Those Who Entertained Jesus (Matt. 25:31-46)
1
In 1948, Mother Teresa at her age of 38 came across a half-dead woman lying in front of a Calcutta hospital. She stayed with the woman until she died.
From that point on, she dedicated the majority of her life to helping the poorest of the poor in India, thus gaining her the name "Saint of the Gutters."
In 1952, she founded the Nirmal Hriday--Home for the Dying Destitute in a former temple in Calcutta. It was there that they would care for the dying Indians that were found on the streets. Mother Teresa would see Jesus in everyone that she met. It did not matter whether they were dying of AIDS or leprosy. She wanted them to be able to die in peace and with dignity. For over 50 years, she worked selflessly helping the poor. That devotion towards the poor won her respect throughout the world and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
In an interview with the BBC in 1974, Mother Teresa said: "I see God in every human being. When I wash the leper's wounds, I feel I am nursing the Lord himself. Is it not a beautiful experience?"
There is a man named Joseph Jorentini who had been a doorkeeper at Plaza Hotel located at Manhattan, New York, for 53 years. He did the same work at the same hotel everyday for 53 years since he was hired there at his age of 25 until he retired from his work at 78.
A doorkeeper at a hotel carries customers' baggage, catches a taxi for them, gives them some words of information.
A reporter asked him how he could have continued to do the simple or sometimes boring work for 53 years.
Jorentini answered: "When I started my work here, my church pastor prayed for me and said to me, 'Whenever you see a customer, treat him or her as if he or she were Jesus. Then you will be successful in your work.' So I treated every customer like that."
Jorentini acquired a nickname, "friend of Nixon." Whenever late President Richard Nixon visited this hotel, he would want see Jorentini for a brief conversation.
As Jorentini entertained every customer as if he entertained Jesus, he entertained Jesus more than hundred thousand times during 53 years of his doorkeeper's life.
Reverend Walter Everett of the First United Methodist Church of Hartford, Connecticut, experienced a life trauma that most of us will never have to face--the violent death of a loved one.
In 1987, Everett's 24-year-old son, Scott, was shot and killed during an altercation in his apartment building. After hearing his expression of remorse in court, Walter began corresponding and eventually visiting with the man, Mike Carlucci, convicted of the murder.
Walter visited Carlucci every week and let him accept Jesus as his personal Savior, and encouraged him to study in preparation for a college.
Carlucci called Walter 'father.'
Walter testified for Carlucci in support of his being released on parole.
Three years later, when Carlucci was released from the prison, he attended Walter's church and met a lady there. Walter presided his wedding.
Thanks to Walter's expression of love, Carlucci became a new creation.
Walter testified in the UMC magazine: "Whenever I saw Carlucci in the prison, I felt that I saw Jesus in his face."
Jesus let Walter see him in Carlucci's face not the murderer of his son, Scott.
Some of our church members go to Life in Christ Community Church on the first Saturday of each month to feed the homeless. I believe that you go there because you love to feed the homeless as Jesus tells you to do. And I hope you feed the homeless as if you do it for Jesus Christ. If you can love the homeless as you love Jesus, you are the blessed ones.
From that point on, she dedicated the majority of her life to helping the poorest of the poor in India, thus gaining her the name "Saint of the Gutters."
In 1952, she founded the Nirmal Hriday--Home for the Dying Destitute in a former temple in Calcutta. It was there that they would care for the dying Indians that were found on the streets. Mother Teresa would see Jesus in everyone that she met. It did not matter whether they were dying of AIDS or leprosy. She wanted them to be able to die in peace and with dignity. For over 50 years, she worked selflessly helping the poor. That devotion towards the poor won her respect throughout the world and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
In an interview with the BBC in 1974, Mother Teresa said: "I see God in every human being. When I wash the leper's wounds, I feel I am nursing the Lord himself. Is it not a beautiful experience?"
There is a man named Joseph Jorentini who had been a doorkeeper at Plaza Hotel located at Manhattan, New York, for 53 years. He did the same work at the same hotel everyday for 53 years since he was hired there at his age of 25 until he retired from his work at 78.
A doorkeeper at a hotel carries customers' baggage, catches a taxi for them, gives them some words of information.
A reporter asked him how he could have continued to do the simple or sometimes boring work for 53 years.
Jorentini answered: "When I started my work here, my church pastor prayed for me and said to me, 'Whenever you see a customer, treat him or her as if he or she were Jesus. Then you will be successful in your work.' So I treated every customer like that."
Jorentini acquired a nickname, "friend of Nixon." Whenever late President Richard Nixon visited this hotel, he would want see Jorentini for a brief conversation.
As Jorentini entertained every customer as if he entertained Jesus, he entertained Jesus more than hundred thousand times during 53 years of his doorkeeper's life.
Reverend Walter Everett of the First United Methodist Church of Hartford, Connecticut, experienced a life trauma that most of us will never have to face--the violent death of a loved one.
In 1987, Everett's 24-year-old son, Scott, was shot and killed during an altercation in his apartment building. After hearing his expression of remorse in court, Walter began corresponding and eventually visiting with the man, Mike Carlucci, convicted of the murder.
Walter visited Carlucci every week and let him accept Jesus as his personal Savior, and encouraged him to study in preparation for a college.
Carlucci called Walter 'father.'
Walter testified for Carlucci in support of his being released on parole.
Three years later, when Carlucci was released from the prison, he attended Walter's church and met a lady there. Walter presided his wedding.
