Worshipping at Home 26th November 2023
Home Worshipping 
26th November 2023

Welcome to Home Worshipping 26th November  2023!
Chris the King and Court Leet

Bible Reading

Bible readings


Ezekiel 34: 11-16, 20-24God will be our shepherd

Matthew 25: 31-46 The judging of the nations


31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.


34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’



44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”


Thought for the Day

This Sunday is called ‘Christ the King’ and emphasises that Jesus is the true King or ruler over all of the nations; i.e. all peoples of the world whatever their race, creed or colour. Indeed it is notable that there is no qualifying status of belief nor Jewish origin here; the only criterion is to have lived in accordance with the will of God.

So from this we can conclude that all of mankind has the potential to be saved by loving and caring for those who are the lowest, poorest, starved, sick, disadvantaged or imprisoned members of society.

Herein is the paradox of Jesus who came to love, serve and promote justice for all of mankind; who came to cure and uplift the sick and diseased; to feed the hungry and quench their thirst; to comfort and release those unjustly imprisoned; to relieve the poor from debts owed to their rich oppressors and to clothe the naked. Even so he was the ultimate ruler with supreme power and he expected his followers and anyone else who wanted to be saved to follow his words and his ways and his actions. Yet he died on the cross to save all of mankind.

The strange choice of sheep and goats probably sounds out of place to us in this day and age but in biblical times was an acceptable way of contrasting the characteristics and behaviour of different types of people. In those times there may have been quite a number of religious practitioners of ‘The Law’ who held themselves out to be holier than other worshippers or citizens around them; such people might have regarded the poor, the sick and the disadvantaged to be inferior to them in God’s eyes. Likewise those who were imprisoned.

Such people would look upon wealth and a good standard of living or higher social status to be a sign of blessing by God. These would be the goats eminently eligible to be amongst those cast out into everlasting darkness and punishment. The sheep however, that is the poor, the sick, the disadvantaged and the imprisoned whom they despised or ignored, could well be amongst the ones to be saved.

So what about our chances of salvation? Well, being a sharing, caring and modest person is a good start as long as we direct our generosity and goodwill towards those who most need it. We are called to show love, compassion and kindness to all of our fellow mankind of course. We are to have our wits about us as we mix in society, or at work and as we walk the streets; just keeping an eye out for people in difficulty whether physically, mentally or emotionally. We are not to hold ourselves back from rolling up our sleeves to help others no matter how inconvenient or messy it might be.

On the other hand nor are we to patronise those in difficulty or offer lukewarm sympathy for show. When we confess Jesus to be our Lord and King we are making quite a commitment and it has to be seen through if we wish to be one of his flock of sheep eligible to receive his grace on that final unknown day.

But above all it is the feeling in our hearts and the first thought in our minds that counts. As we are confronted by the person living on the streets what is our first thought and action? Is one of doubt or distrust; maybe a flat ‘No’ regardless; or could we make time to talk to them to understand more of their predicament or immediate need. Perhaps that might help us to make a decision as whether to give money or instead buy them a hot drink or food or maybe a warm garment.

First instincts often betray our real intent and I know that I often dislike myself for hesitating before I commit. I guess we have a good idea how Jesus feels about such things but how about you – what are your first instincts?

Let us Pray

Heavenly Father infuse our hearts, souls and minds with your Holy Spirit that we may live out our lives in true faith embracing the lives and struggles of our neighbours to bring them relief from their difficulties ad a share of our own good fortune. Amen

Prayer for the interregnum of the Parish of Beaudesert with Henley and Ullenhall (to be said during intercessions).

Almighty and everlasting God as we travel together through this period of interregnum we thank you for your everlasting love for us. Give us strength to accept this time of change and send us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with encouragement and hope for the future. We ask that you will help us to share responsibilities growing in faith and love with one another. We look forward to the appointment of a new Priest and believe you will send one best suited to your disciples in this parish and who will encourage many to join with us on our journey of faith. Amen
The Blessing

Go forth into the world in peace; be of good courage; hold fast to that which is good; render to no one evil for evil; strengthen the fainthearted; support the weak; love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit; and the blessing of God almighty, the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit, be among us, and remain with us and those whom we love, always.


Amen

 The Collect Prayer

God the Father, help us to hear the call of Christ the King and follow in his service, whose Kingdom has no end; for he reigns with you ad the Holy Spirit, one God one glory.


Amen

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Henley in Arden The incumbent   (Vacancy)



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