Matthew 25.31-46 The Judgement of the Nations
31 ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with
him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32All the
nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from
another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33and he
will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34Then
the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
world; 35for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you
gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was
naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in
prison and you visited me.” 37Then
the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and
gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38And
when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you
clothing? 39And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited
you?” 40And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you
did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did
it to me.” 41Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are
accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his
angels; 42for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you
gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a
stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing,
sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” 44Then
they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or
a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” 45Then he
will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the
least of these, you did not do it to me.” 46And
these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal
life.’
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Our scripture lesson this morning is Jesus’ parable about the
son of man – another name for Jesus that emphasizes his humanity. He is coming.
Jesus is coming in all his glory. Matthew paints a word picture of Jesus sitting
on his glorious throne, surrounded by angels. He is separating the sheep from
the goats. The sheep partake in the glory that we understand to be heavenly,
while the goats go to a place of eternal punishment which we usually call hell.
Though we may be a bit confused about what heaven and hell are like, we are
clear that it is better to go where the sheep are going than to go where the
goats are headed.
The bible is not easy to navigate. It is written in a way that
should keep us thinking and praying and studying together. When we read about
Heaven and Hell, the bible is not as clear to us as we would want it to
be.
When we read the Bible, it helps to remember three things.
First, one passage alone does not always tell the whole story. The bible is an
ongoing conversation about many things. The bible has information, not only on
heaven and hell, but on political campaigns, military strategies. There are
legal instructions for marriages, mortgages, debts, and designs for furniture
in the sanctuary. We find chemical formulas for incense and oils in the altar
lamps. The bible tells about family feuds, the future, genealogies, skeletons
in the closet, dirty laundry, royalty, the rich and the famous, the right and
the wrong, the poor and the needy, the helpless, the hopeless, the leaderless,
underground paths toward freedom for scattered refugees and run away victims of
domestic violence. The bible has verses to help raise your confidence, raise
your children, raise your self-esteem and raise your moral standards. The bible
is complex and requires our careful thought and focus, without which we miss
out on the feast!
A second thing to remember when we read the bible is that it is
often helpful to interpret one passage through the eyes of another passage.
There are many layers and opportunities to connect the dots, but not to worry,
the Spirit helps us, especially when we allow it. We have to trust God because
the bible is so much bigger than life.
A third thing to remember when we read the bible is that it is
not necessary or helpful to blame God or the bible or the church or each other
when we don’t understand something or don’t like something in the bible.
Rather, it is good to be patient and continue praying, reading and studying,
knowing that some things are understood gradually, not instantly or easily.
It is important to take the time to think as well as pray. Over
200 years ago, the father of Methodism John Wesley taught us four guiding
principles. # 1 not only read the bible, but reflect on scripture, # 2 to
respect the wisdom of our church traditions, (being ready to let go of her
dogma and embrace her sound doctrine), # 3 to value our individual and
corporate experiences, such as Wesley himself saying one day his heart was
strangely warmed and he felt personally closer to God than ever, and finally #
4 logic and reasoning should be a part of our bible study and conversation as
well.
Even with studying, we are challenged to wrap our minds around
the mysteries of Heaven and Hell.
Many churches mark this Sunday on the calendar as Christ the
King Sunday. It is a day to remember that Jesus is king of the universe. He is
Lord of Heaven and earth. One source said that a pope initiated this special
day 100 years ago in 1925. Unfortunately, at times the church tries to take
over the throne.
The reminder of Jesus’ ruling and reigning in our world and in
our lives is captured in the 31st verse of Matthew’s reading that says 31 ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.
The word “glory” like a diamond, has many facets. It comes from
the Greek word “DOXA” from which we get the word “doxology,” meaning “praise.”
One who is glorified is one praised enthusiastically for inward and outward
excellence, one who is celebrated, one who shines, though such brightness is
utterly indescribable and imperceptible to the naked eye. Glory may put us in a
state of ecstasy and delight for which no words will ever be adequate.
Glory is best understood when experienced. The glory of Jesus
coming to save us from our troubles, ruling and reigning with peace and justice
leaves us speechless. The idea of the glorious presence of Jesus who knows our
name and every strand of hair on our head, who loves us with an everlasting
love… can take our very breath away. He shines in ways that all who see become
jubilant and awe-inspired.
We have a little sense of what glory is like when we sing “Gloria
in excelsis deo” “Glory to God in the highest” – that is the highest Heaven.
