Matthew 25:31-46

Risky Business II

The king of an African tribe, after many years, faced the fact that his throne was wearing out. It was repaired a couple of times, but eventually collapsed and was replaced with a new one.

The king, for sentimental reasons, hated to part with his old throne. So it was hoisted on ropes to the ceiling of his grass hut and stored there.

Then one night during a storm, the throne fell down and hit the king on the head. The moral of the story is that “people who live in grass houses shouldn’t stow thrones.”

This is a special Sunday, a High Holy Day. A THRONE DAY, if you will.  If you didn't know about this Sunday, don't feel too out of place. "Christ the King Sunday" is something that the Presbyterian Church has been ignoring recently.

But I think it is precisely why the lectionary puts our Gospel passage where it does. Today's text portrays Jesus in a way that we don't often see him – as a KING. 

We head this morning all the nations of the earth gathered before the throne with the Son of Man judging us. Jesus, the Son of Man, the judge of the living and the dead.

How do you picture Jesus? As the Good Shepherd of Ezekiel? As a friend of children? The one who stills the storm? The one who heals? The teacher? Do you often picture Jesus as the Judge?

We don't often imagine Jesus as judge. Perhaps that's why we don't often name our churches "Judging Jesus Presbyterian Church".

We think of Jesus as a good friend, as redeemer, as the one who affirms us, but rarely do we think of Jesus as judge.

RECOUNT STORY – Jesus sits as king … separates sheep and goats.  Sheep ones who fed Jesus when hungry, took care of Jesus when a stranger, clothed Jesus when naked, visited Jesus when sick and in prison … SURPRISED!  When?  When did it to least, did it to me.  Good reward – inherit the Kingdom!

Opposite with goats.  Didn’t feed, clothe, visit, etc.  They too surprised … their reward wasn’t so great!

This parable, when you think about it from a Jews perspective in Jesus’ day … turns things on their head. In the beginning everything is as expected.

At the end of the age, God, the king of the universe sits as judge, determining the eternal destiny of all the people on earth.

All the “righteous people” are looking forward to this day: justice will finally be done; the bad guys, even if they died old, rich, and happy, will finally get what they had coming to them. Tyrants, murderers, liars, thieves, and brutal people will be punished.

And on the other hand, the people who tried to do what is right, who kept to the straight and narrow, who suffered, who were the victims of cruelty and injustice and evil will be vindicated.

The people who went to church, paid their taxes, and saw their children successfully into adulthood, even at great personal cost, will be rewarded. This is what everyone expects. That is how the parable starts.

But this picture quickly gets subverted - albeit in a subtle way. Yes there is a judgment, and yes it separates good guys from bad guys, but the criteria of judgment has become precise and focused.

It is not just about being a good guy in general, or about being a recognizably evil person either.

In this parable, there is a set of actions at the heart of goodness and a set of in-actions at the heart of evilness that finally become the defining criteria of judgment.

And it does not start with: “Did you bow down to an idol, did you commit adultery, murder, give false testimony, dishonor your parents…?” 

In other words, keep the 10 commandments. Didn’t even ask if we went to church, served on session or even if we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior!

The criteria here is all about people - how we treated other human beings. To be even more specific, it’s about how we treated the weak, the vulnerable, the unprotected and the forgotten; the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the ill-clothed, the sick, the condemned.

True confession time: if that’s really what we are going to be judged on, then I think I might be in trouble.

See, I don’t think I fit neatly into either of the categories Jesus describes in the parable.

When I go before the judge to plead my case, I’ll have to answer his question, "Well, Lord, sometimes I fed the hungry, made donations to the Deacon’s Food Pantry. There were days when I did my best to help those who needed clothing, donating my old clothes to the Salvation Army. And there were lots of times when I visited the shut-ins and the sick.  Hey, I even did prison ministry!"

And maybe Jesus will interrupt me there and say, "Well, okay, Tom. That’s good. You sound like sheep material to me. Come here and stand with the group to my right."

But before I go to stand with the sheep, honesty will force me to add, "But, Lord, there were other days - too many to count, in fact - when I stuffed myself with food while others went hungry.

“There were nights when I sat warm and cozy in my little house while others slept out in the cold with only a cardboard box for shelter, if they were lucky enough to find one. And sometimes I turned away people who asked for just a little money to make ends meet because I wasn’t sure what their REAL motives were."

