Prepared and foolish
Matthew 25: 1-13 New Ark United Church of Christ, Newark, DE November 8, 2026 Photo of a piece of cardboard with sticky notes on it and the words "If I knew I couldn't fail, I would...". A person with dark brown skin and short black hair is writing on a table covered with a red tablecloth and scattered notecards. Every night Julio Diaz, a 31-year-old social worker, would end his hour-long subway commute to the Bronx one stop early, just so he could eat at his favorite diner. One chilly night, as Diaz stepped off the train and onto a nearly empty platform, he was walking toward the stairs when a teenage boy came up to him and pulled out a knife. The kid wanted his wallet, so Diaz just handed it over. As the boy began to walk away, Diaz said to him, “Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you're going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm.” The kid looked at Diaz like what's going on here. He...
