Matthew 25

25 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids^[a] took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.^{[b] 2} Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. ³ When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; ⁴ but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. ⁵ As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. ⁶ But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷ Then all those bridesmaids^[c] got up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. ¹¹ Later the other bridesmaids^[d] came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ ¹² But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ ¹³ Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.^[e]

The Parable of the Talents

¹⁴ “For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; ¹⁵ to one he gave five talents,^[f] to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. ¹⁶ The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. ¹⁷ In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. ¹⁸ But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. ¹⁹ After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ ²¹ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ ²² And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ ²³ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ ²⁴ Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; ²⁵ so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ ²⁶ But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? ²⁷ Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. ²⁸ So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. ²⁹ For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. ³⁰ As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The Judgment of the Nations

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,^[g] you did it to me.’ ⁴¹ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; ⁴² for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ ⁴⁴ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ ⁴⁵ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ ⁴⁶ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

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This is one of the most important passages in the whole of scripture. 

•  First there is the call to preparation and watchfulness.  Do not put off doing the right thing, or following the right path, until later because you never know what later will hold.
• Then comes the parable of the talents.  God generously gives and calls us into using those talents.  The talents can be money, passions, skills, abilities, connections or resources. This passage can be applied personally and corporately.  The parable speaks of partnership and risk and purpose.  God is eager to see what we will do with what He has given us.  If I give my children a toy or a tool, I want them to use it and play with it.  If they hide it on a shelf for fear of not using it right, it is simply wasting away and taking up space.  Not why I invested in the gift for them.
• The sheep and the goats.  A life of faith must...must include service.  And specifically it must include service to the poor.  We talk about God having a special place in His heart for the poor, but here He goes even farther, claiming that by caring for the "least," we are actually giving back to Him.  Christian circles will talk about not being able to give anything to God.  He doesn't need our money or our skills...He wants our worship but the rocks will suffice if we don't participate.  But this passage seems to state that if we want to give back to God, if we want to offer our thanks and serve God, we will feed and clothe and visit the poor and marginalized.  And not serve them in an institutionalized, programmatic way.  Serving the program is not serving the poor.  Serving the program means working to keep a good service going in a way that treats the poor as challenges to overcome and withstand rather than our Lord in disguise.  It strips away dignity from those who are already falling through the cracks.  The poor are messy and loud and walk around with lives overflowing with drama...and that is where we find Jesus in this broken and messy world.  We enter into their suffering, we do not hide behind policy and procedures.  We meet their neediness with grace and hope and forgiveness, not mandates.  We give to them because they embody the one who was broken for us.  And then we hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master."

 

Matthew 24

24 As Jesus came out of the temple and was going away, his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. ² Then he asked them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

Signs of the End of the Age

³ When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” ⁴ Jesus answered them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. ⁵ For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah!’^[a] and they will lead many astray. ⁶ And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. ⁷ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines^[b] and earthquakes in various places: ⁸ all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs.

Persecutions Foretold

⁹ “Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. ¹⁰ Then many will fall away,^[c] and they will betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. ¹² And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³ But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ And this good news^[d] of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come.

The Desolating Sacrilege

¹⁵ “So when you see the desolating sacrilege standing in the holy place, as was spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand), ¹⁶ then those in Judea must flee to the mountains; ¹⁷ the one on the housetop must not go down to take what is in the house; ¹⁸ the one in the field must not turn back to get a coat. ¹⁹ Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! ²⁰ Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a sabbath. ²¹ For at that time there will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. ²² And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. ²³ Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’^[e] or ‘There he is!’—do not believe it. ²⁴ For false messiahs^[f] and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ Take note, I have told you beforehand. ²⁶ So, if they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷ For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ²⁸ Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁹ “Immediately after the suffering of those days

the sun will be darkened,
    and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from heaven,
    and the powers of heaven will be shaken.

³⁰ Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory. ³¹ And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

³² “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³ So also, when you see all these things, you know that he^[g] is near, at the very gates. ³⁴ Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

The Necessity for Watchfulness

³⁶ “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son,^[h] but only the Father. ³⁷ For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. ⁴² Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day^[i] your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

The Faithful or the Unfaithful Slave

⁴⁵ “Who then is the faithful and wise slave, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves^[j] their allowance of food at the proper time? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. ⁴⁷ Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But if that wicked slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ ⁴⁹ and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and drinks with drunkards, ⁵⁰ the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know. ⁵¹ He will cut him in pieces^[k] and put him with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

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 Well that seems pretty straightforward...nothing to clear up there.  See you next time.

I mean...what was that?  Hello, Random Prophetic and Apocalyptic text!  What are we supposed to do with you?

