Monday, November 14, 2011

Looking Ahead to November 20, 2011 -- Reign of Christ Sunday

The Scripture Readings this week are:
  • Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
  • Psalm 95 (VU p.814)
  • Matthew 25:31-46

The Sermon title is Who Are We Ministering to?

Early Thoughts: Back at the beginning of our faith story Cain asks (after killing Abel) "Am I my Brother's keeper?"(Genesis 4:9). Arguably the answer that Scripture points to is YES. We are our brothers' (and sisters') keeper. We have a duty and responsibility to care for our neighbour, to feed them when they are hungry, to support them when they struggle.

It is possible that this duty is made clearer in this Matthew passage (which is one of my favourite passages in all of Scripture) than anywhere else in our faith.  In my opinion this passage describes how we act when we live as if the Reign of Christ/Kingdom of God/Kin-dom of Heaven is a reality in our midst. THis passage answers the question asked by a lawyer in Luke's Gospel "Who is my neighbour?", it rells us what to do and why.  It is a call to action.

During Advent we will be collecting stuff for our partner agencies in town.  This Advent collection is part of how we live out our call to care for our neighbours.  And so this Sunday we will use our reflecting on the call to care as a kick-off for our Advent campaign.
--Gord

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