In Matthew 25 Jesus says that he will judge believers according to whether they showed mercy to those at the margins. What is going on here? It seems that Jesus is telling believers that they must treat others like family. Since the church is a family its members ought to show concern for others’ basic needs. Those Jesus judged, failed to meet that basic threshold.

How do we show mercy the least? Christians today need to learn to treat each other as a family as well. This means that we leave behind the pretext of being superior to others. Furthermore, it means that we can’t treat people in need with indifference or by turning them into a project so that we look good for serving them. The solution is to offer ourselves in a relationship and serving others from a place of relatedness.

Questions for Reflection:

1. Who are the people that seem most “other” to me?
2. Do I know poor and powerless people? How comfortable am I in relating to them?
3. How can I cultivate more and deeper relationships with people at the margins?
4. If I am involved in service to the poor and the powerless, do I do it out of relationship to the people, or for some other reason? Why do I do it (and is that reason me-focused or other-focused)?

This sermon series takes its structure from David E. Fitch’s book Faithful Presence. You can watch the other installments the following links:

1: The Table
2: Reconciliation
3: Proclaiming the Gospel