Matthew
25:31-46 with Ezekiel 34:1-24
We
have come to the last Sunday of the church calendar year, next Sunday Advent
begins and a whole new season of readings will commence. This last Sunday of the year is always Christ
the King Sunday, which serves to remind us that after a year of studying the
Lord’s word in gospel and text we can come to only one conclusion, “Christ is
the King!”
There
are lots of interesting ideas about power and authority in our world. From countries with kings to countries with
Presidents we can find lots of different examples of leadership. Our current President is certainly redefining
the highest office in our country. I
imagine President Trump would not mind being called the King of America. He certainly exercises his authority in a
kingly fashion.
Those
with power are frequently a selfish lot.
In the days of Ezekiel, kings were known for extreme shows of force and
violence. Ezekiel is writing to the
Israelites in their time of exile. The
nation has been destroyed and the people are being held captive in the foreign
lands of Babylon. Sure, God had chosen
rulers to lead the people in the past, but these folks chose not to follow the
Lord and led directly to Israel’s downfall.
The
word of the Lord comes to the prophet Ezekiel, asking him to speak judgment
against those who have led Israel. Like
bad shepherds, they have fattened themselves on the spoils of the herd and have
not cared for the flock. They have not
taken care of the sick or injured and they have let those that stray wander to
their doom. The shepherds of the nation
have scattered the sheep, hence the exile in Babylon.
Thankfully
a word of comfort comes from the Lord as well.
God says that God is a different kind of shepherd and a different kind
of king. God will seek out the sheep and
God will rescue those that have wandered. God will feed those who are weak, giving them a
safe haven, and binding up their injuries.
As for those who have fattened themselves on the weakness of others,
those who have used their horns to butt aside everyone else, for those ones God
will provide a bitter meal of justice.
Through
the voice of the prophet Ezekiel we learn that God is a shepherd who ministers
to the weaker members of the flock. Unlike
humanity’s expression of royalty or power, this shepherd king has special
concern for the poor and needy. This
king’s primary concern is for those whom society has pushed aside and
ignored. The weak and injured aren’t of
real concern for the rulers of our day. But
God cares for those who are the least among us, and if we are to follow God, so
should we. This leads us of course to
our gospel reading.
In
our text for today, Jesus is with the disciples on the Mount of Olives and he
is teaching them about the end times. He
has been talking in parables and metaphor.
“When it does all end, for you or for the world,” he seems to say, “There
will be a sorting. And by the way, it
doesn’t look at all like what you might imagine.”
Even
though it appears only in Matthew I have no doubt that many of you are familiar
with this story. Like a shepherd
separates the sheep and the goats, Jesus tells us that one of these days there
will be a separation of all the people of the nations. Those who are among the blessed find
themselves there because they have waited on Jesus himself as he was in need. They are blessed because they lived as a
blessing to others. Those who receive
curses have neglected to serve the Lord.
They are cursed because they have cursed the needy in their midst.
This
is one of those wonderfully rich portions of the gospel. Despite all our arguing about the church,
from the big questions of doctrine to the little questions of which hymns we
sing each Sunday, when it comes down to it, in the end none of that
matters. According to the story that
Jesus tells in Matthew’s gospel, the only thing that really matters is how we
have treated those in need, the least of these.
And the marvel, or perhaps the catch, is that we will never know that we
are doing it.
Neither
those in God’s good graces, nor those outside of them, know what they have done
to earn the Lord’s favor or to incur God’s wrath. Those who have served Jesus did not do so because
they knew it was Jesus. And those who
missed opportunities for service certainly would have dropped everything if
they realized who it was that was crying out to them for help. While some might read this as works
righteousness, I see instead a lot of room for grace. We won’t know what we have done until it’s
over, and I am confident that all of us will have missed opportunities to serve
our Lord.
We
could hardly be closer to our preparations for the Christmas season, and we are
about to hear and tell the stories once again of Emmanuel – God with us. I see this idea echoed profoundly in this
scripture passage. Jesus is telling his
disciples in plain language that he is with us, out in the world. And frequently, not only is God with us, God
is with them, those who are outside our circles of comfort. If we are looking for Jesus we will find him
spending time with the hungry, the naked, the sick, those in prison, and the
stranger. Jesus is with the least of
these, and urges us to go and find him there.
In
our culture today there is an increasing divide between the least of these and
everyone else. We may not have official
royalty but our nation has plenty of its own kings and queens. Since 1982, the share of America’s income
held by the top 1 percent has more than doubled. The split between the haves and have-nots is
growing wider by the day. The top 10
percent of the population hold more than 75 percent of the nation’s wealth,
while the bottom 10 percent only have debt.
This gap continues to widen while our legislators work to pass more tax
cuts for the rich while increasing taxes on those making less than $75,000 a
year. And we dare to call ourselves a
“Christian” nation.
One
is left to wonder where Jesus is in this economy. According to the gospel of Matthew if we are
looking for Jesus we will find him with the hungry, the naked, the sick, and
imprisoned. Where is Jesus? Probably with the unemployed, those who fear
losing their jobs, those without health insurance, and those who visited the
Food Pantry this week. Where is
Jesus? With those that the kings of our
nation choose to ignore, Jesus is with the least of these.
Today
we gather to remember that Jesus is a different kind of king. Sadly the kings of our age are not that
different from the ones of ancient Israel.
They have been feeding themselves when they should have been feeding the
sheep. God promises that God is a
different kind of king and a different kind of shepherd. God is one who will judge between the fat
sheep and the lean sheep. Because some
have pushed with flank and shoulder and butted out the weak, God will scatter
the strong and feed them with a last meal of justice.
Jesus
is a shepherd king, one who can be found not on the mountains of money but in
the slums of poverty. Jesus teaches that
if we are to be his followers, then that is where we should be found as
well. If we are those who long to serve
our Lord, than we are called to be a shepherd like him, serving those who are
in need in our community and in the world.
Today
is Christ the King Sunday, a day that we declare our allegiance to this
Shepherd King who stands with the least of these. Today we have more friends joining our
church, through transferring membership from other traditions and through
declaring their faith. We will celebrate
the baptism of a new believer, marking one more among the ranks of those who
dare to die to the powers and principalities of this world and to rise to new
life in Christ. Today we add to our
number those who seek to serve the least of these in the Warrensburg community
and beyond. I couldn’t imagine a better
way to honor and celebrate our Lord.
This
Christ the King Sunday after spending a year reading the Bible together we find
that Christ is unlike any king the world has ever known. His reign is not about money, power, and
exclusive guest lists. His reign is not
about tax breaks for the rich and the amassing of even greater wealth at the
cost of those in need. No, the reign of
Christ the King is about standing with the poor and the oppressed, those who
are ill and in need, and those that the world has ignored. If we are to be followers of this great
shepherd king, than that is where we are called to stand as well. Amen.
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