Monday, August 04, 2014

Focus not on the Rapture but on loving others.

A Roman Catholic priest gives the right answer when asked, "How does the Rapture figure into your faith?"
...Essentially all of this can be a great distraction from what believers should really be concerned about: bringing hope, mercy and compassion to human history, and participating in the struggle to transform the world and its systems toward fairness and equity for all God's children. Matthew 25 says it all: the Final Judgment will be based on how we have cared for the least among us.
When I ask the kids I teach, "How can we be a good people?", "How can we love God, and show we love God?", often they answer by saying they could pray, some suggest some actions but not many.  I tell them that prayer is good and also here are some actions you can perform, the Corporal Works of Mercy, which are from Matthew 25 and the parable of the Sheep and the Goats:  Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, care for the sick, welcome the stranger.  That's why the rapture, besides not being in scripture, also doesn't matter.  We have some great suggestions for what we can do to make the world a better place, you don't even need to be Christian to think they are good ideas. I am trying to get better at them.

(via The Slacktavist)


No comments: