Sunday before Advent 2023 Christ the King St Andrew’s
Today we welcomed John to play for us as we celebrated the Feast of Christ the King, the last Sunday in the church’s year.
Next Saturday 2nd December we are planning a church walk. We will meet at RSPB car park, Gartocharn 11am, walk to loch Lomond with picnic lunch. All very welcome, if the weather forecast is poor, we will postpone. RSPB car park is down a turning on your right just before you get to Gartocharn coming from Dryman, should be signposted.
Next Sunday – Advent Sunday – we are joining with All Saints for an Advent Carol Service at All Saints 5pm, all invited, please let me know if you would like to join the choir for this service.
This Week
Tuesday 10am – Prayer Group in the Garden Room
Thursday 10am – Said Holy Communion for St Andrew’s Day followed by coffee in Friendship House.
Thursday 3pm – Advent Course, All Saints, all invited, not too late to join in.
Saturday 11 am – Church Walk – meet at RSPB car park, Gartocharn
Sunday 5pm Advent Carol Service All Saints
Coming up
Sunday 11th December 4pm Milngavie Choir Christmas Concert St Joseph’s – tickets available on the door.
Readings for next Sunday – Advent Sunday Isaiah 64:1-9 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 Mark 13:24-37
Today’s Readings – Ezekiel 34:11-16,20-24, Ephesians 1 15- end, Matthew 25 31-end
There was once a man called Martin from Tours in France. He was a Roman soldier and a Christian. One cold winter day as he was entering a city. A begger stopped him and asked for money. Martin had no money but the begger was blue and shivering with cold So, Martin gave him what he had. He took off his soldier’s coat, worn and frayed as it was, he cut it in two and gave half of it to the begger. That night he had a dream. In it he saw heavenly places and all the angels and Jesus among them. And Jesus was wearing half of a roman soldier’s cloak. One of the angels said to him “Master, why are you wearing that battered old cloak? Who gave it to you?” And Jesus answered softly “My servant Martin gave it to me”
I’m sure I’ve told you this story before….. but at the risk of being repetitive it is a very good illustration of what it means to live out the parable of the sheep and the goats which we heard this morning.
“ I will tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” Matthew 25:40
Words of Jesus, profound words which illustrate all that it means to live a truly Christian life. Doing something, however small the deed, for someone regardless of who they are and without any thought of personal gain, is an absolute fulfilling of the greatest commandment Jesus taught us to love our neighbour as our self.
But this passage is not just about caring for one another, It also speaks in no uncertain terms about judgement and how we will be judged. This is a challenging piece of scripture, it’s the combination of being urged to care for each other and then being judged on the results.
But the whole of chapter 25 of Matthew’s gospel makes significant demands on us. Like many of the readings towards the end of the gospels it is primarily about being prepared, they are focusing on end times.
First, there was the foolish bridesmaids who ran out of oil and so missed the wedding. Then last week there was the slave who wasted his chance of increasing his one talent while his master was away. And now we have the sheep and the goats. All these people are unprepared for what is about to happen and they face terrible consequences a result. For the stories are not just about the importance of being ready but also about judgement.
The people in the parables make their judgements, the foolish bridesmaids decided there is no great rush, the slave with one talent decides to do nothing and the goats decide there are some people not worth bothering about. God then makes his judgment and unfortunately it is different from theirs.
In the parable today at the throne of glory as the people are separated into two groups one on the right and one on the left, it is clear both groups are equally puzzled. They are both unprepared for this standard of judgment, neither group had lived their lives expecting to have them judged in this way by this man.
The king does not explain himself, but he could have pointed to the law and the prophets which make it clear what God expects. The reading from Ezekiel for example shows God himself looking for the lost sheep and longing to care for them. It also shows Gods judgment on those fat sheep who keep the pasture for themselves and deliberately push away the hungry and the needy.
Any well-read Jew listening to Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats would recognise the justice of judgment handed out to the goats. No one could say they were not warned about the nature of God!
So how did they and how do we, managed to be so deceived that we think judgement won’t necessarily apply to us. In today’s culture we are encouraged, conveniently, to brush the issue under the table. We persuade ourselves that there will be no real consequences for the way we live on the day of divine judgement.
But if we are to take this piece of scripture seriously, we must realise that we will face proper judgment. How exactly is not known, but what we do know is God is loving and forgiving, it is at the heart of all Christ’s teaching and illustrated so often in the parables.
“Love your neighbour as yourself” he tells us in Matthew 22:39 And about forgiveness “ I tell you, not seven times but seventy seven times” Matthew 18:22
And then we think of the words of Jesus to the robber next to him at the crucifixion “Today you will be with me in paradise” Luke 23:43 No talk of any lengthy judgement process there.
And finally, in John’s gospel his words of reassurance to his disciples “Whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” John 3:16 “Shall not perish” – no mention of condemnation to eternal punishment.
So often in scripture and a life of faith there can be no one answer to some of the difficult questions we have. But we can be sure of some things: that God does call us to care and love for each other, to make the most of what we have, and to grow in faith.
And as for Judgement and salvation, we must leave that to him.