A prayer as we begin to worship
Servant King meet us now in this time and place
Show us your ways
and open our hearts
so, we may truly know you. Amen
Hymn He is exalted
He is exalted,
the King is exalted on high,
I will praise him.
He is exalted,
forever exalted
and I will praise his name!
He is the Lord,
forever his truth shall reign.
Heaven and earth
rejoice in his holy name.
He is exalted,
the King is exalted on high!
Twila Paris (b. 1958)
Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 52
Words and Music: © 1985 Straightway Music / Mountain Spring Music / EMICMP / Small Stone Media BV, Netherlands. Administered by Song Solutions Daybreak, 14 Horsted Square, Uckfield, East Sussex, TN22 1QG. www.songsolutions.org Used by permission.
Prayer of adoration
Silence
Loving God, we adore you,
Ruler of all, we praise your holy name.
For you are our God and our Servant-King:
We are the people of your pasture
and the sheep of your hand.
Suffering Christ, we adore you,
Saviour of all, we praise your holy name.
For you are our God and our Servant-King:
We are the people of your pasture
and the sheep of your hand.
Joyous Spirit, we adore you,
Freedom of all, we praise your holy name.
For you are our God and our Servant-King:
We are the people of your pasture
and the sheep of your hand.
Shepherd God – our Maker, Redeemer and Friend – we adore you,
singing for joy in your presence,
worshipping you with thanksgiving,
humbling our pride with praise.
For you are our strength, our protection and our hope,
source of goodness and love, faith and healing;
and with all the earth we call out to you in gladness,
before all the world we bless you as our King:
We are the people of your pasture
and the sheep of your hand.
Collect Prayer
Stir up, O Lord, the wills of your faithful people,
that they, bringing forth the fruit of good works,
may by you be richly rewarded;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Reading Matthew 25.31-46
Jesus said to his disciples: 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. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34Then 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; 35for 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, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” 37Then 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? 38And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” 40And 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.” 41Then 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; 42for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I 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.” 44Then 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?” 45Then 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.” 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’
Prayer of confession and declaration of forgiveness
Let us confess our sins.
Silence
Loving God,
we have sinned against you in what we have thought, said and done.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and turn away from what is wrong.
Forgive us for the sake of your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Silence
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
This is his gracious word: ‘Our sins are forgiven.’ Amen.
Thanks be to God.
Hymn When I needed a neighbour, were you
1 When I needed a neighbour, were you there, were you there?
When I needed a neighbour, were you there?
And the creed and the colour and the name won’t matter,
were you there?
2 I was hungry and thirsty, were you there, were you there?
I was hungry and thirsty, were you there?
3 I was cold, I was naked, were you there, were you there?
I was cold, I was naked, were you there?
4 When I needed a shelter, were you there, were you there?
When I needed a shelter, were you there?
5 When I needed a healer, were you there, were you there?
When I needed a healer, were you there?
6 Wherever you travel I’ll be there, I’ll be there,
wherever you travel I’ll be there.
And the creed and the colour and the name won’t matter,
I’ll be there.
Sydney Carter (1915–2004)
Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 256
Words and Music: © 1965, Stainer & Bell Ltd, 23 Gruneisen Road, London N3 1DZ www.stainer.co.uk
Reflection
I remember a Church minister I greatly respect saying to me that this passage really affected him and it struck him that where ever he went and whatever he did he could be meeting with Christ so he was constantly praying that he could learn to see Christ in people – that he could recognise Christ’s presence in their life and so he would be encouraged to serve them.
I understand why he said this. It would be great wouldn’t it if every time we met a person or person in need, we could see the light of Christ twinkling in their eyes. The trouble is that this is not actually what Jesus is saying in this parable. The thing about the parable is that neither the people who care for the poor or those that ignore them realise that they are either serving or rejecting Christ. The difference between the sheep and the goats is not that one set of people recognises Christ, and the other doesn’t the difference between them is purely on the basis of what they actually do.
We are not judged on being able to recognise Christ in everyone we meet but on serving the poor and the needy. This should make a profound difference to the way we behave.
If we only serve those who remind us of Jesus, then we won’t be serving very many people will we? If we only serve people who remind us of Jesus, we will serve only good Christian people who are nice and kind and generous but who just happen to be poor.
The truth is that the poorest and the weakest may not look very attractive at all in fact it may be very hard to see any sign of Jesus in their lives. Yet that does not mean that Jesus is not there. If we are to believe this parable Christ is to be found among people who speak every language, every skin colour, every faith, every way of living. Christ may also be found amongst our families and friends. Yet the only thing that will give us a clue to Christ’s presence is the fact that Christ is always to be found amongst people who are in need.