Our honor and praise is to go to the God who higher than anyone and can be
found in the highest Heaven, as distinguished from the heavenly heights where
birds fly among the clouds, or a higher place where wicked kingdoms rule. Above
ALL else is God.
Matthew tells us Jesus comes in all his glory and sits on his
glorious throne, ruling and reigning, separating sheep from goats.
Sheep and goats, like humans, are from the same family.
Sometimes they look like each other and it’s hard to tell which is which. When
a sheep and a goat mate, they produce a hybrid called a “geep,” which is
usually infertile.
According to Treehugger.com, “sheep and goats differ in the way
that the forage for food. Sheep are grazers; they ramble slowly eating short
plants close to the ground. Goats are browsers; they look for leaves, twigs,
vines, and shrubs.
Sheep are known for their woolly coats, which require annual
shearing. A sheep's woolly coat will continue growing unless it is sheared. Goats
are generally hairy and don’t require haircuts. A goat’s tail usually points
up; a sheep’s tail hangs down.
Goats are independent and are said to be easier to handle. Sheep
are sheepish and when frightened, they run and run. They have a very strong
flocking instinct and become agitated when separated from their posse. More
people consume goat milk than the milk from any other animal.
Sheep and goats have different characteristics. Those
characteristics are neither good nor bad; they are just different, so why does
Jesus come in all his glory to separate the sheep from the goats. Is the ruler
of the universe sending some to eternal punishment and others to eternal life?
Is this a time to divide rather than reconcile?
The answer is not in the differences between sheep and goats.
The answer is not even about whether we are on the sheep side or the goat side.
The answer is about whether we are a part of a posse that does the six things
Jesus mentioned: feed the hungry, quench the thirsty, welcome the stranger,
clothe the naked, care for the sick, and visit the imprisoned.
As the church, we are indeed part of the posse that focuses on
those six ministries. However, we live in a world among those who want nothing
to do with giving honor and glory to Jesus. There are some in this world for
whom the sight of angels surrounding Jesus throne is disgusting. Not everyone
is on the Christian journey with us.
When angels come to hate-filled houses and take away those being
abused, or trafficked, or accepted regardless of political party, race,
religion, orientation, they may get shot at, spit at, their tires
slashed, their jobs lost, …anything may be done to “Get those angels out of
HERE!”
So Jesus says to the goats on his left hand, “You that are accursed,
depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; He
says to the sheep on the right, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;…”
Whether they went to heaven or to hell, the path that each took
would be everlasting, it could not be undone, just as words that are said can
never, ever be taken back. There is no indication that either the sheep or the
goats begged to take the path that the other was assigned. I mean, could it be
nice sometime as Christians to go in another direction for a couple years, to
stop giving to God our tithes and offerings in spite of the glorious blessings
with which God has showered our lives, to say mean things that are bursting to
come out of our mind instead of speaking our truth in love to those who hurt
us?
Jesus parable hints at two different paths, but we are left to
reflect and speculate as to what either of them are completely like. Heaven and
Hell are for the most part are a bit fuzzy and incomprehensible, but at the
very least, we know that they are spiritual places with feelings and
experiences that are out of this world as we know it, whether divine or
demonic, glorious or horrid.
How we act matters in ways small and great. It is heavenly to
know that walking into a room with a smile can change the mood in a good way.
Laughter can create a wave of positivity that heals and helps. Doctors say that
when a person yawns, others in the room will yawn as a reflex, especially if
they have the personality trait of sympathy for others.
At the same time, most of us have experienced being somewhere
when all hell seems to break lose. Maybe we have been the hell-raisers or a
victim of such chaos infiltrating our hearts and minds, challenging our
spiritual lives. Hell can be in the heart.
There is also good reason to believe that Heaven and Hell are
not only spiritual places to which we can journey with our lifestyle, but they
are actual physical places. It must be, though, that Heaven and Hell have their
own atmosphere, just like the atmosphere that we fly a plane in is different
from the atmosphere that we are living and breathing in at this moment, just
like the outer space atmosphere that our astronauts go into is different, and
the moon’s atmosphere is different from that of the planets like Neptune. I can
believe that Heaven is a physical as well as a spiritual place and Hell is too.
But, whether we are in a Heavenly place or a living Hell, every
step we take matters. Jesus is on the throne as Lord of the universe and though
our every step is everlasting, if we ask Jesus to keep us on the right side, we
will be shepherded into glorious places and filled with unspeakable joy and
peace, so much so that when we can shine in a way that changes the atmosphere
for good. Amen.
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