Day 25, Matthew 25 - Day 2 of Lent!
Good day everyone! I am so fired up!
Do you realize in three days we will have completed the Gospel according to Matthew! Way to go!!! Whooo hoooo!
Today is the last chapter of the section called “Jesus ministry in Judea and Jerusalem”.
After today we enter the PASSION of Jesus! What great timing!
We will see in this final chapter of His ministry – two more powerful parables regarding being ready for Jesus’ return — and not ready without being prepared —and then the details of His final judgement!
I see here three lamps that light our way:
- Being Ready – Being Prepared
- Working While we Wait
- Judgement on Service
1- Being Ready – Being Prepared - I love this parable because it really hits home doesn’t it! It you have children — even if you have two — you usually could agree that there is a big difference in the child who is ready and always on time. That child is ready because they he/she is prepared!
Then we might have one who is never ready when it is time to go because they were not spending the time necessary to getting ready!
The answer I always get from the child who is not ready is… I forgot!
hmmmm sounds like these virgins…
They were supposed to have their lamps with oil — ok so the foolish forgot their oil — ok so it says the bridegroom was delayed —
so it’s not their fault right? It is never their fault?
And don’t you think the wise virgins should have shared? –
- I mean isn’t that the CHRISTIAN thing to do?
Sounds like the same excuses we hear for not being ready — not their fault!
Jesus is really showing us that we don’t know when it will be but we are all responsible for bringing our own oil!
And we have to be sure not to become drowsy and fall asleep!
Do you know anyone who is spiritually asleep right now? Tell them to snap out of it!
The Lord says at the end –
- “Therefore stay awake for you know neither the day nor the hour” 13
When the foolish virgins end up going to town to get oil and return — The bridegroom returns and it says,
“those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked!”
When the foolish virgins came and said Lord, Lord, open the door for us — He answers ,” I DO NOT KNOW YOU”
Can you imagine? I mean they were there right?
They had their lamps — they just forgot the one thing —
Well this is the point — we might think we are there — doing all the Actions — going to church — following the commandments — but we might be double minded — or we might not have repented in a while — is our soul really ready to meet Jesus?
We think we have so much time while we are still living and breathing but we have no idea what tomorrow will bring! (This was mentioned in one of your comments from yesterday!)
This is the urgency that is required — not to create fear — but to show how clear cut this is — you are either ready or not!
And Jesus is coming!
2- Working While We Wait — I shared a song yesterday called, “Find us Ready Lord” and it still applies today…
Find us ready Lord – not standing still — find us working and loving and doing you will! by Tom Booth
That really sums up this next parable which takes readiness to the next level == How will the Lord find you when He comes?
He has given you gifts and talents and Has a will for how you are to grow them in the kingdom.
I think one thing that really jumped out at me was that the Master was going to — after a long time –
– “settle accounts with them”
I mean we are going to be accountable to the Master!! Our Lord!
And more will be given on that great day when we enter into heaven if we have pleased the Master by doing something with what we had received in the first place…. our talents!
God has “entrusted his possesions” to us — we His servants!
To one who makes 5 talents out of 5 talents — The master says…
those sweet words we long to here some day…
“WELL DONE, MY GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT.”
Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilites!
and here are the EVEN SWEETER words we LONG TO HEAR….
COME, SHARE YOUR MASTER’S JOY!
Then here comes the servant — full of fear — thinking of God as demanding etc… bla bla bla — I mean no offense — but don’t you just read this and go — what were you thinking bud?
I mean – you are given someone else’s possesions – ONE TALENT -
-and you bury it?
Could you just see the servant handing back the talent — wiping the dirt off !
And what do you think the Master’s looking like right now?
Well I think we get the gist when He says…
the words we don’t ever want to hear…
“YOU wicked, lazy servant!
So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter?
Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return?
Not a bad question!! Don’t you think? I mean the Master’s got a good point!
After all He is a numbers guy!
And you read the rest… I mean he takes the one talent and gives it to the one who has more – and if that wasn’t bad enough…
then he has the “wicked servant” — now He calls him “useless servant”
thrown into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
NOW — if that doesn’t get you to shut the TV off — put down the BON BONS and get to finding out what the LORD WANTS YOU TO DO WITH YOUR TALENT -
– nothing will… and you had better get some good quality fake teeth because you are going to be grinding some teeth for all eternity!!!
And you know we sit here and can read this and say WOE to the poor sinner who doesn’t know God — but I say that here He isn’t taking only about someone who doesn’t know HIM —
HE SAYS,” HIS SERVANT” —- those He entrusted His possesions to –
and so the scripture goes -
- James 2:14 “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?”