If we are to serve Christ, we must serve the poorest, and the weakest and the neediest. Not because we can look at them and see Christ but because whether we can see Christ in them or not, we know that our redeemer and saviour has told us to care for them.
In the parable of the sheep and the goats Jesus condemns those who do not love when they should. When we don’t live lives of love then we fail God and are worthy of condemnation. We cut ourselves off from God and unless we accept God’s love for us, we can have no hope. However, though our love may fail God’s love shown to us in Jesus will not fail. God loves the poor the weak and even us so much that Jesus died on the cross so that we might know that love. It is in this amazing love we trust and nothing else. For it is as we accept and are filled with God’s love and live lives of love that we will prove ourselves to be sheep rather than goats.
Questions
Do you show love to some people and not to others?
Do some people deserve to be loved and others not?
Do you deserve God’s love or does God love you anyway?
A video/song to reflect
“Live like your loved” – Hawk Nelson
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Let us give thanks to God.
For the love of our Father, the Maker of all,
the giver of all good things:
let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God.
For the world’s beauty and the changing seasons,
and for the life that we have been given:
let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God.
For Jesus Christ our Saviour,
who lived and worked among us:
let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God.
For his suffering and death on the cross
and his resurrection to new life:
let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God.
For his rule over all things
and his presence in the world:
let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God.
For the Holy Spirit, the giver of life,
who teaches and guides us:
let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God.
For the grace of the Spirit
in the work of the Church
and the life of the world:
let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Prayer of Intercessions
Silence
Let us pray that we may serve Christ the King
in meeting the needs of others.
‘When I was hungry, you gave me food;
when thirsty, you gave me drink.’
God with us, we pray for the hungry and thirsty of our world:
for the victims of famine, drought, natural disaster and the disruption of warfare.
We pray for . . . name any you know who are hungry (physically or spiritually)
Show us what we should do.
Your kingdom come: your will be done.
‘When I was a stranger, you took me into your home;
when naked, you clothed me.’
God with us, we pray for those without homes or protection from the elements:
for refugees, the destitute, those thrown out of home,
those living on the street.
We pray for . . . name any who are homeless or lack the clothing they need
Show us what we should do.
Your kingdom come: your will be done.
‘When I was ill, you came to my help.’
God with us,
we pray for those who are ill for those with chronic or life-threatening conditions,
those who are sick in mind or spirit.
We pray for . . . name any you know who are sick
Show us what we should do.
Your kingdom come: your will be done.
‘When I was in prison, you visited me.’
God with us,
we pray for those who are imprisoned: for criminals and prisoners of conscience,
and those imprisoned by fear or guilt.
We pray for . . .name any you know who are imprisoned
Show us what we should do.
Your kingdom come: your will be done.
In Jesus’ name we love and serve. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.
Offering and prayer of dedication
O God of majesty,
as you have raised your Son, Jesus Christ from the dead,
and exalted him as our Saviour and Judge,
so give us life and call us to truth and compassion.
O God of glory,
as you have made your Son, Jesus Christ,
head over all things for the church,
so increase that love which recreates us as his body.
O God of mercy,
as you have offered your Son, Jesus Christ,
into the pain and hatred and grief of the world,
so keep us faithful in suffering and wise in our witness.
O God of renewal,
as you have revealed your Son, Jesus Christ,
in the person of our neighbour,
so may we offer bread for his hunger,
clothes for his nakedness, welcome for his loneliness,
and grace in all the prisons of the soul.
Hymn Meekness and majesty
1 Meekness and majesty,
manhood and deity,
in perfect harmony —
the man who is God.
Lord of eternity,
dwells in humanity,
kneels in humility
and washes our feet.
Oh, what a mystery —
meekness and majesty:
bow down and worship,
for this is your God,
this is your God!
2 Father’s pure radiance,
perfect in innocence,
yet learns obedience
to death on a cross:
suffering to give us life,
conquering through sacrifice —
and as they crucify,
prays, ‘Father forgive.’
3 Wisdom unsearchable,
God the invisible,
love indestructible
in frailty appears:
Lord of infinity,
stooping so tenderly,
lifts our humanity
to the heights of his throne.
Graham Kendrick (b. 1950)
Reproduced from Singing the Faith Electronic Words Edition, number 362
Words and Music: © 1986, Thankyou Music. Administered by worshiptogether.com Songs, excluding UK & Europe, administered by Kingswaysongs, a division of David C Cook tym@kingsway.co.uk Used by permission.
Blessing
The blessing of God,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
be among us and remain with us always. Amen.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ. Amen.
