A sermon by Rev. Mitchell Hay and Rev. Barbara Lemmel.

Gospel - Matthew 25:31-46
At the appointed time the Promised One will come in glory,
escorted by all the angels of heaven,
and will sit upon the throne of glory,
with all the nations assembled below.
Then the Promised One will separate them from one another,
as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats.
The sheep will be placed on the right hand, the goats on the left.

Then the Ruler will say to those on the right,
‘Come, you blessed of my Abba God!
Inherit the kin-dom prepared for you
from the creation of the world!
For I was hungry, and you fed me;
I was thirsty, and you gave me drink.
I was a stranger and you welcomed me;
naked and you clothed me.
I was ill, and you comforted me;
in prison and you came to visit me. ’

Then these just will ask,
‘When did we see you hungry and feed you,
or see you thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you as a stranger and invite you in
or clothe you in your nakedness?
When did we see you ill or in prison and come to visit you? ’

The Ruler will answer them,
‘Truly I tell you, every time you did this
for the least of my siblings, you did it for me.’

“Then the Ruler will say to those on the left,
‘Out of my sight, you accursed ones!
Into the fire of the Age prepared for the Slanderer and the fallen angels!
For I was hungry, and you gave me no food;
I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink.
I was a stranger and you gave me no welcome;
naked and you gave me no clothing.
I was ill and in prison and you did not come to visit me.’

Then they in turn will ask,
‘When did we see you hungry or thirsty, or homeless or naked,
or ill or in prison, and not take care of you? ’

The answer will come, ‘The truth is, as often as you neglected to do
this to one of the least of these, you neglected to do it to me.’

And these will go into the chastening of the Ages,
but the just will go off to the life of the Ages.”