Reverend Ref +

Sermon
27 Pentecost
Proper 29A
Matthew 25:31-46

Today is Christ the King Sunday. It’s the day on the church calendar when we acknowledge Jesus is Lord of all. We hear lessons that point this out and we sing hymns with this theme. And that is all well and good, but if we proclaim Jesus as King and Lord over all, then there will also be a day of reckoning. A day of judgment when the king comes t claim that which is rightfully his. Ezekiel writes about it, Paul writes about it and Matthew writes about it. If you believe the scriptures, it will happen. Judgment and Godly wrath isn’t the issue though; the issue is the question that we all ask, if we’re honest with ourselves, from time to time. And that question is, “Who’s in and who’s out?”

Who are the blessed? Who are the cursed? Who are the sheep and who are the goats? And on what is that decision based? If you’ve been paying attention to the political and religious landscape recently, there are those who will tell you exactly who belongs in which camp. I happen to think that those people are wrong. This decision doesn’t depend on reciting the right creed or attending the right church. It doesn’t depend on memorizing the right bible verses or holding tightly to a gospel based in fear. And it most certainly is not based on your ability to “convert” people.

The decision is based, according to this gospel passage, on a transforming faith that is lived out in our daily lives. The stories of the wedding banquet and the talents which we recently heard reinforce an idea that is specifically stressed today; that is, you must do something. You must change. You must risk. You cannot refuse to use your talents. You cannot continue in your old life. You cannot do nothing.

Some people talk about participating in spiritual warfare, and that image is all around us; think about Paul’s admonition to put on the armor of God. Hymns like “Soldiers of the cross” and “Onward Christian soldiers” are sung, our dismissal hymn today is one of those. Some denominations talk about ‘prayer warriors.’ In some respects that imagery is correct; we are part of a spiritual war. But it is a war that has already been decided – God will win. However, for evil to make significant progress and win some battles, all that has to happen is for good people to do nothing.

There are many ways to do nothing. Maybe you think you don’t have the time, you are too busy. We can do nothing because we feel overwhelmed. In the aftermath of Katrina, Rita and Stan, and earthquakes and tornadoes, what can one person really do? We can do nothing by pretending the problem doesn’t exist. The German civilians during the Nazi era are a good example. Our government is currently pushing to allow prisoners to be tortured; are we standing up against that? Or we can do nothing because the situation simply doesn’t appeal to us; we have no personal stake in the issue.

Notice something about today’s gospel: those who inherit the kingdom were not blessed on account of a confessional faith, some litmus test of orthodoxy, or even a professed belief in God, let alone of Jesus as Messiah. I’m not saying that belief in God is unnecessary, because there are too many other passages that need to be considered, and you should not base your entire belief system on one or two passages of the bible.

What I am saying, though, is that Jesus seems to think that the gospel is as much social action as it is stated beliefs. The gospel is rooted in social justice. Aiding the poor, defending the weak, protecting the persecuted, welcoming the alien, sheltering the homeless and visiting the imprisoned – these are all issues which run through the entire bible, Hebrew scriptures as well as Christian. You cannot convince me that the focus of the gospel is sitting in the right church praying the right prayers and reciting the right creed. It is so much more than that.

The last two points of our mission statement are what? Proclaim the gospel in thought, word and deed, and Rejoice in a new life found in Christ. Proclaim the gospel in thought, word and deed. That means that we not only pray the gospel, but that we think on it and study it. It means that we speak the gospel to people that we meet. It means that we live out the gospel in our daily lives by feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked and visiting the sick and imprisoned. It means we act on what we believe.

The last point, Rejoice in a new life found in Christ, is also vital. This faith that we proclaim is not, remember, a heavy burden. It’s one that we take on willingly. We should act like God has filled our lives with joy; not like we are being dragged to church like military draftees woken up at midnight for a forced march. The gospel we proclaim is Good News – be happy!

So here’s where it all comes together. Those wh were identified as sheep did not know they were sheep. They saw a social need and they acted on it. They spared some time. They fed the hungry. They welcomed the stranger. They clothed the naked. They visited the sick and those in prison. They did it because it was the right thing to do. One person certainly can’t do it all, but one person certainly can do something. They had no personal stake in the situation; it wasn’t their father who was in prison or their child who was homeless or their friend who was sick. They simply saw a need and acted.

Those who were identified as goats did not know they were goats. They saw the same social needs, but they refused to act. They had not time to spare. They didn’t have a personal stake in the issue. After all, it wasn’t their father who was in prison or their child who was homeless or their friend who was sick. And it certainly wasn’t Jesus who needed these things; it was just a nobody on the street, just another beggar, just another outsider. When the person in need is ‘just another’, the need doesn’t seem so great, does it?

Don’t become so focused on Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords that you overlook him on the street in your everyday life. It may be that Jesus is closer than you think.