Sheep in pasture

Sheep in pasture
Feed My Sheep, Feed My Lambs, Feed My Sheep

Monday, September 12, 2016

We Are Family…


September 4, 2016

Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church

The Body of Christ…?

Family

Matthew 25:34-46

Galatians 6:10

1 Peter 2:17

1 Peter 5:9








Prayer of adoration and for God’s illumination so that His Word would be heard through me or in spite of me…



Please stand as you are able for the reading of the Gospel according to Matthew… (read Matthew 25:34-46)



Family...Merriam Webster would have us believe that family is:

1.    a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head : 

2.    a :  a group of persons of common ancestry : 

b :  a people or group of peoples regarded as deriving from a common stock : 

3.    a :  a group of people united by certain convictions or a common affiliation

How would you define family…what does family look like to you? Now here is the million-dollar question…do you feel we, as Christians…as the family of God…, have forgotten what family is or have distorted what the word family is? Why do you feel that?



The first Sunday in September almost feels like the end of our summer school vacation…we come to worship to reconnect with friends, and with the Holy Living God. “Connection” is part of who we understand ourselves to be. But we really do need to admit that we too often are concerned with “Population: Me,” both as individuals and as a church. We may even do things to each other to hurt each other or even worse, tell others they are not worthy to be part of our family. We even leave the family unit just because we don’t get our own way or we don’t like someone in our “family tree” …



But how would God have us view family? What or who would God invite into the family tree where we gather together and share our lives journey? What would it mean to follow the command of the Table Host to expand our “population”–our notion of “family”–so that we might restore our relationships with each other and draw that relationship circle wider and wider?



Let me read a couple of Scriptures from the New Testament that talks about the family of believers…

Galatians 6:10

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

 1 Peter 2:17

Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.

1 Peter 5:9

Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

The sheep in the Matthew scripture I read is how God would have us treat others…including those within our family of faith. But all too often we wind up, as the saying goes, hurting those who should mean the most to us. Is it because we tend to take our loves ones, our family members (whatever that may look like) for granted?



The goats in the scripture seemed surprised that they didn’t see Jesus among them. So maybe we need to ask ourselves this question, who do I consider Jesus to be? Do I see the face of Jesus in those around me or do I just see it when I look in the mirror…or even worse…do you not even see Jesus at all in the world around you?



I was talking with a very wise lady a few days ago and I think she hit the nail on the head. We, as the family of Christ…the family of believers, have forgotten what family means...what family is We all too often bail when the going gets tough…we forget the old saying “when the going gets tough…the tough get going.” And that doesn’t mean we get going out the door but stick even closer together to work through and weather the storm… The sad part about this is that it is happening in many of the places where God’s family meets. It is like a cancer that is destroying, eating away the bond of family ties we have with each other.



As we gather this morning I would have you ponder on these questions…

Who are my family members? Who do I consider my extended family? Are there others that I should invite into my extended family? Who would God want me to become a part of the family of God? Will I extend grace and love to my family members that God has called me to be part of? What did Jesus do so that I could be invited? Will I go and do likewise…?



The message in the Mathew scripture is clear…we know both sides of the coin. Which will you choose? I choose heads…following the head of our church, our Risen Lord Jesus Christ. How about you?



Amen.

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