Sermon - Christ the King - Year A

Matthew 25:31-46       

Christ is King-A different King 

            Some passages of scripture are difficult to understand.  Sometimes we don't understand because the imagery doesn't make sense to us.  We always have a bit of that problem when the passage contains a reference to sheep or goats.  Few (if any) of us understand the nature of sheep and goats.  Few (if any) of us understand why it would be important to a shepherd that the sheep and the goats be separated.  Sometimes the imagery makes no sense; there is no connection to our lives.  So, the passage is difficult for us to understand. 

            Other passages are difficult for us because they are ambiguous.  You know the type - like when St. Paul writes:  The good that I would do I cannot do, but I do the very thing that I hate.  I can work my way through the grammatical structure of that sentence and figure out what he is trying to say, but it is a bit of a tongue twister and is devoid of the clarity I would prefer when reading the Word of God.  Internal ambiguity sometimes renders a passage difficult for us to understand. 

            Ambiguity, imagery from a different time or place - these can make it uncomfortable for us to encounter a passage of scripture.  But these difficulties are minor when compared to the difficulties presented by a passage of scripture which just doesn't fit with the rest of our experience of God.  Ambiguity, imagery from a different time or place - these are nothing compared to a passage in which Jesus simply tells us that some are going to enter the kingdom while others are to be banished into the eternal fire.  Today's Gospel Lesson is difficult for me because I really don't like what it is saying. 

            Jesus is terribly harsh in this passage.  He is so cut and dry.  His words place us in one category or the other:  we are considered either sheep or goats; on God's right hand or on God’s left.  For those who are on the right - things couldn't be better.  If you are on the left – too bad for you.  Sheep and goats.  It is that simple, it is that harsh.  I find this passage difficult.  It isn’t consistent with a God whose grace is so deep He would send his only Son to die for us.  It doesn’t fit with my experience of the “love of God which passes all understanding.” 

            The line which is the kicker is the one which says:  As you did it (or did not do it) to one of the least of these, you did it (or did not do it) to me.  I read it and find myself considering exactly who would be the least of these, and I find myself worrying about the way I have interacted with them. 

            What about the hungry?  I don't mean to minimize this congregation's commitment to Backpack Buddies.  Many good works are offered.  But can it be said of us that we have never allowed a hungry person to pass before our eyes?  Do we offer food wherever and whenever it is needed?  Or do we wait for a few special programs, offered at particular times of the year? 

But Jesus’ demand doesn‘t end there.  This passage says we not only need to feed them, we must also welcome the stranger into our own homes.

             I think you all know how much I love to take afternoon naps.  I was enjoying one such nap, when there came a knock on my back door.  I stumbled over, opened it and invited the guy in.  It was only after he started to tell me his story that I had I realized what I had done.  I had invited into my house someone I didn’t know at all.   I noticed that as he spoke, he was also looking around.  He may not have wanted to look me in the face out of nervousness or embarrassment, but as he talked about needing money to provide for his family all I could think of was whether he was really wanting me to know his story or if he was really casing the house to decide if it was worth a burglary.   

            There are two shelters owned by St Michael and made available to families experiencing homelessness.  This is a tremendous gift to offer.  But would I offend you if I asked how many of our members know who is living in either the downstairs apartment or the Mellon House?  How many of us have spoken with them, or remembered them by name in our prayers? 

            "I was a stranger and you welcomed me."   

            The list goes on:  thirsty, naked, sick, in prison.  I barely know where the city jail is located.  I have no idea how many inmates are kept at our county facility or where persons are sent for longer terms of incarceration.  One of my Facebook friends left campus ministry to become a prison chaplain.  He makes rather regular posts about the great things that are happening at the prison he serves and asking for our prayerful support.  I am thankful that Randy responded to that call.  I fear that I am like the goats in Jesus’ parable, that I most often put out of mind those who truly are out of sight. 

            This passage of scripture is very difficult for me because it speaks a legalism which is alien to so much of what I experience God to be.  This passage is difficult because it lifts up a way of life that I know I am far from achieving.  This passage is difficult because it reminds me that what I do with my life really does matter.  It matters a lot.  It makes all the difference. 

            It is not accidental that this passage of scripture would be read on the day that the church celebrates Christ the King Sunday.  This passage correctly identifies the focal point of Christ's Kingship.  When the Son of Man comes in his glory...he will sit on the throne of his glory...and he will separate people one from another.  The separation will fall along the line which divides those who have lived for themselves from those who have lived for others.  Living for others is the kind of King Christ is; it is the kind of kingdom over which he reigns.  It wasn't so much what he said or encouraged us to believe.  The thing which makes the difference is the way in which Christ lived his life:  welcoming the stranger, caring for the sick, feeding the hungry.  He did not consider equity with God a thing to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking on the form of a servant, and yet he is the very one whom we gather in this place to honor as King of kings and Lord of lords. 

            I am, from the very core of my being, a Lutheran.  I do not believe that I can ever merit God's gift.  The absurdity of such a belief system is exposed in today's passage, in the acknowledgement that those who were being invited into the eternal kingdom had no idea why they would be considered worthy of such an honor.  They ask, "Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry...thirsty...a stranger...or in prison?"  They had not worked in order to merit God's favor.  Neither can we acquire the Kingdom by our own good deeds.   This passage isn’t holding up a list of qualifications for entering the Kingdom of Christ.  Christ is not saying that we have to measure up on each one of these before we can have any part in God's eternal domain.  Jesus is reminding us that until we look less to ourselves and more toward others we will never share in the wonderful blessings God has to offer. 

            It isn't a test - it is more of a reflection of where it is that you will be found.  Will you reside among those who are self-absorbed – or - amid those who know the joy of Christ's self-giving love? 

Amen.