Faith. Trust. Action

If we want to see God’s glory, Jesus tells us to look no further than the face of your neighbor; in the eyes of the weak and vulnerable; in the laments of the ones crying out for help. This is where God is. And where God reveals to us and through us, God’s glory to the world.

This past year we spent a lot of time in Matthew’s gospel learning about what the kingdom of heaven is all about. And how we participate in it.

Over the last few weeks, we’ve learned what we do or don’t do will have some kind of eternal consequence.

In case you missed it, here’s a quick recap. In the parable of the Ten Bridesmaids, Jesus warns his disciples to stay awake and be prepared for his arrival.

​In short, they’ll need to have enough faith on hand to get them through the dark and challenging times that they will inevitably face before they see his face again.
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The parable of the three talents is about how God has entrusted us to invest in the gospel.  Those who  trust that God knows what God is doing will receive a just reward. Those who don’t, won’t.

By our trust we can step out of our comfort zone fearlessly and  faithfully to continue the mission Jesus began. Which takes us to today’s reading, where Jesus offers us very clear instructions on what that entails.

​Read Matthew 25:31-46 here.​

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.”                                  Matthew 25:31-46 

​As far as I can recall, this is the only time Jesus speaks directly about actual judgment from God.

As a child, I was constantly told I was a sinner. Moreover, any joy I had in life would be the reason why I’d burn in hell for all eternity. This was my first introduction to God’s love. A lesson which taught to fear God, to be very afraid of God, especially come judgment day.

Decades later, while watching the Olympics, it dawned on me that judgment isn’t necessarily a bad thing. A competitive gymnast welcomes it. Same is true with someone who works hard to merit a promotion at work. As long as it’s fairly decided, most of us have no issue with judgement. It’s when it’s not fair, when the playing field isn’t level or the scales of justice aren’t equal that things go wrong.

Jesus pretty much tells us that we will all be judged equally and fairly, each according to the actions we take towards another human being. Which means, when it comes to judgment the onus is on you and me. It’s like God will judge us, but we get to decide the outcome by what we do now.

In this passage, it’s pretty clear that judgement has nothing to do with what team you’re own, anymore than it is saying the right prayers or reciting the correct creed. It’s simply about acting out of faith and trust to the way Jesus showed us.

That list of what to do isn’t that extensive. In fact, it’s pretty basic stuff. Feed the hungry, cloth the naked, welcome people, visit the sick and imprisoned. In other words, be the visible manifestation of God’s love in this space we call Anamesa. How you do that is up to you.

Imagine what this world would be like if every person who claimed to be a Christian actually did what Jesus asked. No human would ever again suffer from food insecurity. Everyone would enjoy the benefits of quality health care. No one would die alone.

I suspect wherever you are there is a way you can do what Jesus asks of you. I’m sure there are folks in your community who could benefit from your help. Because whatever we do towards those on fixed incomes, we do also to Jesus.

When I was in seminary, a man would come every Wednesday and serve the most delicious curry chicken lunch to the students - free of charge. He made it his ministry to fed those training to feed the world. I can’t say if he saw Christ in us, but it was hard to miss the Christ in him. In fact, this single act of love taught me more about God’s generosity than most of my professors had.

I took that lesson to a church I served in Michigan where I was reprimanded for being irresponsible by giving money to a notorious drunkard. I was told I needed to use better judgement. Never mind the fact Jesus said whatever judgment we give will be the measure by which we will be judged.

The man was thirsty, and Jesus told me to be compassionate. Whatever we do for a drunk, or an ex-con, or dead-beat dad, we do also to him.

Jesus gives us a choice. We can be a goat or we can be a sheep. Both have eternal consequences. And it all comes down to how we see someone in need and act to help.

As tempting as it is to focus on the judgement aspect of this passage, we don’t want to overlook or forget what Jesus is actually revealing here. That in him, God has ushered in a radical new social structure.

Every human being is worthy to enter into the presence of God where dignity and mercy are given to all. Any attitudes we have that lead either to apathy and neglect towards a person in need must be destroyed. They have no place in God’s kingdom.

In this final warning, Jesus seems to be telling us that the ways we live out the gospel will always reflect the true relationship we have with God. That should make us pause, to think long and hard about what we say or do to anyone from the least to the greatest…because we say and do those things to God.

If we want to see God’s glory, Jesus tells us to look no further than the face of your neighbor; in the eyes of the weak and vulnerable; in the laments of the ones crying out for help. This is where God is. And where God reveals to us and through us, God’s glory to the world.

You see, Anamesa is more than a church, or a space to worship God. It’s a way to live out the gospel in real time, and in real ways that makes God glory come alive in the world. It’s a way to take our faith and trust in God and put it to good use in this kingdom - meeting our neighbors with love, and facing our enemies with prayer.

It’s a way of living life in all its eternal glory by acting on our faith and trusting in God, who through Christ Jesus, came to be with us in the flesh, in all our messiness and ambiguity.

Just as Jesus was judged by the way he loved us with his faithful trust and deeds, we too will be judged on how and if we show loving compassion towards one another like Jesus commanded us to do.

Because here’s the hard truth about this passage: We can’t say we follow Christ and then completely ignore what he demands of us.  We can’t say we have faith in God if we don’t trust God enough to act in such a way that reveals God’s glory in the world.

We can teach children to be afraid of God. Or we can teach them to love God so completely that they can’t help but love others the same way.

Throughout all of Matthew, Jesus has given us vivid descriptions of God’s kingdom. He has shown us how to throw open the doors of our hearts, our homes and churches to welcome everyone as if they were welcoming him.

​This was the heart of St. Teresa of Calcutta’s ministry. She repeatedly preached, “Whenever I meet someone in need, it’s really Jesus in his most distressing disguise. It’s him I help.”

According to Jesus, if we can’t see him in the least of these then we are missing out on God’s presence among us in a crucial way.

​And so we are called out into Anamesa where we are to love God, love others, and serve both. This will require a little bit of faith, trust and action.

If we take Christ into our hearts, then we must also take him into the world. He is the one God gave us so that we can enjoy the gift of a true, authentic life. Life where to live is to love. To quote St. Paul, “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things. Love never ends” (1 Cor. 13:7-8).

Love is the measure by which God saves us, redeems us, and at the end, will judge us. If we love, then we have no fear of judgement.

The Apostle John wrote, “there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love” (1 John 4:18).

Faith. Trust. Action. This is love at work, redeeming us, saving us, and welcoming us into God’s open heart forever.


Work Cited
Bartlett, David L and Barbara Brown Taylor, eds. Feasting on the Word, Year A, Vol 4. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2011).
Hansen, Rebecca D. Christus Rex. November 20, 2023 (accessed on 11-24-2023).