The gospel according to Matthew:
31 “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. 32 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, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 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; 35 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, 36 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.’ 37 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? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tellyou, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,[a] you did it to me.’ 41 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; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 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.’ 44 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?’ 45 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 tome.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
Every year, as we come to this day named Christ the King, it’s significant to me to mention that this acknowledgement of Christ as King came in resistance to growing fascism in Europe. In 1925, between two world wars, came the invention of this Sunday… as one church year ends and a new one begins, that whatever powerful events are happening nationally or globally, Christ is the one who we acknowledge above all other powers. In Ephesians, we hear Paul write from prison that Jesus’ name is above every name that is named, not only in his own time but also into the future… and Jesus is the center… over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all.
That is a powerful image… an image like the Thanksgiving image of the cornucopia… an over-abundance of fruits and vegetables flowing out from a horn of plenty. This is the abundance that a generous God has poured out and wants for all people.
However, we know that humans are not always good at extending that same abundance. In fact, in the U.S., our culture tends to be highly focused on the individual or one’s own family… in measures of the comparative values that countries hold through the world, in the priority of community vs. individual, the U.S. sits at 91% prioritizing the self or one’s own family.
Into that cultural context comes Jesus’ description of God’s vision for us—one in which we are all so connected as one body, so full of love and mercy, that we would feed others, make sure that all have clean water to drink, take care of those who are sick, clothe the naked, be present those in prison… and that we would treat whoever we are serving as if they are the most important one, as if they are Christ.
In the parable of the sheep and goats, neither those who do good nor those who miss opportunities to do good are really aware of it…
It’s a little bit like the radio show popular in Wisconsin - "Michael Feldman's Whad' Ya Know"
Where Feldman asked at the beginning of every show - “What do ya know?” and the audience says, “Not much. You?”
What’s the meaning of this parable about sheep and goats? Well, there’s the obvious meaning… take care of others. But also probably this… that we don’t know as much as we think we do.
God alone knows the fullness of our acts of love and mercy and the opportunities we’ve missed.
There’s a story about this parable from a collection of sayings from the desert fathers, not attributed to any particular Abba…
A young monk is troubled by a demon who asks him, “Who are the sheep and who are the goats?” And the young monk answers, “I do not know who the sheep are and who the goats are. As for me, I am a goat.” And because of his humility, the demon left him.
But as well as teaching us about walking humbly, it’s also a vision for this time… a time when so many of us are imprisoned, lonely, hungry, poor, sick, thirsty…
We are praying for those who will free, feed, give, heal, share a cup of water…
We need Christ among us.
We have a longing for a world that better matches God’s own vision.
Each Wednesday, Joy McElroy in her role as Director of Cherish All Children sends out a Wednesday reflection and prayer related to the coming Sunday’s Bible readings and here are the words she shared this week, written by Kay Kinkel, a member of Cherish All Children’s Advisory Board
We are living in the anxious times of a worldwide pandemic. Many of us are feeling fear and despair about the spread of the disease, and possibly even feeling imprisoned with the restrictions recommended or imposed due to the re-escalation of the COVID-19 crisis. The thousands who bear the symptoms of the illness surely feel imprisoned by restricted breathing, intense pain, long hospitalizations and separation from their loved ones. When imprisoned, whether mentally, physically or both, it’s human nature to focus on one’s own anxiety and discomfort and lose sight of hope and the concerns of others. Yet even though Paul was in prison and his life was at risk when he wrote this letter to the church in Ephesus, his heart was full of hope and his prayers were for others… As our liturgical church year comes to a close this week and we acknowledge the Reign of Christ, we follow Paul’s example. Christ breaks open the prison of despair as Christ fills us with mercy, love and hope.[1]
All this month, we’ve been reflecting on how God has entrusted us with ministry, resources, and how God inspires us to be actively involved as servant leaders… as those who have all the oil they need (because God provides it)… as those whose impact God multiplies. And this week, God reminds us how we are entrusted to each other.
We have needs and we have resources… and Christ calls us family, one body, to care for one another with mercy and tenderness.
It’s so different than the inclination to provide for only ourselves and it even goes beyond charity. Anthony Tang writes, “To truly get food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, welcome to the stranger, clothing to the naked, health to the sick, and hope to the prisoner, what is universally called for is listening, respect, and relationship. This Scripture is a call to be in relationship with the least of these.” What if we’ve missed opportunities, screwed up our chances, failed at this in the past? “The good news is that over and over again God places people in our lives to give us new opportunities to learn how to connect across differences and be in relationship. Our God of second chances creates possibilities for us to be in relationship.”[2]
This is the vision of this Sunday also called the Reign of Christ, that we would show in our daily lives, unconsciously, the overflowing, abundant presence of a loving, mercy-filled God.
Dirk Lange, who teaches at Luther Seminary describes this as “joyful living in mercy without calculation. This joyful living takes believers to an unexpected place. It takes them to the cross; it takes them to the cross in human lives, to the cross in the life of family, community, society, nation, and world. It takes them to the place of God’s suffering in the world.”[3]
Richard Rohr describes it this way (paraphrase):
“The kingdom of God is within… it is not a place we’re going to but a place we’re coming from…” If that’s true, we carry God with us. God’s way is already here… not just a future destination but something we can experience now. At least a glimpse, at least a taste.
Goats, sheep, we can’t tell ourselves apart… we don’t know the fullness of who we are or what impact we’ve made and yet we can trust in the fullness of Christ who fills all in all.
We carry God within. Christ’s reign is already unfolding… moving us into relationship in ways we cannot expect but can welcome.
