Today we hear from the Gospel according to Matthew, and it is the story of the last judgment. Jesus tells us:
"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. 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, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 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; 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, 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.' 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? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' 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, you did it to me.' 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; 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 did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' 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?' 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.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.'" (Mt. 25:31-46).
In our Adult Christian Formation, we have been exploring the idea of heaven and hell, what our understanding is, and what Scripture has to say. We discovered that Jesus often speaks of building the Kingdom of God.
Today's passage from Matthew follows the idea of the building of the Kingdom of God. We hear that the decisions that we make today, and what we do, or fail to do, have eternal ramifications. In today's reading, we hear that we are to treat everyone that we encounter as Christ among us, and most especially those who are suffering and in pain. You and I are to treat everyone, not just some, but everyone, with the respect and dignity that is due to the Messiah himself. When we do this, we are building God's Kingdom, and when we stand before God at the final judgment, at the very verge of the resurrection of the body that we profess every Sunday, God will show us how we have done our part in building His Kingdom and how Christ has restored all of creation. God will show us how our lives have eternal results. That is something to think about today, in the here and now, about how what we do matters not just in the moment, but for eternity.
Let us pray: Eternal Father, Your Son Jesus told us that we are to treat everyone with the same dignity and respect that belongs to Him because each and everyone of us is Your son and daughter redeemed by the blood of Christ. Send Your Holy Spirit to enlighten our hearts, minds and souls to see that the eternal begins here and now, and help us to live as You call us to knowing that we will forever dwell in Your glorious and loving presence. Amen.
CALENDAR REMINDERS:
Adult Christian Formation: We’re back on track for Adult Christian Formation with our series on heaven and hell, Angels with Harps or Demons with Pitchforks, Or Something Else, on Sundays at 11:00 a.m. in the nave.
Feeding Volunteers at William Temple: Tomorrow, Thursday, 15 July at 6:00 p.m. we will feed 15 volunteers at William Temple. We have a reputation now with the volunteers for providing some of the best meals. Andrew "Bubba" Pierce is preparing brisket. Please share with everyone what you intend to bring. Thanks you so much!
UBE Youth at St. Augustine: 31 July to 1 August. The Youth will stay with us at St. Augustine to learn their history and the place of this Church in the Diocese of Texas, and to use our facilities as a base of operations as they do mission work at St. Vincent's House.
Kitchen Shower: First weekend in August.
If you are able, please help Valerie Boyer to realize her study trip to Cambridge. The deadline is this Friday.
The Feast Day of St. Augustine & Blessing of the New Facilities:
Dinner celebration on Saturday, 28 August 2010
Eucharist, Sunday, 29 August 2010
PLEASE REMEMBER ALL THOSE ON OUR PRAYER LIST and especially:
Russ Viska who is having a double bypass today
Sue and Sean Coleman as Sue recovers from brain surgery
Roylene Lemons’ continued recovery
Baby Hayden and for his mother, Clarrissa
Tammie Taylor’s continued recovery
Gladys Simon
Let us pray for all of those serving in the Armed Forces, especially:
Lewis Lemons
Brian Taylor
Lt. Col. Bryan Leslie Runion
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
"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. 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, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 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; 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, 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.' 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? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' 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, you did it to me.' 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; 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 did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' 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?' 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.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.'" (Mt. 25:31-46).
In our Adult Christian Formation, we have been exploring the idea of heaven and hell, what our understanding is, and what Scripture has to say. We discovered that Jesus often speaks of building the Kingdom of God.
Today's passage from Matthew follows the idea of the building of the Kingdom of God. We hear that the decisions that we make today, and what we do, or fail to do, have eternal ramifications. In today's reading, we hear that we are to treat everyone that we encounter as Christ among us, and most especially those who are suffering and in pain. You and I are to treat everyone, not just some, but everyone, with the respect and dignity that is due to the Messiah himself. When we do this, we are building God's Kingdom, and when we stand before God at the final judgment, at the very verge of the resurrection of the body that we profess every Sunday, God will show us how we have done our part in building His Kingdom and how Christ has restored all of creation. God will show us how our lives have eternal results. That is something to think about today, in the here and now, about how what we do matters not just in the moment, but for eternity.
Let us pray: Eternal Father, Your Son Jesus told us that we are to treat everyone with the same dignity and respect that belongs to Him because each and everyone of us is Your son and daughter redeemed by the blood of Christ. Send Your Holy Spirit to enlighten our hearts, minds and souls to see that the eternal begins here and now, and help us to live as You call us to knowing that we will forever dwell in Your glorious and loving presence. Amen.
CALENDAR REMINDERS:
Adult Christian Formation: We’re back on track for Adult Christian Formation with our series on heaven and hell, Angels with Harps or Demons with Pitchforks, Or Something Else, on Sundays at 11:00 a.m. in the nave.
Feeding Volunteers at William Temple: Tomorrow, Thursday, 15 July at 6:00 p.m. we will feed 15 volunteers at William Temple. We have a reputation now with the volunteers for providing some of the best meals. Andrew "Bubba" Pierce is preparing brisket. Please share with everyone what you intend to bring. Thanks you so much!
UBE Youth at St. Augustine: 31 July to 1 August. The Youth will stay with us at St. Augustine to learn their history and the place of this Church in the Diocese of Texas, and to use our facilities as a base of operations as they do mission work at St. Vincent's House.
Kitchen Shower: First weekend in August.
If you are able, please help Valerie Boyer to realize her study trip to Cambridge. The deadline is this Friday.
The Feast Day of St. Augustine & Blessing of the New Facilities:
Dinner celebration on Saturday, 28 August 2010
Eucharist, Sunday, 29 August 2010
PLEASE REMEMBER ALL THOSE ON OUR PRAYER LIST and especially:
Russ Viska who is having a double bypass today
Sue and Sean Coleman as Sue recovers from brain surgery
Roylene Lemons’ continued recovery
Baby Hayden and for his mother, Clarrissa
Tammie Taylor’s continued recovery
Gladys Simon
Let us pray for all of those serving in the Armed Forces, especially:
Lewis Lemons
Brian Taylor
Lt. Col. Bryan Leslie Runion
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
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