Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Matthew 25:31-46
Today is the last Sunday of the Church year and we begin Advent in earnest next Sunday. It is a place of looking back and looking ahead as we stand on the verge, on the edge, in the waiting room. We hear and reflect together on Christ's reign and what God's kingdom truly looks like. We are told it is a place of the care and feeding of the "least of theses", the naked, the homeless, the hungry, the stranger, the sick and the lonely. In former centuries, we, as a church, saw my ancestors as some of these and took children away from parents and sent them to boarding school. Many never returned home. The church thought they were living out the kingdom of God. And yet, they were not seeing with God's eyes or feeling with the Creator's heart. As we stand on the verge, may we see and feel, not as conquerors, colonists, or xenophobes, but with the whole heart, eyes and minds of out loving Savior/
Christ the King Sunday Litany
Loving Creator, you draped you creation
with diverse beauty and flowing waters
you spread a blanket of stars in the heavens
and fields of golden glory across the earth.
Oh Lord Jesus Christ, may your kingdom come on earth today.
We have not been thankful for your gifts
we have scorned those who are different
although you put them next door to us
we look upon our neighbors with scorn.
Oh Lord Jesus Christ, may your kingdom come on earth today.
Give us eyes to see the beauty around us
give us hearts to feel the need among us
make us ever ready to respond and care
as you care so lovingly for each of us.
Oh Lord Jesus Christ, may your kingdom come on earth today.
The world grows cold with fear and anger
help us to warm the hearts and lives here.
Oh Lord Jesus Christ, may your kingdom come on earth today.
We forget you call to serve the least of these
help us to remember and love with your heart.
Oh Lord Jesus Christ, may your kingdom come on earth today.
For you re the king of love and all life
help us to live as your loving subjects here.
Oh Lord Jesus Christ, may your kingdom come on earth today. Amen.
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