November 23rd,
2014 Rev. Heather Jepsen
“Journey
of Generosity: Philosophy of Abundance"
Matthew 25:31-46
Today we continue our Journey of
Generosity together. We have spent this
month gathering around Jesus’ teaching in the 25th chapter of
Matthew’s gospel and wondering how God might be calling us to share who we are
and what we have with the world around us.
We have been considering the question, “Lord, what would you do through
me?” and today we get a pretty clear answer.
As you know, the setting for our
reading is Jesus teaching the disciples on the Mount of Olives. This is part of a larger discourse about
eschatology or the end times. Jesus has
been telling the disciples what to do while they await his return. The parable of the 10 bridesmaids reminded us
that we need to keep busy with the works of faith while we wait. The parable of the talents from last Sunday
reminded us that we need to get out in the world and take risks with the
blessings that God has given us. This
morning’s reading challenges us to approach the world with a philosophy of
abundance.
Found only in the gospel of Matthew,
this text is not a parable like our other readings rather it is an apocalyptic
vision of the last judgment. The Son of
Man has come in glory and now sits enthroned before the nations. The people gather at the king’s feet and are
separated into two groups, the sheep and the goats. Both groups are separated based on their
treatment of others and people in both groups are surprised at how they
personally ended up in either the good camp or the bad camp. The sheep are welcomed into the promised
kingdom, the goats are sent away to eternal punishment.
This is one of those tried and true
texts that we have heard many times here in church and it can be a challenge
for a pastor to find something new to say about this story. But, despite our familiarity with the text, I
believe there are still some challenges and opportunities for fresh insight
wrapped up inside this familiar reading.
First of all, just who is this being
judged? Lots of commentators have
struggled with the “all the nations” (panta
ta ethne) in verse 32. The word used
for nations (ethne) is often used to
describe all the folks who are not of Israel, namely the Gentiles. And the word used for little ones (mikroi) could refer just to the
followers of Jesus, the disciples sent out in his name. A common exegesis, or interpretation, of this
passage has come to say that this is not the judgment of the followers of
Jesus. Rather, it is a story of the
judgment of all other people, and those folks will be judged on how they have
responded to the followers of Christ who are in need.
I have to tell you, I think that’s a
cop out. Saying that we will be judged
only on faith and others will be judged only on actions related to us does not
feel right to me. Nope, I am afraid I
come from the camp which assumes Jesus is telling this story to all of us, not
everyone but us.
So if we reject that interpretation,
than we have to face the other question “isn’t this then just judgment based on
works?” because it sure looks that way.
And if it is, it totally goes against a lot of Paul’s writings as well
as our favorite reformation slogan, “justified by grace through faith.” This sure looks a lot like works
righteousness. If I do the right thing
then I will get into heaven. But of
course, the folks who got in didn’t seem to know they were doing the right thing
so maybe that too doesn’t work after all.
In fact, no one seems to understand
why they are on the side they are on.
Both the sheep and the goats stand there looking at the king with their
mouths open, wondering how they ever managed to find themselves on the good or
bad side of Christ’s judgment. As I
asked in the lectionary reading group this week, “why bother?” If I can’t do anything to get in, or do anything
to get out, “why bother?” If we
understand this text as a literal view of our future judgment, than we will
have to throw a lot of our theology out of the window.
But that in turn begs the question,
“When is Christ ever speaking literally?”
What if this isn’t a literal picture of the judgment at the end of
things, what if this is simply a vehicle for ethical instruction? What if this is simply a story to catch our
attention, to get our gears spinning, to call us to account for the ways we
live our lives in this world with each other?
What if we thought of this as a diagnostic tool rather than a
prescription; a diagnostic tool to tell us how we’re doing, rather than a
prescription to tell us what to do?
What I think Jesus is laying out here
are two different ways of living, two different ways of approaching the
world. One way is to put the needs of
others before our own, and one way is to put our own needs before the needs of
others. It’s that simple. Will we live with a philosophy of abundance
or will we live a philosophy of scarcity?
How we choose to live will determine the world we experience.
People that live with a philosophy of abundance
are people who live as if there is enough.
There is enough in the world to go around; enough energy, enough time,
enough food, and yes, enough money. If I
have a philosophy of abundance, then I believe I can give away 5% or even 10%
of my income to the church and know that I will continue to be OK. It’s a belief in abundance, there is enough
to go around. And if I have a philosophy
of abundance, than I can give of my time to the church and to service in the
community and still take a Sabbath at home where I can do nothing but sit on
the couch with my kids. There is an
abundance of time. If I believe that
there is enough time to do the things that matter, than there will be enough
time. What needs to get done will get
done, and what doesn’t get done doesn’t need to get done.
But if I have a philosophy of
scarcity, then things look a lot different.
If I believe there is not enough money than I will hold on to my money
very tightly. I will fret and fret over
a 1% donation of my income. I can’t
afford it, there won’t be enough, I need every penny I earn for myself. And if I believe there is not enough time in
the day, then I will horde the time I have.
I cannot help at the church or the Food Center, I am too busy, there is
not enough time. This is a philosophy of
scarcity.
What if it is our philosophy which
divides us in the end, rather than a judgment from our Lord? If I approach the world with clenched fists,
holding on to what is mine, I will
experience a world of missed opportunities.
I will be shut out, not because God has shut me out, but because I have
shut myself out through my own belief in the scarcity of resources. I will not be at church, for the blessing of
worship and friendship. I will not
experience the warmth of giving, because I have held on so tightly to my
money. I will not be involved in the
work of the church because I do not have the time or money to be involved. If I do that, than I have shut myself out of
the kingdom of God. I have locked myself
into a place of eternal loneliness. I
have missed opportunities to interact with others in love. If I approach the world with a philosophy of
scarcity, than that is the world that I will experience.
But, if I approach the world with
open hands, then I will experience the abundance of the kingdom of God. If I give of my time and energy to the church
I will be blessed by the friendships here and I will experience the presence of
God as we gather together in worship. If
I give my money away, I will know the joy of sharing and my faith will deepen
as I learn to trust in God to provide.
If I approach the world, believing that there is enough for me and for
everyone else, believing that God will provide and sharing what I have been blessed
with, than the world I experience will be a world of abundance. I will have the time and energy and
opportunity to interact with the hungry, the thirsty, the prisoner, and the
stranger in love and I won’t even know I am doing it.
I believe that this is what God is
looking for in us. God is looking for a
philosophy of abundance; a natural overflow of love and compassion in our
world, sharing what we have with our neighbors here in Warrensburg and with people
as far away as Malawi. God’s reign is
present in acts of generosity. This is
the kingdom we are invited to. This is
the kingdom we are welcomed into. This
is the land of inheritance that has been promised since the foundation of the
world, a land where there is enough to go around, a philosophy of abundance.
I believe that we are not divided by
God based on actions that we take. I
believe that we divide ourselves based on the way that we approach the
world. Do we see a world of abundant
blessings, or do we see a world of scarce resources? This will determine our generosity. This will determine the world we experience.
Today we are offering our pledges for
the coming year here at this church. It
is my hope and prayer that you have joined me in a philosophy of
abundance. It is my hope and prayer that
like me, you have grown on this journey of generosity. It is my hope and prayer that together we can
make this a more abundant world, together we can experience the kingdom of God
though the life and ministry of this church.
This is Christ the King Sunday, and
God’s reign is present in acts of mercy, deeds of love, and gifts of generosity
and abundance. May the reign of Christ,
the kingdom of God, the promise of abundance be among us this day and always. Amen.
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