Slideshow image

Good Friday, April 18, 2025

Beloved children of God,

On this Good Friday, we remember the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ for all of us in the world, past, present, and future. Jesus gave us so many important words of wisdom to live by, starting with our commandment to love one another as Jesus has loved us. It didn’t stop there, however.

               As we watch cruelty of all kinds in our country and around the world, Jesus continues to call us to love and hope. The words of Matthew 25 ring bright and clear today, able to slice right through our rhetoric to what is true and honest and Christlike. Matthew 25 begins with the parable I have shared before – about being ready and keeping watch, having our wicks trimmed and our oil filled so that we are ready for whenever Christ calls us to serve. Then it goes to the parable of the talents, reminding us that what God has given us is ours to share, not to hoard. We are to be ready to serve, and we need to understand that what we have is our equipment to use in service.

               Then Matthew 25 turns to the parable of the sheep and the goats. Jesus has answered questions about when (be ready now), how (with what we’ve been given), and now Jesus turns to WHO to serve. You know the story – it’s set in the kingdom of heaven, when Jesus divides the sheep from the goats and turns to the sheep and tells them that they are blessed and ready to inherit the kingdom. They have fed him, visited him, taken care of him, and welcomed him, and Jesus is grateful! The sheep are surprised – when have these things happened? Jesus replies, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.” (Mt. 25:40). The goats want to know why they are not blessed and ready to inherit the kingdom, and it’s because they did not offer food and clothing, welcome and care, visits and love to those who are the ‘least’ among them.

               Who? Those whom people might consider to be the least among them. Jesus doesn’t see people that way, but Jesus knows we do. There’s a lot of opinion about the least among us – those who aren’t documented, those who have committed crimes, those who are members of gangs, those who are fighting addiction, those who have immigrated to our country, those who are Jewish or Muslim, those who are black or brown, those who are women or LGBTQ, those who want to hurt and persecute all of the above… the list could go on.

               Jesus calls us to be ready at all times, with what God has given us, to serve the least among us. Therein lies our hope and our joy! On this Good Friday, with pain and suffering all around us, Jesus cuts through with our vision and guide for life.

               It’s no mistake that the PCUSA, our denomination, has been using Matthew 25 as our orienting Scripture for the past several years. May it be one you keep close beside you as we continue to travel through this storm in our country. The chapter gives us when, how, and who to serve, and God will make sure we have what we need. Be encouraged – no storm lasts forever. Easter is coming!

In Christ's eternal love,

Pastor Kimberly