Sermon from 10am Sunday Worship by Felicity Thompson, Seminarian, 11/26/2023, Matthew 25:31-46
Privately, Jesus warns the disciples of days that are coming that will be challenging. There will be an increasing number of false prophets. Many people will lose their faith. Then Jesus talks about “the Son of Man arriving with His angels and is now seated on the throne, where He is called the King”, that’s in Matthew chapter 25:34. All the nations, all the nations of the world will be gathered before the Son of Man seated on the throne and Jesus will be recognized as King.
In this parable, Jesus compares the gathering of all nations before Him to a shepherd and his flock. Jesus will be separating the sheep from the goats. The sheep represent the righteous, those who have shown compassion and kindness to the least of these, God’s children. The goats, on the other hand, represent those who have neglected to care for the needy and marginalized. This is a profound reminder that our actions toward others, especially those in need are a direct reflection of our relationship with God.
This parable reminds me of a time the Medical Society Alliance worked on a community project with the residents of SAFE House in Ann Arbor. At a meeting, a suggestion was made to provide the residents with items we thought they needed to make their future living spaces a home. It was that time of the year to donate to residents at SAFE House, a wonderful organization that creates safe space for victims of domestic violence and their children. After some conversations, we decided to think through how we help and make it meaningful for the recipients and ourselves. Writing a check is easy for this group but it felt cold and standoffish.
We met the residents in their space and at a time convenient for them. Both parties arrived at a date and time over a meal provided by our group. We asked the residents for their wishes, after they leave SAFE House and items they would like for their new homes. Our task was to listen, take note and see what we have at home that we can part with to fulfill that wish. Of course, we gave the usual gift cards for gas, the bus, Kroger & Meijer. After discussions on decluttering our homes, we thought it would be meaningful to give an item we currently love to a family in transition. The process … was emotionally burdensome. But can you imagine having to sit with a family caught in the crosshairs of society and justice, maybe holding their hands while you pray together with your hearts or your voices and agreeing to do something good. You can imagine how meaningful that exercise was for all of us. The transformation from what could have been a mundane interaction became spiritual. That’s what happens when the power of the Holy Spirit is at work.
Today is Christ the King Sunday. A lot of people don’t like talking about the reign of Christ as a King. We are not into those titles in this part of the world. This feast is celebrated in the Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church today, the last Sunday of the liturgical year, the last Sunday before Advent. Christ the King Sunday was a feast and a celebration created after WWI as a way for the church to take a stand against nationalism.
How does Jesus show who gets control, and who is a citizen of the kingdom of God and what qualities a Christian should have? I think this passage was originally chosen because it has the word King in it. That was a joke! No, honestly, I believe the Holy Spirit had something to do with the passage chosen for this Sunday.
Our Psalm for today, Psalm 100, “Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands; serve the Lord with gladness”; “we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.” “For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His faithfulness endures from age to age. And our second reading from Ezekiel, “God put this power to work in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule, and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the age to come”.
To be part of that kingdom, God’s kingdom, is what we have been talking about these last few weeks. It is living as the embodied demonstration of the grace of God and the judgment that comes for those who have actually extended mercy and made life less oppressive for others versus those who have participated in oppressing others and ignored those who are in suffering. What about those who do nothing?
Rabbi Joachim Prinz devoted much of his life in the United States to the Civil Rights movement. He saw the plight of minority groups in the context of his own experience under Hitler. Rabbi Prinz said, “When I was the rabbi of the Jewish community in Berlin under the Hitler regime, I learned many things. The most important thing that I learned under those tragic circumstances was that bigotry and hatred are not the most urgent problem. The most urgent, the most disgraceful, the most shameful and the most tragic problem is silence.” Whether we mean to or not, we must not become a congregation of onlookers.
Our readings are a great follow up to the readings we have had in the last couple of weeks. The gospel takes us back to the main themes found in the gospel of Matthew. Jesus says, “Come you that are blessed by my Father, inherit this Kingdom, prepared for you from the foundation of the world”. Does this remind you of the Beatitudes? You’ve inherited this kingdom, what now are you going to do with this? This takes us back to the Sermon on the Mount. What will you do with this knowledge?
Jesus continues with, “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.” So, Jesus says, you did all these things for me. Then the righteous respond with, “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?’ I believe this means, “when did we serve you? (tap microphone) Here comes the mic drop … ‘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.’
We serve God by doing these things. What are you doing for others? MLK said, “those who are not looking for happiness are the most likely to find it, because those who are searching forget that the surest way to be happy is to seek happiness for others”. Are our church ministries seeking happiness for our neighbors?
