The Rev'd Kenneth H. Saunders III
Christ Episcopal Church
Cleveland, NC
RCL Year A (Proper 29) - November 23, 2009
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
Psalm 100
Ephesians 1:15-23
Matthew 25:31-46
This is it! This is what the whole year has been building up to. Today we acclaim Jesus Christ as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! But the idea of King isn’t exactly the best image for us Americans. When we think of King, we remember our country’s history, and us declaring independence from any sort of “king” in England or anywhere else for that matter. When we think of Kings, we think of tyrant rulers or monarchs claiming some sort of “divine” right to lead a nation. It’s just not a comfortable image of us…
So why do we say, Christ is King! And where might be his kingdom?
An elementary answer for us might be to say that Christ is King and he is seated on the throne in his heavenly kingdom. We have all heard Jesus himself acclaim, when asked at his trial, that his kingdom is not of this world.
The diocese of North Carolina has just launched an adult teaching and reflection series on “the kingdom of God.” It starts out by looking at the various stories in the scripture that describe the kingdom of God. It is called a reflection series, because the persons that participate in the class are to take the reading and reflect on “the kingdom of God” and what it might look like to them.
The “Kingdom of God” has been described throughout the scriptures during this whole season that ends with this day… The feast of Christ the King.
If you have paid any attention throughout this long season, you have heard a lot about The kingdom of God…
The Kingdom of God is compared to a person who sowed good seed on fertile ground that grows up and is ripe for the harvest.
The Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant or a pearl of great value, or yeast, or a buried treasure in a field…
The Kingdom of God can be compared to a king who wished to settle his accounts and forgives a great debt…
The Kingdom of God is like a landowner who hires laborers for his vineyard…
The Kingdom of God is like a landowner who had a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country; only to have his only son killed trying to claim rights to the vineyard.
The Kingdom of God is like a King who gave a wedding banquet for his son and had the one guest that wasn’t wearing the robe cast out into the street...
The Kingdom of God is like Ten Bridesmaids with lamps, 5 were prepared and went into the feast, and 5 were unprepared and were unable to get in…
The Kingdom of God is like a Man Going on a Journey who gives his three slaves talents, only to return to find that one didn’t do anything with the talent he was given…
So, after all of the teaching about the Kingdom of God over the past 5 months, what is the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven like to you? And what does it mean for you to say that Christ is King?
We have all heard the stories – some of them over and over again. I have used the images in sermons, and offered my own reflections throughout this season of growth for you to have an idea of the Kingdom.
We each, everyone in this room this morning, has his or her own idea of what the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven is like. So take a minute and picture it in your head.
It is through this lens (though our own ideas of kingship) that we look at today’s readings.
Jesus says, “All the nations will be gathered before the Son of Man and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”
It is easy for us to assume here that the sheep are good, and the goats are bad. But that’s not the case. There can be good goats and bad sheep. The audience that Jesus is talking to would immediately recognize that it’s not that the sheep and goats are good and bad… The relationship that Jesus was pointing out was more about their personalities, and the types of animals they are.
Sheep are gentle creatures that will be led. The shepherd calls them by name and they follow. They know the shepherd and the shepherd knows them. They trust the shepherd to lead them to green pastures and clean water. They depend on the shepherd for safety in times of trouble. The shepherd for the sheep is most often the difference between the sheep’s life and the sheep’s death.
Goats however, are different… They are stubborn animals, they have to be herded and rounded up. They are not good followers… they don’t listen, and they don’t respond well to any authority. They make their own decisions and most often depend on their own instincts to guide them. They have horns, so they think that they don’t need any shepherd to protect them. They think that they can protect themselves.
But remember, Jesus isn’t talking about sheep or goats here, he says that he “will separate people – one from another.” He is talking about divine judgment; when we who are on this earth will get the opportunity to stand before God and be separated…
Those who have desired to follow the Good Shepherd, those who have trusted and depended on God to guide them, they will spend eternity with God.
And they will be divided from those who have followed the devices and desires of their own hearts - those who have depended on themselves and not trusted in God. Those will spend eternity separated from God, because they chose in this life to separate themselves from God.
But you know what’s strange about this passage. It’s that Jesus isn’t the judge in the passage at all. He is simply the one that divvies up the creation that has already divided itself - He re-claiming what is already his and unites with God that which wants to be re- united. And he separates that which doesn’t want to be united with God.
Jesus then goes on in the passage to explain how you can tell the difference. And the difference between sheep and goats, between eternity with God or without God, all has to do with hospitality.
I’m not talking about whether or not we set out the correct forks or matching napkins for a place setting, or if we offered to refresh our friends cocktail, or help someone move into a new apartment.
I am talking about true, deep, meaningful, engagement of the “other” in this world. The forgotten and neglected of society. The hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the sick, and the confined. That is where true hospitality starts - with the radical engagement and assistance of our true neighbors. The ones in this world, who the world has forgotten.
It involves laying aside our personal prejudices and judgments – and going out of the realm of worldly thought, or even our own personal thoughts of whether or not we think that they deserve it.
Jesus tells us very clearly that one day all the people of the earth will be divided. One day we all will be separated and we will have to be accountable for our actions or lack thereof.
Jesus Christ is king and his kingdom is not of this world. It is of another world called the Kingdom of God. A kingdom with no other king. A kingdom with no other kind of authority. So what does it mean for you to say that Christ is King?
Are you willing to help Christ build up his kingdom? Are you willing to have Jesus take on the role as Lord of your life? Do you let him lead you, and mold you? Do you trust him fully and allow him to protect you, teach you and guide you on your journey through life?
Are you willing to and do you engage the other, the forgotten of the world, and treat them as if they were Christ? Do you help them and heal them? Do you extend to them an arm of hospitality, seeking to serve the Christ in them?
Or do you keep doing what we have always done, going where you have always gone? And do you keep trusting your own self righteousness to save you?
These are very tough and challenging questions for us to hear, but the answers are simple.
Either the answer is yes or the answer is no…
It is how we choose to answer these questions that determines if we end up like the sheep…
or like the goats…
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