A Children’s Sermon on Matthew 25:31-46

Preface for Pastors and Parents

A children’s sermon on Matthew 25:31-46? Tough challenge. It’s an amazing text, of course. But it’s potentially really scary. That threat of eternal torment by fire is over-the-top.

It brings to mind a lit class long ago where we read James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. In one scene a priest teaches children to fear hell, talking about sticking your finger in a candle’s flame, imagining it consuming one’s whole self, and for all eternity. Gruesome. It’s actually all I remember of the novel.

I can’t stand that approach personally. It doesn’t honor how Jesus treated actual children. It can’t be what he wanted us to do with this text. 

We get fixated on this story of the Last Judgment. It is the social justice version of judgment, in which everything hangs on how our treats neighbors in need. That grabs us in important ways.

It’s an unusual piece of Jesus’ teaching, so a children’s sermon on Matthew 25:31-46 has to work around, or take account of, some difficulties. I suspect I’ve tried to answer too many questions here!

Let’s see it evolves if I just start by retelling the story.

A Children’s Sermon on Matthew 25:31-46.

Good morning, kids! I’m so glad to see you here in worship this morning. Thank you for coming up to hear the children’s sermon.

For three weeks our stories about Jesus have come from the same chapter of the Bible. It’s chapter 25 of the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus tells three stories to help us imagine when he  will come back to us at the end of the age. 

I don’t think Jesus wanted us to be scared about when he comes back. Jesus loves us, and promises to take us home to be with him forever. I think, though, that Jesus really wanted us to be ready for him to come. But what does it mean to be ready? To answer that, Jesus told these three different stories.

Jesus and Mary

Jesus had been telling these stories to Peter one night as they sat beside the campfire. All the while, Mary, Martha’s sister, was quietly listening. Finally, she spoke up.

“Jesus,” she said, “I liked your stories about when you come back again. But I’m still wondering what exactly I can do to really be ready?”

“Tell me what you don’t understand, Mary.” Jesus said,

“Well,” Mary said, “In your first story the bridesmaids were supposed to have extra oil for their lamps. I don’t think you actually want me to go buy oil, right? And in the second story the employees had to invest the Boss’s money. But I don’t have even one big bag of money to invest. What do you really want me to do?”

“It’s actually pretty simple,” Jesus said. ”Remember when I said what the two most important commandments are?”

“Sure,” Mary said. “Love God with everything, and love your neighbor as yourself.”

“Right,” Jesus said. “Do those things and you’ll be ready when I come.”

“What do you mean—specifically?” said Mary. 

“If you keep growing your love for God,” Jesus said, “spending time with God, learning about God, singing songs about God, trying to do what God teaches, then that will fill you up. It will be like extra oil in your lamp. And then love your neighbors. That’s how you invest in my Kingdom.”

Loving As Yourself

“But what I guess I don’t know for sure is how to love my neighbors,” Mary said.

“Ah,” Jesus said, “that’s what I’ve been trying to show you from the beginning. When someone is sick, I try to heal them. When everybody gets hungry, I try to feed them. When I see a stranger, like someone from another country, I try to make them feel welcome. Stuff like that.”

“Yeah, I guess you do that stuff a lot, Jesus,” Mary said. “How do you have the energy to try to help all those other people?”

“That’s the thing, Mary,” Jesus said. “I try not to think of them as ‘other people.’ I try to think of them as… well, as me. As part of myself.”

“You mean like part of the same family, maybe?” asked Mary. “Like the way Martha is my sister, and Lazarus is my brother? Since we’re connected it makes it easier for me to care for them.” 

“Yeah,” said Jesus, “but I see people as even closer to me than family. Like we’re all part of the same big body. You remember how all people are made in God’s own image?”

“I remember you talking about it,” Mary said. 

“Well, imagine if we had a special mirror to see people how God sees them,” Jesus said. “Every person’s reflection in that mirror would look like God! If I see God in me, and I see God in you, then really we’re connected. If I see you need something, and you are really part of me, then of course I want to help you, that’s what it’s all about.”

“Um,” said Mary, “that’s what what’s all about?’

“When I come back at the end of the age,” said Jesus. “Picture it like this:” 

Those Who Loved

Everyone in all the world will be there. Imagine them all walking in two lines, on two different roads. And I’ll be able to talk with each one. 

To the people on one road I’ll say “Thank you for everything you did for me!”

And they’ll say “What do you mean, Lord? What did we ever do for you?”

I’ll say “Well that time I was so hungry that I was starving you gave me some of your food! And that time I was sick and couldn’t get out of bed, or work on my farm, you came and took care of me. You even harvested my vegetables. And then that time when I got in trouble and had to go to jail? It was so nice of you to come and visit me.” 

And they’ll say “Wait a minute, Jesus! You were never in jail! When did I ever give you food or help you when you were sick? And you don’t even have a farm!”

Then I’ll say “Of course you did! You cared for people made in God’s image. And I’m in God’s image too! Those people are all connected to me, like parts of my body. When you cared for them you cared for me.” 

Those Who Didn’t

But then I’ll have to say to the people on the other road, “How come you didn’t ever help me? Remember when I was so hungry but you wouldn’t give me food? When I was sick, you wouldn’t take care of me. And when I was in trouble and had to go to jail you wouldn’t even visit me! When I came from another country you weren’t nice to me at all. That’s not how it was supposed to be.”

 “But what do you mean, Jesus?” they’ll ask.

”I mean you should have looked closer,” I’ll say. “When you saw someone hungry, or sick, or lonely, or in prison, if you looked you would have seen if they’re made in God’s image.”

“But what difference does that make?” they’ll say. “Isn’t everybody made in God’s image?”

 And I’ll say, “If you had looked close enough to see they are in God’s image, and you cared for them, you would have cared for me.” 

Then everyone will head off down the road they had been on all along. The ones who loved me by loving their neighbors will head straight into my father’s kingdom.

But How Much?

Mary sat very quietly for a while. 

Jesus said “Looks like you still have some questions, Mary.”

She looked up. “I do. I’m worried, Jesus. I try to live the way you teach but there are so many people with problems! How can I feed all the hungry people? How can I visit all the prisoners? How can I care for all the sick people? How can I—”

 ”Wait a minute, Mary,” Jesus said. “I never said you had to feed everybody, or heal everybody. Even I don’t feed and heal everybody.” 

“Oh,” said Mary, surprised. “You don’t?”

“Nope.” said Jesus. “I help the ones I meet. When I get close enough to see God’s image in someone, then I can care for them—I can love them as myself. But there are millions and millions of people in the world. You’ll never even meet them all.”

Mary was quiet again. “So how do I know if I’ve done enough?”

“Ah,” said Jesus. “I think that’s the wrong question. There is no ‘enough’ in love. The better question is, are you leaning to see my image in your neighbor? Are you learning to love?” 

Wondering

I wonder how you and I can learn to see Jesus’ image in the people around us?

I wonder if there are people we already love as ourselves?

I wonder who you and I will meet this week who shines with Jesus image?

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