The Sheep and the Goats

Scripture:

Matthew 25:31-46

Quick Summary:

Jesus separates people into two groups like a farmer separates sheep and goats. He welcomes into heaven those who: fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, invited in strangers, clothed the needy, visited the sick and imprisoned.

The Point:

Jesus says when we help others, it is as if we were helping Jesus himself.

Questions for Family Time:

1.Tell me the story you heard today.

        a. (see above)

2.  Who does Jesus call sheep?

        a. the people who help others.  

3.How did you help others like Jesus said to?

        a. We fed the hungry, (and visited) the elderly    

4. How does our church do these things?

a. Feed the hungry and  give drink to the thirsty - help at the food pantry, Feed my Sheep

       c. invite the stranger- welcome people into our church; Heart House shelters the homeless, YES home provides housing for teens

       d. clothe the needy- help at the food pantry, make blankets for babies

       e. visit the sick and imprisoned- visit those in the hospital; Bible Study at the jail

4. How can you help others?

     a. Come up with some creative ways you can do each one of these: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, invite in strangers, clothe the needy, visit the sick and imprisoned.

Deeper:

          This is one of those stories Jesus tells that is pretty foundational for how we understand who we are and what our responsibilities are as followers of Jesus. This passage says that if we are to call ourselves Christians, our lives are to be filled with acts of compassion. Jesus’ disciples are to treat every person they meet as if that person was Jesus himself.  We are to help those in need, whatever that need is.

  

I think Jesus was intentional to make a list of needs that we can easily look past. It is easy to avoid people struggling with these needs. It is easy to say that it is someone else’s responsibility. But Jesus says his followers go out seeking these people, stuck in their home because of their health, or even tucked away in jail out of the view of the community. He tells us to find ignored people, people struggling with the daily necessities of life, and to help them. He tells us that we are to be proactive with our compassion.

          Jesus is such a strange king because rather than bowing at his feet, or demanding our praise, he instead says he is The Poor. The God of the Universe says he is the person who can’t afford their next meal. He is the child who walks miles each morning to find clean drinking water. He is the kid who grows too fast for his parents’ income to manage. He is the refugee running for their lives with only what they can carry. He is the sick patient. He is the inmate. How we treat the poor is how we treat Jesus. If we choose to demonize them and blame them for their struggles, we do it to Jesus. If we choose to come alongside them, empower them and treat them as wholly human, we do it to Jesus. When we love them like neighbors, we love Jesus.

          It’s easy to lose sight of these people in our busy lives, to say we have too much on our plate already. I get it. But, it’s important for us to teach our children compassion now. It’s important for us to notice Jesus in our midst, dressed in rags instead of robes. So I want to encourage you to start seeing the invisible people in the world. Let us teach our children that we have a responsibility not just to help those closest to us, but to all humankind.

Personal Reflection:

Answer #4 for yourself and your family. When have you specifically done each one? How can you show compassion in a new way in the next month?

The Good Samaritan

Scripture:

Luke 10:30-35

Quick Summary:

Jesus told a story about a man beaten by the side of the road. Two honorable men pass him by, but then a third man stopped to help. The third man was a Samaritan, which Jews didn’t like. Even though he came from the wrong family and community, he still stopped and helped the hurt man.

The Point:

No matter who is hurt or even what they think of us, Jesus wants us to help them.

Questions for Family Time:

1.Tell me the story you heard today.

        a. (see above)

2.  Who would be hard to stop and help for you? Why

            a. (this is a personal answer. The why should by along the line of “we don’t get a long.”)  

3.Who would you be surprised if they helped you?

        a. (similar answer to above)    

4. What does it mean to “love your neighbor”

       a. To help people when you see they need help, even if they are not people you like.

Deeper:

We throw around the term “Good Samaritan” a lot. It has become short hand in the news for a stranger helping a stranger. But Jesus did not call the Samaritan a stranger. He called him a Samaritan. He also didn’t call him good. For the first hearers of this story, Samaritans were neither strangers nor good.

Samaritans were Jews who had intermarried and chosen to worship God on holy places that were not considered holy to those in Jerusalem. They were living reminders of the sin that Jews felt had caused their national downfall in the Old Testament. Also, in times of national crises, they were unreliable allies. Good Jews often chose to cross the Jordan River into Gentile territory and then cross it again to avoid Samaria. That’s right. The pagans Gentiles with NO belief in God were better to travel by than the Samaritans.