Thanks to Walter's expression of love, Carlucci became a new creation.
Walter testified in the UMC magazine: "Whenever I saw Carlucci in the prison, I felt that I saw Jesus in his face."
Jesus let Walter see him in Carlucci's face not the murderer of his son, Scott.
Some of our church members go to Life in Christ Community Church on the first Saturday of each month to feed the homeless. I believe that you go there because you love to feed the homeless as Jesus tells you to do. And I hope you feed the homeless as if you do it for Jesus Christ. If you can love the homeless as you love Jesus, you are the blessed ones.
2
Jesus tells us three stories in Matthew 25--the parable of the ten virgins, five of them were foolish and the other five wise; the parable of the talents; and the parable of the sheep and the goats.
All three parables are the stories about the end time, the time when Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, comes in his glory and settles accounts with his servants.
Jesus Christ will come to you to settle accounts with you.
If you are a good and faithful servant, he will give you a prize with a word of praise.
Today's passage is about the third parable, the parable of the sheep and the goats.
The Son of Man, Jesus Christ, comes to his people in his glory, and all the angels with him.
All the nations, all the people will be gathered before him.
Then, Jesus Christ will separate the people, one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
The right side is the side of glory, prize, and eternal life; and the left side is the side of damnation, punishment, and eternal dying.
Those people who are gathered are those who think they are believers as they call the Son of Man "Lord."
Unbelievers were already judged as they never accepted Jesus as their personal Savior.
Your attending at a church does not guarantee your salvation and eternal life.
Your genuine and truthful faith guarantees your salvation and eternal life.
If you have genuine and truthful faith, it will surely bear fruit of good deeds as the book of James tells us.
Jesus in Luke 6:43-44 tells us: "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn-bushes, or grapes from briers."
Jesus in Luke 6:46 rebukes those who call Jesus 'Lord,' yet do not do what he says.
Jesus tells us to feed the people who are hungry and thirsty, to clothe those who need clothes, to invite in those who are strangers, and visit those who are in sickness or in prison.
Yet, the same Jesus also tells us in Matthew 6:2-4: "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
Jesus the King tells those on his right in verse 34: "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world."
Those who did good things for the people who were in need did their good works without knowing that they did good to Jesus.
But Jesus says to them in verse 40: "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."
Jesus tells those on his left in verse 41: "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels."
Those who did not do good things for the people who were in need did not do their works without knowing that they did not do for Jesus.
If they had known that their doing good to those who were in need was eventually to Jesus, they would have probably done good things to those who were in need, hoping for a great prize.
But in reality, they did not do good to the needy.
So Jesus tells them in verse 45: Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me."
All three parables are the stories about the end time, the time when Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, comes in his glory and settles accounts with his servants.
Jesus Christ will come to you to settle accounts with you.
If you are a good and faithful servant, he will give you a prize with a word of praise.
Today's passage is about the third parable, the parable of the sheep and the goats.
The Son of Man, Jesus Christ, comes to his people in his glory, and all the angels with him.
All the nations, all the people will be gathered before him.
Then, Jesus Christ will separate the people, one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
The right side is the side of glory, prize, and eternal life; and the left side is the side of damnation, punishment, and eternal dying.
Those people who are gathered are those who think they are believers as they call the Son of Man "Lord."
Unbelievers were already judged as they never accepted Jesus as their personal Savior.
Your attending at a church does not guarantee your salvation and eternal life.
Your genuine and truthful faith guarantees your salvation and eternal life.
If you have genuine and truthful faith, it will surely bear fruit of good deeds as the book of James tells us.
Jesus in Luke 6:43-44 tells us: "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn-bushes, or grapes from briers."
Jesus in Luke 6:46 rebukes those who call Jesus 'Lord,' yet do not do what he says.
Jesus tells us to feed the people who are hungry and thirsty, to clothe those who need clothes, to invite in those who are strangers, and visit those who are in sickness or in prison.
Yet, the same Jesus also tells us in Matthew 6:2-4: "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
Jesus the King tells those on his right in verse 34: "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world."
Those who did good things for the people who were in need did their good works without knowing that they did good to Jesus.
But Jesus says to them in verse 40: "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."
Jesus tells those on his left in verse 41: "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels."
Those who did not do good things for the people who were in need did not do their works without knowing that they did not do for Jesus.
If they had known that their doing good to those who were in need was eventually to Jesus, they would have probably done good things to those who were in need, hoping for a great prize.
But in reality, they did not do good to the needy.
So Jesus tells them in verse 45: Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me."
3
You know well what God wants you to do for those who are hungry, thirsty, and those who are strangers, and those who need clothes, those who are in sickness and in prison.
You also know well how God wants you to do these things.
God wants you to do these things for them as you would do for Jesus Christ.
God wants you to do these things for the poor and the needy in secret without blowing trumpets in public.
Your good deeds for the poor and the needy will be remembered and rewarded in full by God who sees the hearts of people.
Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:3 tells us, "If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing."
So, we will do good things to the least among us always out of the love of Christ.
You also know well how God wants you to do these things.
God wants you to do these things for them as you would do for Jesus Christ.
God wants you to do these things for the poor and the needy in secret without blowing trumpets in public.
Your good deeds for the poor and the needy will be remembered and rewarded in full by God who sees the hearts of people.
Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:3 tells us, "If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing."
So, we will do good things to the least among us always out of the love of Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment