Ministering to the Faithful and Unfaithful Alike
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by Chris Andreas
The following sermon has been provided by the Department of Stewardship
Ministries of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
". . .Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me." (Matt 25:40)
Matt.
25:40 indicates the complete and perfect lifestyle of a Christian.
Throughout Holy Scriptures, we find our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
declaring the importance of giving to all who are in need. It is not
enough to show love only toward those who love us but to all of the
Father’s children. Accordingly, we are exhorted to do what we can in
ministering to others. We are also reminded that all that we have are
gifts from Him. Our times, talents and treasures, literally our very
lives were all given to us by our Creator.
Before His
crucifixion, Jesus said that we will always have the poor among us.
Talk about a prophecy come true! Here we are in America approaching the
21st century, and what do we see: poverty, hunger, a growing welfare
system, the homeless in our streets, and crime waves that have
literally blown statistics from previous generations into oblivion.
Despite all of the programs at the national, state and local levels to
alleviate these problems, we see that the results have fallen far short
of their desired goals. Nothing seems to have worked despite all of the
billions that have been thrown into major programs. The social and
moral crisis in this great nation of ours has continued to grow
steadily worse.
Part of the problem may very well be that
America’s church groups have permitted the federal, state and local
governments to acquire too much of the burden at the purely economic
and secular levels what we as churches should have been doing at the
spiritual and social levels. Are we conveniently allowing government to
usurp our own responsibilities in ministering to others? I offer this
as a challenge to all of us including my own Orthodox brethren.
History
reveals that the Church, the Orthodox Church, has had a very
illustrious, successful history in the area of ministries. You might
recall that in the Early Church, all things were held in common, and
that the first deacons were appointed to assist the poor (see opening
chapters of the Acts of the Apostles). At the time of Constantine the
Great, the Church was finally "legalized" within the Roman Empire. It
literally became the Empire’s principal, dominant faith. Constantine
understood that the foremost administrators who could be relied upon
not only to get the job done, but also in terms of personal integrity
and sincerity were the Christians. The Empire began to be built around
their beliefs.
History also shows that almost all the ministries
of, first the Roman, then the Byzantine Empire, were run not only by
Christians in general but by the Church in particular. The poor, the
elderly and even the incarcerated, that they might be saved in the end,
were ministered to by the Church. Institutions such as the schools,
hospitals, orphanages, libraries and many others were administered by
the Church, and not merely by the state. The ministries were, of
course, highly successful. The poor, the naked and the hungry were well
cared for, and the institutions well run.
In our understanding
of service, the church is all inclusive. In reading Matthew 25, vs.
31-46, we see our Lord and Savior focusing in on the Last Judgement.
Here, we are admonished to show our love through good works, such as
feeding the hungry, giving shelter to the stranger, clothing the naked,
visiting the imprisoned, etc.; in short to do all we can for others who
are in need. Jesus promises us the reward of eternal life if we do it
"even unto the least" of His brethren. Failing to carry out His
commandments of love "even unto the least" of His brethren when we have
the capabilities of doing so, we can only look to everlasting
punishment. These are the promises, (and warning) of God Himself.
Yet
today, there does seem to be a growing antagonism with respect to the
poor and the imprisoned. We have heard so much of the welfare state and
the problems of crime that we have become an angry nation when we speak
of these issues. And we have begun to forget that, whatever the reasons
behind these problems, these are indeed human beings we are talking
about. Every child or young adult who breaks a law is most likely to be
one who has either no person or the wrong person to guide his or her
everyday life. Every adult as well as child that is homeless or who
goes to bed hungry is the responsibility of the Church. It is
irrelevant as to whose fault it is that he or she is in this situation.
True, we don't want to be assaulted for our money, but nonetheless the
Church, which is made up of people like all of us, has this grave
responsibility to administer to people who are in need. This is the
ministry of love that our Lord and Savior so often spoke about. And it
is through the ministry of good works that our love is manifested.
I
do not profess a social gospel here. Yet, at the same time, can the
Gospel of Jesus Christ be effectively preached without the good works
of love? I can only conclude that the answer is "no", it cannot.
We
read in the Epistle of James, Chapter 2, ". . .show me your faith
without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works" and that,
". . .faith without works is dead." He also says, ". . .that by works a
man is justified, and not by faith only." We see here that we must
always keep our attention focused upon the good works that our Lord
Jesus Christ intended for us to do even unto the least of His brothers.
This is meant not only for the spiritual and physical well being of
others but for ourselves as well. For with the good works, we preach a
more sincere gospel, one that is, through our example, our orthopraxia,
more acceptable to others. We read in Matt. 5:16, "Let your light so
shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your
Father in heaven." Our good works have much to do in preaching an
effective gospel thus bringing people closer to the Holy Trinity. Let
us also remain wary of Paul’s admonition in his Epistle to Titus in
3:8, ". . .that those who believe in God should be careful to maintain
good works. These things are good and profitable to men." And as for
ourselves, God makes us complete in every good work we do, for we do it
by His will which is within us through Jesus Christ, and it is pleasing
in His sight (Heb. 13:21).
