Our Legacy
Fourth Talk

Talk 4: “Looking at the Bigger Picture” (12:30 PM)
Opening Song: Where Are You Going (Dave Matthews Band)

In the last talk we discussed the real gifts and challenges which God has given us. We said that when we help our talents grow we get closer to God, because we are doing what we were made for. However, there is another thing we have to do with our gifts if we want to keep them. In the same part of the bible where we find the parable of the talents there is also a parable about when Jesus comes and judges the earth. Have everyone take out their bibles. Ask for a volunteer to read the following.

Matthew 25: 31-46
"When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
Then the King will say to those on His right hand, "Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'
"Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, "Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'
"Then He will also say to those on the left hand, "Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'
"Then they also will answer Him, saying, "Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' Then He will answer them, saying, "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

What do you think Jesus is trying to say? Get a few responses. Who are the people that Jesus says we need to help? Get answers and have them write them down (hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, people in prison) If we want to be judged as a righteous person, and go to heaven we need to care for those who need help. Especially when God has given us so many gifts and talents. St. Paul wrote, "as each has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." (1Cor 4:10) In the first talk we already said that whatever our purpose in life is, we are supposed to do it together. According to this parable, if we want to go to heaven we have no choice.

The biggest gift God has given us is when He came to earth and became one of us. The second biggest gift he gave us is each other. God gave us both these gifts because He loved us. When he created us he thought that "it is not good for man to be alone" and so he created woman who was made of the exact same stuff as man was. Someone he could relate to. When God's Son became a human person he did it because we had separated ourselves from Him. Write this down:

• WE NEED GOD AND EACH OTHER.

For this reason, the rule to help others is called the Law of Love. We're not supposed to feed the hungry to get a pass to go to heaven. We go to heaven because we loved someone and helped them. Write this down:

• THE GIFTS WE POSSESS HELP US TO SERVE OTHERS.

Take a look at your list of gifts. How could we use some of these gifts to help others? (Pause)
The other thing we forget when we reject, ignore, or hurt someone else is that God created them just as He created us. We said that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. That means that theirs is also. Write this down:

• WHEN I REJECT OR IGNORE SOMEONE, I AM REJECTING SOMEONE GOD CREATED AND WANTED TO BE HERE. THEREFORE, I AM REJECTING GOD.

God has given us everything we have: our material stuff, family, friends, talents, and the people who live with us. How do we take care of the world? What legacy do you want to pass down? According to Jesus, love is the answer.
Closing song: Give to Live (Van Halen)

Small Group Activity #4: Think of one time in your life when you used one of your gifts to serve someone else, or when someone use their gift to help you. (15 minutes). Share with large group (15 minutes).

		Department of Youth, Young Adult, and Campus Ministry Orthodox Church in America PO Box 675 Syosset, NY 11791 http://yya.oca.org yyacm@oca.org The Hub | Back to top