Yesterday we saw Jesus saying the way we treat a hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, or imprisoned person says something about our desire to join his kingdom.  What is the consequence of this story?

The story makes it clear that Jesus’ kingdom is based on generous sacrifice.  Our motivation for compassion and care is not to be someone else noticing, or that we’ll get thanked, paid back or will otherwise benefit.  It’s not even entirely about the other person’s benefit.

It’s simply the right thing to do, and it’s the overflow of a relationship with God in Jesus.

The deck-building neighbour I described on Monday was also married to a great neighbour.  She was a nurse, and one day she came over to check on my wife, who’d fallen asleep laying on the grass resting from gardening.  This was part of that nurse’s vocation, it’s not just a job to help people in need, it’s actually part of who she is, and what she is called to do.

Christians have the same kind of vocation to love our neighbours, with friendship, words, and also our actions not because there’s something in it for us, but because it is who we are as citizens of the kingdom of God.

Sometimes this isn’t as easy as checking on a friendly neighbour – not everyone finds visiting prisoners easy, it can be scary.  Serving the thirsty can mean travelling places we’d rather not see.  Helping those with no clothes can be awkward!

But this is how Jesus challenges us to dispay kingdomliness.  He calls us to overcome our fears, prejudices, anxiety  for the sake of his kingdom and its values.

Q: List the six needs Jesus wants his followers to meet:

  • The hungry
  • The thirsty
  • The stranger
  • The naked
  • The sick
  • The imprisoned.

Who do you naturally have the most compassion for?  Who do you find most challenging to show compassion for?  Why?

Remember, we meet for coffee every Wednesday night at Starbucks in the Chapters Store in Ajax, in Durham Region just East of Toronto.  Maybe we’ll see you there?

Ryan Sim - June 5, 2013

Wednesday - Change It - Judgement

People often quote Jesus to escape judging anything as right and wrong. But he meant the opposite, it’s a command to judge! But to judge based on God's standards and not our own. It's not a call to be blind, but generous and caring. We've included a fun short film that illustrates this humourously. Look for the "Short Film" link on the web, or the second video in the app menu, or at https://vimeo.com/66753575 Jesus wants us to first become aware of our own situation, then another’s. If we pretend to be judges by our own standards, we can’t plead ignorance of the law we administer. Are you prepared to judge someone by the same standards? Pretend you arrive at heaven. You've had a recording device hanging around your neck all your life, and God says "I will go easy on you, I’ll judge you by your own standards, instead of godly standards." So he plays back all the times you set a standard: Listen to me, don’t talk behind my back, don’t use that tone of voice, etc. How would that go? Jesus doesn't want us to cease to be human – we were created with reason. He just wants us to cease trying to be God. He puts all humans on a level playing field, where we can together explore how God’s standard is much better than any we’d make up. Be a brother…that’s the language used here. Question: Go through the last week’s interactions with your colleagues, family, friends and even strangers. What standards do you set up for others? Then go back through the list and check off those you’ve kept yourself.

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