That means our society’s “Good Samaritans” were not like what the readers imagined this Samaritan to be like at all. They would be the ones our society looks down upon. They are the people we expect just by the label we have given them to be unreliable.

And yet, Jesus takes this “Samaritan” and makes him the one who fulfills God’s law. It is this Samaritan who chooses to stop rather than the most respected men of the community. Which makes this parable hard for us to swallow.

First of all, because it makes us confront the fact that even when we try to treat everyone equal, we have biases about people that our society has labeled. It makes us call the person we would rather protect our children from the hero of the story.

Second, it makes us redefine our neighbor. Dearborn County residents are very good at dividing by honor. There are desirable neighborhoods and undesirable neighborhoods. We place ourselves among people like us, just like the Jews did, and avoid neighborhoods that have reputations like Samaria. Like the man who asked Jesus who his neighbor is, we find it easy to love people in our geographical neighborhood because, for the most part, they are like us. But then Jesus comes and says, your neighbor is the person in need, not the person next door. Jesus tells us we aren’t allowed to ignore the needs of others just because it isn’t happening outside of our front door. He says we are to love people in other neighborhoods.

Third, if we are really being asked to love our neighbor like the Samaritan, it means we have to be willing to help those who look down their noses at us. It means we have to love the naysayers and snobs who have torn us down and told us we are not worthy. When our hearts are cheering, “they finally got what they deserved!” Jesus bids us to show them kindness and help them get back up.

It would be easier if the Good Samaritan was just about a nice stranger. Loving your neighbor like Jesus calls us to is much harder. Not complicated. Just Hard. Thankfully, God is there to help us do the hard things he calls us to do.

           

Personal Reflection:

Who are the Samaritans that you avoid? Who are the people who treat you like a Samaritan? How is God calling you to love those neighbors?

Judge Deborah

Scripture:

Judges 4:1-23

Quick Summary:

Israel ends up under the control of the Canaanite king. Israel’s Judge Deborah calls Commander Barak to fight him. Barak says not without her. She says, “Only if you are ok with sharing the victory with a woman.” Sure enough, a woman named Jael ends up killing the enemy commander with a tent peg through his temple.

The Point:

Barak gave up his honor and asked for help. It’s hard to ask for help, but God’s mission is more important than our pride.

Questions for Family Time:

1.     Who was the judge? What did she do?

        a. Judge Deborah told Commander Barak to fight the evil king and free Israel.

2.     What did Barak do?

        a. He said ok, if you come with me. He asked for her help.

3. Why was that a big deal?

        a.   Because that  meant a woman would get the honor/credit and he wouldn’t. 

3.     Did a woman get the credit?

        a.      Yes, but not Deborah. It was Jael who killed the enemy commander with a tent peg through his temple. 

Deeper:

            Deborah is one of the first women in the Bible that God used in leadership in a world thick with patriarchy. In fact, even today with equal employment for men and women in just about every profession, the government and military still are heavily led by men and a macho-culture. It doesn’t take us much imagination to see how far out on a limb Barak was going. First, he receives his marching orders from a woman. Than he requests her presence as a leader during the battle. Deborah herself seems a little taken aback by this request. 

         She seems to say, “Are you sure you are going to be okay if I get credit for the win?” 

         Barak doesn’t back down. He knows who the leader should be. He knows he can’t do it on his own, even if he loses face. He needs help. Not just any help. He needs Deborah the Judge. 

In a wild turn, Deborah ends up right but not by the means everyone expected. It wasn’t the great leader Barak. It wasn’t the great leader Deborah. Victory would come from a quite woman without a sword or even a knife at her disposal. The only thing she had handy to slay the enemy was the very peg keeping her tent up. Jael would topple the great Commander Sisera while he slept sure he was safe in her care. 

This story, with all of its twists and turns, reminds us how important it is to receive help, even from the most unlikely of places. It doesn’t matter how grand our title, whether Commander or Judge or Housewife (Tent-wife?). God calls us to help each other and to welcome help, even when it may hurt our pride to do so. 

God wants us to use our gifts in leadership like Deborah. He wants us to ask for help like Barak. He wants us to fight his battles no matter how small we may think we are like Jael. 

Personal Reflection:

               Where in your life is pride keeping you from asking for help? Where is your humility getting in the way of you doing your part in God’s kingdom?