When he hears this, maybe Jesus will stroke his beard for a moment (if he has one), and say, "Well, now, that puts things in a little different light, doesn’t it? That sounds more like a goat than a sheep. What in the world am I going to do with you?"

You see the trouble I’m talking about? I’m not 100% sheep, but I don’t think of myself as goat material either! What I really am, I suppose, is part sheep and part goat, not totally one or the other. I’m a half-breed, a geep, or a shoat! I don’t fit in with either group!

On the one hand, I have a tendency to be a little self-centered at times. Don’t we all?

But on the other hand, I do have a compassionate side. I have genuine concern for those who are hurting, especially when a member of my family is the one who’s hurting.

And I care about folks who have suffered an injustice - maybe not enough to publicly protest and risk going to jail for it, but I care.

You see the kind of trouble I’m going to cause on the day of Judgment? I’m a geep, a half-breed, part sinner and part saint, a jigsaw puzzle of odd-shaped pieces, some self-centered and others receptive and generous.

And I have a feeling I’m not alone in that.

Now I know what you’re thinking.  You’re thinking, “Tom, the central principle of our faith, a principle we depend on, that you consistently preach on, is that God has been merciful to us, not on the basis of our good works, but solely by his grace. We are not saved by works, but by grace alone, through faith.” Right?

But this parable is suggesting just the opposite: that the basis for God’s judgment at the end of time is precisely what we have done or not done.

I admit, it’s easy to get confused. On the one hand, we just read that Jesus said, "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and sick and in prison"? That was his criteria on judgment day.

But, then on the other hand, I keep preaching that is it all about God’s grace.  Scripture supports that, too… Listen:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16) And this:

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

That sure sounds like salvation, but in this parable there's not a word here about faith, grace, forgiveness, or being baptized. It's all about doing good works, serving the "least of these."

 I think it would be much simpler if Jesus had said "Put your faith in me and serve the poor"--but He doesn't. He just tells us to "serve."

“By grace are we saved through faith”--YES!--but the Gospel doesn't end there. That powerful passage from Ephesians mentioned earlier is followed by this verse:

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (v. 10) … one of our memorization verses from 40 Days of Purpose.

When we stand before this loving, giving, sacrificing God at the final judgment, He will search our lives for deeds of kindness befitting a life of faith.

Maybe Jesus is warning us that if these acts of mercy are missing from our lives, it's a clear signal that faith is missing as well.

I like the way Frank Stagg, whoever he is, puts it: "Place a mouse before a cat and one sees what a cat is; place a person in need before a child of God and one sees what a child of God is."

Truthfully, I cannot say what judgment will be like, I believe that we must leave such things to God, such decision are ‘above my pay grade.’

But what we can say is that Jesus wants his hearers to take his words with great seriousness.

He wants us to realize that we can see Jesus – in the people we meet, in the people we serve, or the people we’ve looked over.

That Christ is within us, lives in each person, is key for us understanding this parable. 

In the face of every poor person, we should see the face of Jesus. In the face of every suffering person, we should see the face of Jesus. In the face of every one who is forgotten, discriminated against, left behind or different, we should see the face of Jesus.

Not just in the nice ones, the polite ones, the ones who promise to be better next time, the ones who appreciate what we are doing for them - not just those - but every human being made in the image of God.

We should not be surprised that God is so concerned about social justice. We have a Messiah who was born in stable.

Seeking justice is not an option for the Christian it is our inescapable duty.

Poor and vulnerable people have a special place in God’s heart. And those who help them do as well.

As Christians, we are called to respond to the needs of all our sisters and brothers, but those with the greatest needs require the greatest response.

We are being challenged to expand our comfort zones. After all, the fringe will not be those we usually associate with. We are not comfortable with the stranger.

Early in life we learned that stranger meant danger. But we must find ways to reach those in need in our world.  Yes, it might be RISKY BUSINESS, but it is also God’s business.

Over the next week, I want you to pay attention to who you spend your time with, and who you don’t spend your time with. Who are you willing to risk for, and who you aren’t  willing to risk for?

As you go through your days, who do you see, like Jesus saw, and who don’t you see, like the goats who never saw Jesus in others? Think about that.

Amen!