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| Summary: Like well-prepared marathon runners, the wise bridesmaids had plenty of oil for their lamps. Our Christian training is done through acts of love and mercy, as we move toward the kingdom of heaven. |
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| Summary: Being prepared for Jesus’ return means the faithful doing of good deeds and the faithful following of the example and teachings of Jesus. |
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| Summary: In the parable of the bridesmaids, the church does not fulfill its identity as “salt and light.” The foolish bridesmaids miss their chance to be the church in the world. |
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| Summary: Though the oil in the parable of 10 bridesmaids tells us of the importance of preparedness for the return of Jesus, it is also symbolic of the way faith sustains us in the here and now. Among the daily blessing God gives are character development, guilt relief, direction for life and the knowledge of Whom to thank for it all. |
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| Summary: Jesus calls us to stay awake because his return will come at a time we cannot know. Practicing the means of grace will keep us ready, and our metaphorical lamps full of oil, no matter when Jesus returns. |
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| Summary: This tale told to those early disciples lands on us just as hard as it did on them. It forces us to ask ourselves, What kind of servants shall we be? What has God given us to use? How shall we use it? What accounting will we give the Master, when he returns? |
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| Summary: We as a church need to see our “talents” not so much as the “gifts and graces” of individual members, but as our physical assets, and to ask ourselves if we are simply “burying” them, or using them in a way that gives physical expression to the kingdom that we know is coming. |
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| Summary: In suggesting that humans might be voted off the earth on the basis of what we have done to it, Mark Twain puts the message of the story of the talents into graphic perspective. We have built many impressive earthly kingdoms. But it is the kingdom of God upon the earth that we have been commissioned to build. We have not only been commissioned. We have been empowered. The God who calls us to build has given us both blocks and the blueprint. If God has voted us in, then we must not by our actions or inaction vote ourselves out. |
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| Summary: With the parable of the talents, Jesus makes a comparison to the kingdom of heaven. How the slaves used the talents entrusted to them speaks to 1) the nature of the kingdom of God; 2) their understanding of who the master is; and 3) their responsibility regarding the talents they had been given. |
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| Summary: When we experience life as unfair, we may feel anger or resentment at God. If we act wisely and faithfully, we will work through our anger and find our gratitude to God. In that gratitude, we work for the church and continue its ministry, waiting for God’s redemption of creation. |
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| Summary: Not one of us is a “worthless slave” in the eyes of our Creator, who made us and called us “very good.” God did not make us to set us against each other or order us by worth. God did not make us to throw us away. God loves us all and we should treat each other like siblings. |
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| Summary: Fear can prevent living in the present. Fear is often the result of anticipating that which we cannot control. Fear rarely changes outcomes, but it robs us of experiencing the range of possibilities of the present.
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| Summary: This Parable of the Sheep and the Goats is seen by many — in church and out — as a veritable “clobber passage,” demanding a commitment to one understanding or another of social justice. But this passage has as much — or more — to do with mercy as it does with justice.
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| Summary: This passage is not a summons to get out there and “do good” — or else! It is a word-picture of what “salvation” looks like. It is not an instruction as to how we should earn salvation, but a demonstration of the results of a salvation already received in the heart. |
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| Summary: What are you supposed to do if you are the king? By what standards will you be judged? In this story, Jesus shows us what the greatest concern of the King of Kings will be when he comes to judge the nations: that we are looking out for “the least of these.” Kingship is caring. Everything else is just details. |
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| Summary: The final judgment will reveal the truth about God and the world for all to see. In Matthew’s parable of the judgment, the ruler of creation is shown to be the one who identifies himself with those in need. That is a pattern shown to us in Christ. And the value of our lives will be judged by how faithful we have been to that pattern. |
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| Summary: What is striking about this tale of sheep and goats is that neither of them know Jesus. Neither sheep nor goats recognize him when he comes to them. |
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| Summary: Today’s text offers a glimpse of true discipleship. Serving God is about serving others. When we feed the hungry, we feed Christ. When we clothe the naked, we put a cloak on Christ. When we offer the thirsty a drink, we give Christ a drink. Our acts of mercy matter to God. Our acts of mercy are ways in which we can offer praise and thanksgiving to God. Furthermore, our acts of mercy are what set us apart as true disciples. |
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| Summary: Jesus' parable of the Last Judgment is illustrated with a story. A woman wakes up realizing that she's been told to crown the King but has no idea where to find him. In her search that day, she encounters a beggar and an old woman being thrown out on the street, and uses the crown she's been given to get food for one and housing for the other. At the end of the day she feels that she's failed in the task she was given, but is reminded of the King's words to those on his right in the text. |
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| Summary: The king is the one asking the questions here, and the questions have very little to do with faith and a whole lot to do with works. |
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