Chalke Talk 49: Jesus 'couldn't care less' about religion

‘‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of THE LEAST of these, you did not do for me.” This is the infamous and crushing blow that Jesus delivers to those who refuse to serve and advocate for society’s most marginalised.

In this week's Chalke Talk, Steve continues to look at the theme of loving others acknowledging that Jesus was a radical, of his day, on this front. However, just like Jesus’ followers then, this is something we struggle with even 20 centuries later. 

As Steve puts it, “God hides in the oppressed, the poor, the marginalised, the forgotten, the rejected, in those we find challenging. God hides among our neighbours and even our enemies. Our challenge is to look for him in each other’s faces; to greet, love and serve all, even when we don’t have the sensitivity or insight to recognise God’s presence in them at the outset. Because in serving the least – we serve God himself.” This means that any system of exclusivity, or perspective that refuses to see the image of God in all his creation, whether it goes by the name of religion or not, is antithetical to the message of the Gospel.

So what do you think?

Jesus’ parable was a huge shock to his first listeners – what does it mean for us today?