Matthew 25:31-46

It's interesting how God always seems to have a better plan...I seem to be the one who is assigned a homily date,only to be rescheduled for the next week. I think though, that if I count on this happening a third time, God will have his own plan once again.  God definitely knows me, as he knows every one of us whether we are aware or not, because honestly, I don't do well with money. Money gives me panic attacks.  Last week's gospel of the faithful servants earning double what they had been given and the other who buried the one talent just left me, blank, utterly blank.  For now, I'll leave the money gospels to others to wrestle with and share their insights and wisdom with me because I'm just not ready. 

But this week's gospel...this one, I can handle.  I have to admit, this passage seems to be one that every one has heard...over and over and over and over again.  It is one that crops up in ad campaigns requesting support for shelters and food banks and disaster relief.  It can get a little old and over done and frankly, it loses some of its passion and worth in all that hullabaloo.  It's difficult to find something shiny and new to discuss.  But maybe it's not the shiny and new that needs to be discussed. Maybe, just maybe, it's the true passion and worth that is here in Jesus' words about what our purpose should be, what our presence can mean here on Earth, and ultimately the eternal life we can gain. 

We have heard a lot in the past weeks of why people give to our church. It's a unique part of our stewardship campaign that I quite enjoy.  And, while I am inspired and changed for the better by these insights into others' reasons for giving to the church, this week's gospel allows me to ask...why do we give to anything?  I don't mean give solely in the financial sense, but why do you give the 40 or more hours a week to your job?  Why do you give $5 a day to Starbucks?  Why do you give an hour on the phone to a friend who was just jilted by their lover? Why do we give an hour to fellowship at coffee hour, but we don't give an hour to talk with our families about how much we love them except when things are not going well?  Why don't we give ten minutes to sit and be with God, but we can give ten minutes to playing mob wars on facebook or myspace?

God gave us an immense power in giving us free will.  We can choose to spend our lives captivated by his love or we can turn our backs on that love.  For most of us, I think we fall somewhere in between those extremes. Some days we see His love, in all its glory and other days we just can't see or even feel that warmth and light. But what I believe Jesus is saying today is that we need to be conscious about the choices we make.  We need to have some self awareness and some world awareness to know that God is here with us and God needs us.  He's asking us to use the gifts we have been given to the best of our ability, whenever and wherever, in the darkness of despair and in the warmth and glory of clear holy love, and someday we'll be able to come face to face with God's glory, never to feel despair or hurt again.