November 23, 2008 Message

Ephesians 1:15-23, Matthew 25:31-46 (Ezekiel 34:11-24)

Does Matthew's judgment story — this stark account of the second coming of Christ — cause you to think about what really matters in life and in the season ahead? Is it in some ways unsettling? I imagine for some, it is. I know it is for me.

Perhaps it would help us better understand the gospel if we also look at Ezekiel 34:11-24. Here, Ezekiel writes: “The Lord God says, ‘As shepherds seek out their flocks, I will search for my sheep. I will seek them out. I will rescue them. I will bring them into their own land. I will feed them with good pasture. I will give them rest. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but I will put an end to the fat and the strong. I will deal justly with them.’”

Ezekiel informs us of the unconditional love of God. It tells about a shepherd involved in a search-and-rescue mission, for the purpose of restoration, rather than punishment. Once found, his sheep will be given what is needed for wholeness and peace. However, Ezekiel also points out that it is important how the sheep treat one another. How we live with one another within the community of faith is important to God and God’s justice.

Just as Ezekiel spells out what is God’s to do, Matthew teaches what is ours to do on God's behalf if we truly believe that Christ is among us.

We are to live as if Christ is in other people, even the stranger we may have reason to fear; or the prisoner who may have done some awful things; or the sick we'd rather overlook because their lifestyle may have contributed to their illness; or the hungry who should have been able to take care of themselves. If we cannot imagine Christ in those who are the “least of these,” and in those God has placed before us, how in the world can we respond to Christ in the world?

Not only does it require our imagination to find Christ in others, it is also necessary for us to resist the tendency to be apathetic, that twisting of imagination that gives us, in the words of Fred Craddock, "the ability to look at a starving child . . . with a swollen stomach and say, 'Well, it's not my kid.' To look at a recent widow . . . and say, 'It's not my mom.' Or to see an old man sitting alone in the park and say, 'Well . . . that's not my dad.' It is that ability to look out upon everything God made and say, I don't care."

Craddock moves us out of our comfort zone. And we think: "I'm a good person, and I do care." But how does that hold up to Matthew 25 and the Son of Man who comes in glory? "When was it that we saw you, Lord?" we ask, dumbfounded. The thing to note about this question is that it is asked by both the righteous, who are unaware of the good they have done, and by the not so good, who are unaware that they've done anything wrong. And this is the heart of the matter. The human imagination, battered and torn by our fears and limitations, comes from a God who asks us to see our selves and our world in a new way. How we choose to return this remarkable gift to God is entirely up to us.

What is it God wants? The decisive factor for the separation of the sheep from the goats was a simple yardstick for righteousness easily found in Micah 6:8, which says: "What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"
Both the sheep and the goats were judged by their responses to those around them who were extremely poor, strangers, prisoners, or suffering from illness. Although we do not believe in salvation through works of righteousness, it does seem to follow that God is very concerned about our responses to the countless needs around us. In what ways then can we, as a church and as individuals, respond more faithfully to the cries of those who are poor, strangers, prisoners, or suffering from illness.

Who are the least of these? In Jesus' day, the marginalized were easily definable: they were those who were hungry, who needed clothing, who were imprisoned, and those who were outsides, even in their own families. If you were asked today to define the “least” in our society or in this community, who would they be? And what is it they might need? Perhaps we could take a moment, right now, to open ourselves to what those needs might be.

[30 seconds of silence]

In Ezekiel, Christ our Lord and King is a shepherd intent on gathering sheep that have been scattered, healing them, taking them home, and restoring them to their own pastures. In Ephesians, we find Christ our Lord and King, the crucified, ruling over all thrones and powers and dominions. And in Matthew, Christ our Lord and King is a judge proclaiming that truly serving the “least of these” is what is required for inheriting the Father’s kingdom.

In each case, the world's usual expectations are turned upside down. This King goes looking for “his sheep” rather than their coming to him. This King achieves his position by what God has done rather than through something he has done. For this King, the degree of God's blessing is based upon what has been done to bless the “forgotten” of the world rather than on signs of worldly success.

The implications for us then are huge. If citizens of a kingdom are to "look like" their king - if disciples are to look land live like their master – we will find ourselves actually “going out looking” for the lost (reaching out to others), recognizing God’s part in our being where we are at, and becoming a blessing to the “forgotten” of the world and this community. And when we do, we will become inheritors of God's kingdom ourselves. Then again, should we not, Jesus says we might expect something else, not necessarily to our liking.

So - what's going on in the life of our church that looks like a shepherd going out after all the scattered sheep, healing them, and bringing them home? Where do you see Jesus being exalted? And where do you see the “least of these” being cared for in a way that folks aren’t even aware they've done it?

It is in those kinds of things Jesus is exalted as King today, the places the gospels are proclaimed, and as Paul says - the signs to be seen, the good news to give thanks for, and the source of our praise.

Look. Listen. Feel this power at work around you. And rejoice in our King!