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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