^34-36 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’

^37-40 “Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’” Matthew 25:34-40

Who are the hungry and the thirsty and the naked in our community? Finding out who the people in our community who have these basic needs takes time and focus. And then we need to ask how we can feed, clothe, care for, and visit them in new and efficient and effective ways.  We have so many good ministries in our church, yet we cannot become complacent in the calling that this text challenges all churches and people of faith. We need to ask ourselves how we can expand our ministries to those outside of the Lemoyne area.  How can we expand our concept of our neighbor in need? But the struggle exists within us not to look upon our ministry as our accomplishment—but instead realizing we are heeding our Lord’s calling to serve. Jesus forces you and me to look beyond our own understanding of who is our neighbor. Jesus teaches that our “family” is more than just those we know – our neighbor is anyone in need.

Pastor Dave

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Five of them were foolish and five were wise. ³ The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. ⁴ The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. ⁵ The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. ⁶ “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ ⁷ “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. ¹¹ “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ ¹² “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ ¹³ “Therefore be prepared, because you do not know the day or the hour.” Matthew 25:1-13

Be prepared.  Sounds like a nice Boy Scout motto, or a warning about natural or man made disasters. Be prepared for the worst to happen – be prepared for a sudden change of plans – be prepared for trouble to come upon you. The parable of the Ten Bridesmaids deals with just this concept, except we are to prepare for the coming of the Lord. But we know how difficult it is to be prepared. When it is hurricane season, we often see, again and again how people who live in these dangerous areas of the coasts are not prepared. They know hurricanes can and will happen, but they believe that it will never happen to them. So they are mostly “unprepared” for what is imminent. It seems counter-intuitive to us who do not live along the coasts, yet we have our own situations where we should be prepared, but often are not.

Can we prepare fully for the coming of the Lord?  Are we able to conceive what that event will be like? Though we do not know when, or what it will be like, we should pay attention to our relationship with G-d every day so that when that day comes, we will feel as prepared as we possibly could be.

Pastor Dave