The two things that stick with me from this text are:

• Jesus' coming will not be something that we are unsure about.  It is not something that we will need to hear about through word of mouth or the internet or a seminar.   So if anyone is coming around and telling you that the 2nd coming happened and you should come listen to the new messiah on earth...just know that is false.  We are called to be watchful, always prepared, but not worried that we will miss it.  So why be watchful?  Personally, I view it as an integrity issue.  If Jesus came back right now, would I be proud of how he found me or rushing to hide what I had been doing?
• Heed the lesson of the fig tree.  Turbulence and chaos and suffering are the signs that Jesus' return is imminent.  This world cannot stand so much sin for so much longer...creation is preparing to birth something new.  One of the things that I have been noticing is just how dark the world seems as I am able to use modern technology to learn virtually anything about anyone anywhere.  The stream of injustice and violence and angst and hopeless situations is overwhelming.  I have been considering that the depravity of our world is not new, we are simply being given a more comprehensive view of it.  God is showing us some of what He sees as He prepares to judge the world.  Those of you familiar with the book of Amos, it seems like the plumbline vision to me.

So what do we do with this passage?  I think we strive for lives of integrity, working to be found faithful upon His return.  I think we stop acting so surprised that the world is broken and our lives are hard...that is the cost of living in a sinful world.  Being angry, mourning the world, choosing hope and joy...those are all legitimate options.  Hiding until it gets better, assuming that our life should be untouched by the troubles of the world, pouting because life is hard...those are the actions of someone who was not listening to what Jesus said and taking them to heart.

matthew 23

23 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ² “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; ³ therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. ⁴ They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,^[a] and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. ⁵ They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. ⁶ They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, ⁷ and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi. ⁸ But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students.^{[b] 9} And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father—the one in heaven. ¹⁰ Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah.^{[c] 11} The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹² All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.

¹³ “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and when others are going in, you stop them.^{[d] 15} Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross sea and land to make a single convert, and you make the new convert twice as much a child of hell^[e] as yourselves.
¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the sanctuary is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by the oath.’ ¹⁷ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that has made the gold sacred? ¹⁸ And you say, ‘Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gift that is on the altar is bound by the oath.’ ¹⁹ How blind you are! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? ²⁰ So whoever swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it; ²¹ and whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears by it and by the one who dwells in it; ²² and whoever swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by the one who is seated upon it.
²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. ²⁴ You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!
²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶ You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup,^[f] so that the outside also may become clean.
²⁷ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth. ²⁸ So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
²⁹ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, ³⁰ and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Fill up, then, the measure of your ancestors. ³³ You snakes, you brood of vipers! How can you escape being sentenced to hell?^{[g] 34} Therefore I send you prophets, sages, and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town, ³⁵ so that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I tell you, all this will come upon this generation.

The Lament over Jerusalem

³⁷ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! ³⁸ See, your house is left to you, desolate.^{[h] 39} For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

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     Jesus has a few harsh words for the Pharisees, the scribes and generally anyone who considers themselves an expert in the ways of God.  Do what they teach, for they know a lot about scripture, but avoid doing what they do, because their words and their actions do not match.  How careful we have to be when we are speaking of spiritual things, because there is so much that we do not know.

     However, just because we do not know everything does not give us an excuse to remain silent in the world.  We are all called to be witnesses, telling of the goodness that we have seen from God.  Some are called to teach and prophecy beyond that, but everyone is to be able to say "Here is what I know of God from my experience."

     The Pharisees idolized the Law, placing more value on the written code than of the creator or His creation.  Over the generations the religious leaders had added more and more detail into the Law to where the finished product was a convoluted mixture of God's holy words and mankind's policies...and they were all treated the same and given the same weight.  The additions were done with the best intentions: the leaders wanted to make sure that the people never broke God's Law so they clearly defined how not to do that...and then they clearly defined how to not come close to doing that...and then they clearly defined how to avoid going on the path that might bring you close to doing that.  Eventually the good intentions resulted in losing the God who's words they were following.

     We in the church find ourselves looking at Christian culture and the pressures of modern society.  What in our culture is just an idolization of tradition and what is actually the Word and Desire of our God?  Do not just give the easy answer and say, "I just look in the Bible and do what it says."  I know a lot of smart, biblically-based believers who look at Scripture and come up with different answers.  In general we see what we want to see.  How do we answer things like homosexuality or women in the pulpit or divorce or social justice or abortion or the authenticity of scripture?  It cannot be dependent on one leader's opinions and perspective.  Yet it can also not be solely based on what every individual thinks/feels/discerns.  

     We have one teacher, one rabbi, one Father.  We need His wisdom, His revelation.  We need a theology that is filled with justice and mercy and faith.  We need people of integrity who will lead and speak boldly.  We need people who care enough about what they believe that they will wrestle with the issues.  We need people who are as passionate about seeking justice as they are about seeking manifestations of the Holy Spirit.  We need a lot...and only Jesus can help us get there.