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Rev. Emily Owen
Biblical Text:Matthew 25:31-46
You might remember that last week Bill preached on the parable of the talents. This parable was the last of three parables about faithful waiting and referred to waiting on Jesus’ coming in glory where he would come to judge. The parable of the talents that Bill preached on focused in particular on the obligations of those who have been granted special gifts. Just following that parable, we pick with our scripture for today. We should remember as we read this text that this is the last of several passages that speak of the final judgment in Matthew. We should also remember that Jesus told this story only two days before the Passover on which he was handed over to be crucified. Listen now for the Word of God…
Matthew 25:31-46
‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the 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 people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by 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 something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal 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 nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just 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 eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!
As I mentioned in the children’s sermon, today is Christ the King Sunday – a day set aside in which we intentionally recognize the reign of Christ. After a year of rehearsing the story of Christ’s coming…his life…his death, his resurrection and his ascension, we come to this exciting, climatic Sunday where we proclaim with joy that Jesus reigns… Christ is King. It is an appropriate celebration to celebrate close to thanksgiving…it is a day when we give thanks for all that God has done for us in Christ. It’s one of those things you want to shout…Christ is King, but then you are sort of left feeling like that may not be enough. There is just so much when we think of all that Christ’s reign in our life entails.
Thinking about the reign of a king probably conjures up images of thrones, and crowns – an almost make believe world or possibly a primitive form of government. It could make us think of a current monarch, but Christ’s rule as King is beyond any of our imaginations and certainly beyond the royal houses at work in today’s world. It is on this day that we can truly recognize that Christ’s rule is vastly different than any form of earthly rule. One characteristic of Christ’s reign that truly sets it apart is that Christ’s reign is eternal…Christ’s kingdom is forever….as we sing in Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus…And he shall reign forever and ever.
Something interesting about kings, is that they are not elected by the people as rulers are. Christ reigns regardless of whether or not people recognize his reign. He is the King, because God has appointed him, not because we have granted him rule. This is important to realize. Just as Christ reigns because God chose him, so we belong to God because God chose us. And Christ doesn’t reign by asserting a great deal of power or control, he reigns by freely sacrificing his own life so that others may live.
It is not just on this day, although this day is set aside as a special celebration, but it is every single day that we honor Christ’s reign in our own lives not by asserting power and control, but by following in Christ’s footsteps and laying down our lives for others…. feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, caring for the sick and visiting the imprisoned.
I once heard an interesting story of two battleships that were on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days in the ocean. One evening as night fell on the foggy sea the Captain decided to stay on the bridge of his ship to keep an eye on things. The lookout man on the upper wing of the bridge reported, "Light, bearing on the starboard bow." The captain asked if it were steady or moving astern. The lookout replied, "Steady, Captain," which meant they were on a head on collision course with whatever was carrying that light. The Captain called to the signalman: "Signal that ship that we are on a collision course; 'advise them to change course twenty degrees.'" Back came a signal, “advise you change course twenty degrees." The captain said, "Send this message: 'I am a captain, change course twenty degrees.'" The reply came back, "I am a Seaman, Second Class. Change your course twenty degrees, immediately." By this time the captain was furious. He spat out, "Send this message! 'I am a battleship. Change your course twenty degrees!'" Back came the message, "I am a lighthouse. Change your course.”
Why is that we can be so stubborn sometimes? We can be fully involved in something and at the very same time have no idea what is actually going on. How often is it the case that we aren’t really sure who the people are that we are dealing with. How often do we walk by a homeless person or a person holding a sign asking for food or money and avoid eye contact? How often do we take the time to know who we are dealing with? How often do we assume that we are better or more important or that we simply don’t have the time?
Our scripture for today describes the final judgment….the time in which Jesus will come in glory to judge. What is interesting to me about this passage is that neither the sheep nor the goats know they are sheep and goats. Jesus looks to those on his right…the sheep…and says, “Come, you that are blessed by 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 something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” But the sheep don’t stand taller with pride, they are confused and ask, ““Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?”
In the same way, Jesus turns to those on his left…the goats…and he says, “I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Again, confusion sets in among the people on the left and they ask Jesus, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?”
You see, the sheep don’t know how they have served Jesus because they are humble in heart and the goats don’t know because they are too busy thinking of themselves to think of others. But Jesus makes it clear to both those on his right and those on his left, that the way they have treated others in their lives can be understood as how they have treated Jesus. He said, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”
Often when we think of sin, we think of doing bad things, like breaking the commandments. But the words of Jesus in our scripture for today, encourage us to also think about the things we could and should do that we choose to skip over or leave undone. Examples given by Jesus in the gospel of Matthew include feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, caring for the sick and visiting the imprisoned. When we think of serving others, we could come up with a list that goes on and on. There are times that I think about all that we are called to do as a Christian people and feel quite overwhelmed when I consider the world in which we live where millions go without proper food or without access to safe and clean drinking water. A world where our country alone houses over two million prisoners. There are certainly times when our call to be Christian disciples can feel overwhelming.
The good news is that Jesus didn’t call one of us, he called all of us. And he called us to serve others, with the self-giving, full of love, humble in heart sort of service. The service we do because we are so full of love and joy that we can’t help but respond to the grace we have received in Jesus Christ. This is service we do…together.
As I read this story from the gospel of Matthew, I can’t help but wonder what the people were thinking as they were separated by Jesus into two groups…just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. They did not know who they were…they were unaware what the two groups meant. The sheep did not know what they had done to be sheep and the goats did not know what they had neglected to do to be goats.
It seems that part of what Jesus is encouraging us to do is to look at our lives and the relationships that we have. Are we living out the gospel? As we follow the acolytes out each Sunday…following the light of the world…Jesus Christ….the King of Kings…and the open Bible… the living Word of God….we are called to share the gospel in all that we do. Do we remember this as we encounter people who are part of Christ’s family…people who are children of God? People who are hungry for food or for love, people who thirst for clean water and for righteousness and on and on.
We have to remember that we are not on our own course. We are on the course set for us by God. And things are not always as they seem. We might think it is a ship, but then it turns out to be a lighthouse. We might think it is giving food to a person who is hungry, but it is just as if we were giving food to Jesus Christ.
And as we wait for Jesus to return in glory, we can rest assure that we are not waiting to be chosen, for we have already been chosen by God. It is in thanksgiving that we respond to Christ’s reign in our lives, by serving others…this day….and every day.
In the name of the creator, redeemer, sustainer and King…Amen.
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