It does not seem like it is looking too good for this servant so I would have to say… no to James! Dead faith cannot save man -
- only living faith enflamed by charity expressed in and through works!
We as the Master’s servants have been given gifts — everything is God’s even if we don’t realize it — even our money –
- when we call HIM LORD — HE IS LORD OF our LIVES — what does that mean?
Lord of our bodies, Lord of our hearts, Lord of our minds, Lord of our money!!!
WE are servants and stewards!
So we really need to read this over and get it into our hearts and minds that we are all called to work for the kingdome even if it takes the Master a long time to come and get us!!
We cannot grow weary — as if… He was never coming back — or as if we weren’t going to be going to meet HIM!
Which words do you want to hear from God because there are only two ways that meeting will go!
The judgement is coming one way or another — the time will come!
Find us ready LORD!
3-Judgement of Service – OK now the Lord Jesus is speaking clearly in detail with no parables — can you believe this! YOU BETTER!
Listen up — so Jesus tells them here is the final judgement — all the nations assembled to hear how they will be judged –
And we are thinking at this point… Will I be judged on all I aquired — the things that showed how successful I was? Or was it my grades — you know straight As — and a magna cum something — a Master’s in Theology or PHD? I mean hopefully He isn’t going to look at SAT scores –
No he does not… first he says He is going to separate us… like the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats…
Nice — He is going to put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left –
–and so you want to be a sheep — all that college education and we are still going to be sheep!!!
But we want this because look what He says to the sheep… on the right side…
“COME, you who are blessed by my Father, Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. “
Are you kidding me? From the foundation of the world God has prepared for us the kingdom that we as His children inherit?
This is crazy! The Owner of the Universe — our DAD — our ABBA — has all this ready for us !!!! This is nuts!
OK why?
Because when He was hungry.. you gave Him food,
when He was thirsty you gave Him a drink,
a stranger and you welcomed Him,
naked and you clothed Him,
ill and you cared for Him…
in prison and you visited Him
and the righteous one having no clue — says…
when did I do all these things — I paraphrase…
and the KING will say to them…
“AMEN I SAY TO YOU ( better listen)
WHATEVER YOU DID for the least of my brothers =
- YOU DID FOR ME!!!
Let that sink in for a minute — it really should bring tears to our eyes if we really get this in our spirits!
Who are the least?? Could it be the innocent — the defenseless? Could it be the outcasts of society — the poor – the homeless — the sick — the handicapped?
YOU can make a list that means something to you here —
but He is saying if you did it for the least…
YOU DID IT FOR ME!
This is where we want to be — right here!
Now on the left — he will say the total opposite —
“DEPART FROM ME” OH sweet Jesus — can you imagine HIM saying those words to you? We would die — well pretty close –
He continues –
- “Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
OK so here we have it — these are the words describing eternal damnation –
the damned are in the fire but they are not being transformed —
it is a horrible place — for all eternity…
why… because when He was hungry you gave Him no food, no drink, no welcome, no clothing, ill and in prison and you didn’t care for Him –
when you didn’t do it for the least… you didn’t do it for him…
How could anyone read this and say that “”faith alone” with no works is the way to the kingdom? There are some that teach “believe Jesus is your Lord and saviour “and that is enough to get into heaven!
WE must get in touch with these verses — faith without works is dead — James said this… and we know it to be true —
Jesus is making this so clear that serving our fellow brother or sister in Christ – because Jesus lives inside of them – is serving Christ!
In the end He will say these on the left will go off to eternal punishment!
But the righteous to eternal life!
Jesus is giving us the choice — we have a choice — a place has been prepared for us!
Which will you choose — you see what we are called to do!
SERVICE — the Son of Man came TO SERVE – not to be SERVED!
Our old parish priest Fr. Kennedy — he was all about service… I wonder if he it tallying up his points for heaven???
HE is too humble for that!!!
But if I have my numbers right… I mean in all the time I’ve known him a few years how… his little time he gets for vacation he goes on mission trips —
always serving — always surveying the needs of the people — then adusting His life around their needs — quite a thing…
This doesn’t mean that we are all called to run off to a third world country and feed the poor physically — and leave your family — no –
within your vocation that you are called to — where can you serve – where can you love?
– anyone have a sick family member at home? We don’t have to look too far to find people in need!
WHY WERE WE BORN? Why do we exist? Why did God create us?
TO KNOW HIM, TO LOVE HIM, TO SERVE HIM in this LIFE
And to be HAPPY with HIM Forever in HEAVEN or in the next.
this is Baltimore Catechism !
This says it all — We will be judged based on our service!
what do you think?
