Matthew 25:31-46
Grace peace and mercy from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
We have reached the last Sunday of the church year,
Christ the King Sunday and today we focus on
Christ being King of creation,
King over the heavens and the earth, and King and ruler over our lives. As
such we also focus on His second coming, a time that we should not fear but have
great comfort that He will come to save the sheep of His flock.
Unfortunately many are fearful of the second coming. I want to share a reading from Daniel concerning the second coming. Daniel 7:13-14.
"In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was
one like a son of man, coming with the
clouds of heaven. He approached the
Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory
and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped
him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed."
Daniel's vision is very comforting he sees a time when all people worship Christ, a time of peace when everyone is brothers and sisters.
Some modern day contemporaries should take note of Daniel. The gospel reading from Matthew and the Book of Revelation, in particular, are being interpreted in ways that attempt to frighten people into accepting Christ. This kind of interpretation fails to take into account the fact that the authors were writing to early Christians already living in fear of severe persecution. Matthew and John were inspired to write messages to comfort the people already living in fear not further exasperate them.
I don't believe that Jesus intended for people to accept Him out of fear but rather out of love and thanksgiving for His grace.
As we start to look at the parable of the goats and the sheep we need to keep the context of the author's time in mind, one of fear of persecution.
The parable starts out with the separation of the sheep and the goats. Jesus may have used this analogy because of the practice of separating the animals at the time of sheering. Sheep and goats grazed together and were separated when brought in from the pasture for sheering.
The sheep are directed to the right and the goats to the left. The sheep are invited into the kingdom by the King because they cared for Him. However the sheep are confused by the reason for their invitation and ask when they cared for the King. The King, Christ, tells them that whatever has been done for the brothers has been done for Him.
The goats are cast out because they didn't care for the King. Again they are confused by the reason the King gives them. Their question is when did the opportunity arise to care for the King. In similar terms the King tells the goats they have not cared for their brothers as they should have when they saw the brothers were in need.
At this juncture it's apparent that Jesus loves each of the sheep enough to know about their needs, whether their needs were met, and what they have done to share their blessings with others. Jesus loves each goat as well He knows the same things about them as the sheep. Sadly they have chosen to turn away from His teaching.
As you dwell on our discussion so far you might be inclined to think Jesus is telling me I can work my way into heaven. Don't fall into that trap. There is no prescribed set of works, no point system, or any set of rules to follow to get into heaven.
You may not have noticed this but the confusion over the reason for the acceptance of the sheep into heaven demonstrates an unawareness of works as a means to enter into heaven. Listen to their questions, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?"
In fact God's interaction with people was never about the people themselves it has always been about Him. It's about His creation giving thanks and praise to Him.
So who are symbolized as the sheep and the goats? Are they believers and unbelievers? Are they obedient followers, pretenders, and unbelievers?
If we accept the latter it helps us understand the why the works seem to be important in this parable.
Is there any doubt that actions show what people really believe? We are sinful flesh and we will make mistakes but our overall track record is the real evidence of our belief. What we do demonstrates what we think of Jesus' words. In a manner of speaking the phrase, put your money where your mouth is, fits nicely. In other words are we willing to expend something valuable to us to help a brother or sister or is it just words?
God sent His own Son to die in an action of mercy and grace that is truly beyond our ability to understand. That doesn't mean that the ability to perform acts of mercy is beyond us. We have opportunities to show mercy everyday in our kindness to others. Jesus was and still is involved personally in the needs of every person. He asks us to do the same and He never asks more of us than we can do.
Martin Luther preached about the universal priesthood so that people would realize there is no division of believers. We are all members of the spiritual and temporal realms and as such we are all ministers of the faith. Ministers of the faith care for their brothers and sisters in both realms through prayers, teaching, emotional support, and physical comfort.
Unfortunately there are too many that leave it to others to take care of needs. Let the church take care of it, they say. Well the church has helped many over the centuries but how many more could have been helped if everyone were involved?
Or they may say let the government take care of it. Well the government can't take care of everything and it has been proven many times in the last century alone. It appears that despite the failures of social government in the past it's about to be tried again.
The overwhelming proof is that the only significant impact on the needs of the impoverished has been groups of volunteers. Edmond Burke, an eighteenth century British statesman and philosopher, called these groups little platoons. Little platoons are ministers of faith and compassion that reach out and touch the lives of people on a personal level. The are emulating Jesus whether they realize it or not.
Jesus has left no room for us to be pretenders. There is no excuse to overlook the significant needs of our brothers. As the hymn says so perfectly they will know we are Christians by our love. Where we spend our time on Sunday morning is truly meaningless if we don't live it.
Jesus is really telling us His flock takes action in whatever ways are available to them and by whatever gifts He has provided them. His sheep are obedient followers, true believers in His mercy and grace.
We are to be lamps in a dark world leading the way to a world of light and hope, the world Daniel saw in his vision. Our actions are not for personal gain but to give all glory to God.
In the name of our Risen Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
