect in weakness.

A (APPLICATION): I have a friend of mine who validates the authority of Scripture and the words of Jesus by saying "I think Jesus meant it when he said....."

I love this simple use of authority.  Otherwise it is too simple a thing to dismiss the things in scripture and words out of Jesus' own mouth that we do not like.  The recent defamation and depiction of people in need, from food stamps, to health care, to type casting as lazy, to however else the sinfulness of our own thoughts have been cast on others, Jesus denounces in this one verse.  Do we really want to say that Jesus meant what he said when he said "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!"

If so then we have much to be judged upon. And that is the law part of this scripture. The gospel though encourages us to see the face of Jesus in all people.  Or as Luther encouraged his people, we are to be 'little christs' to one another.  That would certainly change the public tone when it comes to our responsibility of visiting the prisoners, feeding the hungry, healing the sick.

That is, of course, if we think Jesus meant it when he said.....‘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!

P (PRAYER): Lord, help us to see you in all people, recognizing your solidarity with us.