Help for the Helpless

A Sermon Preached by

Eddie Smart

September 4, 2005

Zephyr United Methodist Church

Early First United Methodist Church

Matthew 25:31-46

"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."

          Monday night and into Tuesday Katrina hit with the force of a category 5 hurricane. Most of New Orleans is under water still. Biloxi, Gulfport and Mobile suffered catastrophic damage. People are still trapped in homes. People have died. They need food and water. They need medical care. In New Orleans and elsewhere the “least” are in need. So many of those in need are the poor. They are hungry, thirsty, barely have clothes, and are sick. What does Jesus look like? He looks like the people who found themselves in the path of Katrina.

          In Hebrews 13:16 we are told, “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”

          So what do we have that we can share? What sacrifices pleasing to God can make a difference for these people. We want to do good. We don’t want to neglect doing good.

          As United Methodist we have ways that we can make a difference quickly. Before Katrina was even a tropical depression, we had already started making health kits for UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee on Relief. UMCOR is already working with the annual conferences where the destruction and devastation have occurred.

          UMCOR is in immediate need of health kits, blankets, water and flood buckets. These can be sent to them or we can send money that will allow them to buy these. The Early First church has been designated as a collection center for these items. On next Sunday the items will be delivered to Weatherford and then to the Sager Brown center in Balwin, LA. I hope and pray that we can be as generous as the storm was destructive.

          Did you know that plans are already underway for housing evacuees in the Fort Worth area? There will be a Red Cross shelter there. The St. Andrews church in Fort Worth, the Joshua church, FUMC in Arlington and Central UMC in Waco will each open shelters. There is already a need for cots and bedding. The Red Cross in Fort Worth is collecting backpacks and school supplies for the children who will need to continue with their schooling.

          We have heard it said. It will take years to recover. The time will come when the United Methodist Volunteers in Mission can be involved in clean-up and rebuilding. You can be a part of that if you choose. Our newsletter that went out this week offers three opportunities for you to receive training as a volunteer in mission. One of those trainers will be a UMCOR leader who has been the middle of relief efforts already this week.

          UMCOR will be there for the long haul. They will be there until life is normal again. They can be there only when we support their ministry.

          This message from Jesus sounds like a message on judgement. There are the sheep on the right and on the left. There will be eternal punishment and eternal life. One thing is certain. Jesus cares about the poor, the sick, the hungry, the thirst, the naked. Jesus expects us to care.

          Last night on the Larry King show in CNN a young girl from California was introduced. She had showed up at a local Red Cross office to help. She had been saving her money so that she could buy herself a new bed. She was looking forward to that new bed, but she brought her jar of money to contribute it to the relief efforts for those who are hurting and hungry.

          MOTHER Teresa tells us, the gospel is written on our fingers! “YOU DID IT TO ME.” She says, "At the end of your life, your 5 fingers will either excuse you or accuse you of doing it unto the least of these. YOU DID IT TO ME."

          How will Jesus experience you and me through the people who were in the path of Katrina?