Sunday of Christ the King ----- 23 November 2014

Matthew 25:31-46

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 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.' 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 to me.' 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

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.

• As the church year ends, we hear these parables or prophecies of doom and I know that they are scary. I've felt that way and some of you have told me that you've felt that way in the past.
• We hear the passage from Matthew that is sometimes called 'Matthew's apocalypse' because it take us into a sort of scriptural type that reveals what is to come.
• The parable reveals a judgement scene. The people of the world are being judged. The strange part for a Christian parable is he fact that nothing is said about faith and fidelity to Jesus or to God. The people – separated into 'sheep' and 'goats' at the king's right and left – are being judged on how they treated those whom the king calls the least of these who are members of my family. Nothing is said about remaining faithful through trial and persecution. The king commends or condemns on the simple basis of how each one treated the hungry, the thirsty, the lost, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned, saying that every time they did or didn't do this they did it or didn't do it for Jesus.
• So then what is this about? Are we not saved by grace through faith rather than by our own works? Where is grace in this parable?
• Actually it is right in the centre. It is grace that changes the perspective of all those who are mentioned in the parable.
• In his preaching, Jesus does not prescribe things for his disciples to do as much as declare things as they are. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus does not say “strive to be poor so you will be blessed” or “strive to make peace so God's blessing will be on you.” No, he says “Blessed are the poor for the Kingdom of Heaven is their's” and “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called Children of God.” He declares these people to be blessed and graced apart from what anyone might say.
• In this parable from Matthew, Jesus tells the “sheep” "Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” for they were the ones who were merciful and compassionate. These people did not know that they were doing it for Jesus; they had no idea that he was present in one of the least of these who are members of my family...
• In fact, no one in the parable, except for Jesus and the angels, knows Jesus was present in the ones in need of mercy.
• Here is the change of perspective that comes with grace and it goes far beyond was is mentioned in the parable. It appears that grace is to be found in just about every aspect of our lives.
• If we can find Christ in the least of those around us, then we can find him anywhere. It just shows us that grace is everywhere. Faith comes into play in that through faith we believe we can find Christ in the people and the situations around us. It is grace that opens our eyes to see what is around us, to know the new reality that is laden with grace.
• Even in situations where God appears to not be present, God is present in you as a disciple and believer. This leads us to want to uncover God present in anything that goes on around us. The Word of God within you cries out to the Word of God beyond you.
• No worries there: Jesus is waiting when ever we make an effort to find him and, in fact, he is present whether we make that effort or not.
• I have come to realize that this parable, this apocalyptic story will always challenge me, and I hope it will always challenge you. It's probably best that way. Hearing this again and again will keep us from becoming complacent. It will keep us looking for Christ in the people we meet, or at the least, remembering that Jesus redeemed them as much as he redeemed us.
• It might be best to end our church year a little itchy for the Good News of Christ entering our lives in his birth in poverty in the stable in Bethlehem. That way, we might be a bit more ready for the news that Christ enters our lives in the people around us, especially the least of these who are members of my family...