In Matthew 25, Jesus famously calls his followers to care for “the least of these”—to feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, tend to the sick, and visit the imprisoned. Crucially, the passage opens with the judgment of whole nations. This isn’t just a mandate for individual charity; it is communal, systemic, and deeply political. Jesus is not merely asking if individual hearts are kind, but what kind of societies we build together.
As a congregation, we embody this calling through our commitment to our Mission Statement: Sharing God’s Unconditional Love, Justice, and Extravagant Welcome. Caring for those who suffer is vital, but living out this mission means we must also confront the root causes of that suffering. If asking structural questions causes friction, that isn’t a failure—discomfort is often the natural byproduct of truth spoken aloud.
PEACE-MAKING IS DIFFERENT FROM PEACE-KEEPING
This aligns directly with the Beatitudes, where Jesus declares, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” Notably, he does not bless the peacekeepers, the conflict avoiders, or those who preserve quiet by ignoring harm. Keeping the peace often means suppressing tension— avoiding tough conversations, dodging systemic issues, and maintaining a comfortable status quo. But when injustice is present, silence is never neutral; it actively preserves the harm.
As Martin Luther King Jr. wrote from a Birmingham jail cell, “True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.” Living into an extravagant welcome requires us to move beyond mere politeness. Genuine peacemaking demands that we unmask and dismantle the root causes of division, even when doing so requires uncomfortable conflict. May we have the courage to be those peacemakers together.
Shalom, Paul