Church's mission

 Matthew 25:31-40
31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, "Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' 37 Then the righteous will answer him, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' 40 And the king will answer them, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.'



God calls the church to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and shelter the homeless...
I can't say just why this happens, but it tends to be that in the late summer (and around Christmastime) that people who live on the edge tend to need the most help. Perhaps it's because of the heat, or higher electricity bills, or higher gas prices... or any other of a myriad of reasons. Still, almost no one had stopped by the church to request assistance for months. And suddenly, it seems that every day someone is walking into the church, hoping for a prayer and a little help. At St. James, our policy is to invite these folks in and I listen to their stories. Mostly, we have small gift cards that we give out, along with a prayer for God's grace, goodness, and presence in that person's life. Occasionally there will be enough money in to help with a utility bill or bus/train fare. These gifts are always met with grateful smiles and handshakes, and we send them on their way. But their names remain on our prayer list, as we continue to pray for God's presence and grace in their lives.


It didn't occur to me until just today that these requests are precisely the kinds of requests Jesus is talking about in Matthew 25. For pastors, people seeking assistance can be one of the most difficult parts of our jobs. It is not that pastoral care with such folks is particularly difficult - though it can be, if the person happens to be using drugs or alcohol, or mentally ill, or a number of other difficulties that present in peoples' lives. Rather, we feel the need to be good stewards of the limited resources our congregations have to give to people. We make church policies to combat feeling used or taken advantage of. We use our guts and our prayers in the hope of making good, life-giving decisions rather than supporting life-damaging habits. However, when making such decisions, it can be so easy to fall into judgment. In a fast-paced world of meetings and appointments and ever-necessary sermon preparation time, taking time to talk with folks can begin to feel like a burden, one more thing on the agenda to make us late to the next thing.


Still, these people come, and we are called to sit with them, listen to them, pray with them, help them. And, I have discovered that when I take time to be fully present with these people, they often have deep lessons to teach me. Their faith, hope, joy, and love -- in spite of or even because of their life circumstances -- is inspiring. I have learned to say out loud that what we give at St. James is a gift to that person, no strings attached. We hope that people will use what little we have to give in life-giving ways. We hope that God's grace might shine in a little corner of that person's life. We hope that our prayers buoy those people when they most need it. But it is a gift, and we can't require that it be used in any certain way; we can't add expectations and rules. We give gifts because of our desire to give, not because of the other person's desire to receive or intent to use. We give gifts as one response to God's grace to us. And, we give gifts because in doing so we meet Jesus: hungry, thirsty, homeless, naked, sick, imprisoned.


So, I hope people keep coming. And I hope I keep learning. And I pray my church keeps giving... that we might indeed see the Son of Man coming in glory and recognize him from someone we happen to have met once before, on a hot summer day at the end of August,  hoping for a prayer and a little bit of help.