God has cast down the mighty and lifted up the lowly; God does cast down the mighty and lift up the lowly; God will cast down the mighty and lift up the lowly.

These are declarations of faith and they are powerful. They have sustained people in moments of crisis and over generations of struggle. But declarations of faith are not intended purely for comfort or sustenance. They are intended to shape lives; to direct attention and action in accordance with that faith.

Jesus’ story reveals that the king, sitting in judgement over the nations, was not watching from afar and was not simply travelling with the righteous but was with those the righteous cared for. That is the vantage point from which the king watched the world – this is the centre from which all else flows.

The strangeness of this parable lies in the dissonance between the story and what Jesus usually teaches about wealth and reward in the Kingdom of God… …which should make us suspect that this parable isn’t actually about wealth – and may not be about the Kingdom of God, either.

So what, then, might it be about?

A brief reflection on the Greatest Commandment before the congregation entered into a lively discussion amongst themselves.