We serve God by living in faith, showing love, grace, mercy, obedience and random and intentional acts of kindness. Faith is having complete trust in God. We show love by loving our neighbor and like Presiding Bishop Curry reminds us again and again to become a beloved community. A definition of grace. Grace cannot be earned, it is given freely. We count on God’s grace. Mercy, even Marvin Gaye got in on the act, “mercy, mercy, me … oh things ain’t what they used to be”. Mercy is the compassionate treatment of those who within your power, you could harm. Obedience, remember to render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. Oh I love this one … random and intentional acts of kindness. This is not a box checking exercise. This is truly doing something nice for someone else without asking or expecting anything in return.
Matthew 20: 26 reminds us, “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave. Yes, slavery is a dirty word in America. It is associated with horrific acts of terror. The aftershocks of which are still with us today. We continue to struggle together. (This phrase is reminding us to have a serving spirit, it is not saying it is okay for someone else to take you as a slave by force.) - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Which means that the Son of Man did not come to be a slaver.
Research shows that helping others can be good for our mental health. It reduces stress, improves our emotional well being and goes as far as benefitting our physical health. So, doing good does a body good!
Let’s go back in the book of Matthew to chapter 20 verse 16, where we read the parable of the workers in the vineyard and that gospel reading ended with, whoever wants to be great among you must be the servant. “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” Who among us will line up to be the last? For the prophecy says, “the last will be the first and the first will be the last”.
Remember Father Chris’ sermon last week about the three servants who were given talents? I remember he gave us three words - gratitude (being thankful, showing appreciation and returning kindness). We were invited to take this up for the next ten weeks; then there is another word, obligation (a commitment - like our pledges, what is God’s role in our lives); delight (cheerfully living into our obligation, doing the work God has asked us to do). In last week’s parable, Jesus was talking to His disciples. Gratitude, obligation, delight!
Today, Jesus is talking to all the nations. At the time He is in a Greco Roman power structure displaying random and wanton acts of violence. As Matthew is writing this, his vision of the world saw all the nations as the nations controlled by the Roman and Greek empires. He didn’t know the world was even bigger. Today, we may imagine Jesus is talking about the nations represented in the assembly known as the United Nations. Jesus meant every single nation on Earth, the nations back then that were ruled and dominated by the Greek Empire, the nations back then that were ruled and dominated by the Roman Empire, and on and on and on. There were endless cycles of rule and domination. Jesus meant every single nation, the nations that are members of the United Nations now and more.
Israel asked for a king because they wanted to be like the other nations and when they became like the other nations God judged them the same way He judged the other nations, and God never gave up on them. Through Israel for all the world God will remove oppression, God will remove suffering. God is not an authoritative leader but a caring and attentive one. I imagine God is saying, “I will follow these crazy sheep and take care of them, wherever they wander.” So does this remind you of the description of “The Lord as the Good Shepherd?”
Jesus comes to rule over all of us. Our Old Testament reading tells us what a good leader looks like. God will seek out his sheep, “I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries.” Like a shepherd, God will keep these promises. I will feed them, protect them, bind up the injured, strengthen the weak, I will feed them with justice. Is that a restatement of the Beatitudes or are the Beatitudes a restatement of God’s promise to His people?
In those days - wait a minute - what has changed? We have false prophets, Pharisees, high priests. Nothing has changed! Today we need a good shepherd, the ones we have aren’t cutting it.
We are called to be sheep, not goats in our lives. Sheep often represent the people of God. In a shepherd’s context, the sheep are more agreeable than the goats. Thus Jesus asks us to be like sheep, gentle with each other, not dumb and falling off a cliff!
God especially pays attention to the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the imprisoned, the oppressed. Yes, this is the Jesus Matthew is talking about here. Jesus who understands what it means to go through all these things, because He experienced it in the flesh. So can we trust this Messiah? Yes! This Jesus who is accessible. He’s accessible to all of us. So friends we have a choice.
It is not enough to talk about our faith; we must live out that faith through love and compassion. A community is judged by how they treat the most vulnerable. Our actions towards the least of these reveal our love for Christ. Jesus wants us to love our neighbor.
So, listen to the call to feed the hungry, quench the thirst of the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and imprisoned. As we do all these things, we are serving Christ.
This parable is a reminder that our faith, like the faith of the Syrophoenician will move mountains! It is not an isolated belief but a commitment to live in love and service to our neighbors. I pray we hear these words, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."
May I conclude with these encouraging words by Howard Zinn who taught at Spelman College, touched by the Holy Spirit said these words:
“TO BE HOPEFUL in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.
What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.
And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”
Amen