Holy Wisdom Church
Today is referred to as Judgment
Sunday. When I hear this name the title of a book comes to mind – Crime and
Punishment which then becomes reward and punishment. Though when you hear the
readings for this morning the much larger idea of God’s great love for us seems
to shout out loudly, rather than punishment. All the readings are about how
much God loves us. Any mistakes we have made thus far if we but turn to God
with the intention to love, God will take us back as beloved children-not as
mere hired hands. Even all the threat of punishments are to wake people up:
encouraging them to live in keeping with behavior more pleasing to God and to others.
Jesus indicates that behavior is to love one another not because he tells us to
with threats and promises –not from a regard for ourselves, however
subconscious—but with a spontaneous sympathy that regards only the other
person’s good.
What causes any of us to want
to please, to love, God? Is it sometimes
the promise of a reward- an eternity of wonderful bliss? A lot of our prayers
and reflections might lead us to think it is our notion of heaven that
makes us want to be good. Isn’t there something more? While it can be a start,
the threat of punishment is the least valuable reason to do or not to do
something. Being punished does not seem a sufficient deterrent. The job of living a worthwhile life in
whatever path to God we have embraced.
One hears and reads that we need to be our
true selves. Or we need to be true to ourselves. Both are valid if those ideas
are understood correctly. My own observation shows me that we can truly love
ourselves when we come to realize that we are loved by God. Isn’t this the
something more? Realizing this enables us to become our true selves and to be
true to ourselves.
The belief that we are lovable because
God loves us changes us in dramatic ways. Our actions give evidence of our
belief in God’s love. It is no easy task to treat all persons we meet with this
spontaneous sympathy when we find the other very unlovable. What we actually do
for others demonstrates what we think Jesus’ words mean.
Jesus used the metaphor of the sheep
and goats to show the division between believers and unbelievers. In the book
of the prophet Ezekiel there is a passage that describes separating the goats
from the sheep. The bad treatment of the goats toward the sheep showed them to
be unbelievers. Their actions had missed the mark and there was no repentance
for their behavior.
The acts of mercy spoken by Jesus were
similar to what was understood or listed for the Jews except Jesus replaced
“praying for the dead’ with visiting prisoners. Jesus is concerned for the
living, in the here and now.
The acts of mercy Jesus described are what we
can all do. We don’t have to be wealthy, have great abilities or intelligence
to not neglect those who have great needs. Being true to ourselves means we
love others in the way that we can. A shy Introvert does not have to become an
extrovert. An extrovert does not have to be an introvert. It is not how many
others we love but how much. Faithfully love those who come our way, whether it
is only two or two hundred. Being true to ourselves does mean that we don’t let
anxiety about our own perfection, the development of our own personality, get
the upper hand of importance. The attitude of being willing to serve when
service is needed is how Jesus lived. To serve whenever we can is loving our
neighbor.
The day of judgment is that final day
when we will be held accountable for our lives. With God living in us through
Christ we have no reason to fear. We can be confident of God’s immeasurable
love for us that enables us to be conduits of God’s love for others.
Give glory to God!
