Home Sermons What's it all About? The parable of the Sheep and the Goats

What's it all About? The parable of the Sheep and the Goats

WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT? THE PARABLE OF THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS

TEXT: MATTHEW 22:31-46


INTRODUCTION TO THE SCRIPTURE
The sermon topics for the first 3 Sundays in June are Jesus' parables. The one today is one of the most powerful and even frightening. In my Bible, it is called, "The Judgment of the Nations." I think we often forget that Christianity is not a religion of individualism but of communities. This parable makes it plain. It tells us what it means to be truly faithful as a church and as a nation. All the yous are plural.
THE JUDGMENT OF THE NATIONS: MATTHEW 22:31-46
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. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then 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; 35 for 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, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' 37 Then 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? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' 40 And 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.'

41 Then 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; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I 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.' 44 Then 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?' 45 Then 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.' 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."


GOOD ADVICE FOR A "RIGHTEOUS" NATION?
People want to inscribe the Ten Commandments in stone and place them in public places to remind us what it means to be righteous. Why not choose this text? It might be a challenge to public figures when they design social policy. If this is what it takes to be a nation commended by God, I think we may have a ways to go.

AND A RIGHTEOUS PERSON
This is a pretty good reading for a baptism day. A day when people promise to follow in Christ's footsteps and show love and justice. What does it mean to be a righteous person? This parable lays it out.

It also flies in the face of those who tell us that salvation lies in a certain belief system. That is not the Lord's criteria for entering into the kingdom, is it? There is nothing here about belonging to the right church, accepting Christ as your personal savior, or, for that matter, even getting baptized. The king is pleased not by correct belief but by a compassionate life. Baptism, accepting Christ as your guide and role model those are the first steps in a life of compassion.

You'll notice that the pledges we make in baptism are to follow Christ; to fulfill the mission he proclaimed and lived .
To bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, sight for the blind, and freedom for the oppressed. We try to be like Jesus and do these things because he did.

GOD IN CHRIST, THE RECIPIENT OF HUMAN ACTION
But wait, typical of Jesus, when he tells a story, he likes to confuse us. In fact, he flips it upside down. In this story, it is not Christ who is serving but Christ who cries out in need. "I was hungry, I was thirsty, I was a stranger, I was sick, I was naked, I was in prison." "Inasmuch as you have done it to the least of these, you have done it unto me." Not done it for me, not in my name ... No, you have done it to me.

Isn't that just like Jesus. We can identify with Jesus, the servant, going about doing good. Isn't that what we try to do all the time? But what about seeing Jesus in the guys with who stand on the median strip at Alewife their "homeless Vet" signs? Or seeing Jesus in prisoners doing time for robbery or seeing him in prisoners of addictions? Lord, did we see you in these folks? I wonder?


THE RABBI'S STORY
An old rabbi was teaching his disciples. He stroked his beard and mused, "In the olden days, there were men who saw the face of God."
"Why don't they any more?" asked his young student.
The rabbi responded, "Because nowdays nobody stoops so low."

U2's lead singer, Bono, who is one of the world's great humanitarians says, "God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives. God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war. God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives. And God is with us, if we are with them."

CONFUSION AND SURPRISE: WHERE IS JESUS? WE DON'T KNOW
Two years ago, we read this passage to our confirmation class and followed it up with an assignment. We gave each of them a disposable camera and told them to see the world with the eyes of the parable. Find Jesus in the unexpected. Of course you don't just go up to anybody and snap a photo without their permission so the kids tended to take pictures of settings rather than people. An urban schoolyard filled with trash, a subway train, a small study of something in nature. It wasn't what we anticipated.

But that's just the point of the parable. Jesus is elusive. He doesn't appear where he's expected. William Willamon writes:

"The thing that impressed me about these sheep and these goats was how dumb both groups seemed. . . .Both groups, sheep and goats, ask the same dumbfounded question: 'Lord, when did we see you?' Neither the thoughtful good nor the thoughtless bad can remember having seen Jesus.

The bad didn't know what they were doing when they were looking after themselves without a thought for the needs of others. But the good also didn't know what they were doing when they reached out in everyday acts of love and compassion toward others. 'Lord, when did we see you?'"

I've always preached that this parable is about seeing Jesus in "the least of these" and I've always struggled with the tremendous power of imagination it required to look at a rapist and see Jesus; to see Jesus in my enemy. Now I'm not so sure if it is about doing these tricks of projection. I think it is more about simply doing the kind and compassionate thing and by surprise, finding Jesus in it.
WE SING OR SWIM TOGETHER
I also want to go back to the very beginning of my sermon and point out that this is a not only about individual responsibility but about communal responsibility. The sheep and goats are judged together. Yet another aspect that makes this a perfect reading for a baptism day. When you become part of a church, you sink or swim together. You don't have to do it all alone. Think about how many of us got to participate in revitalizing a flood ravaged nursery school in New Orleans. Even now a moving van is arriving in New Orleans to deliver an entire nursery school of furnishings, supplies and toys made possible by the serendipitous (or Spirit-ordained) intersection of their need and our renovation project!

We all didn't have to travel to New Orleans to encounter this need-only 5 people who represented us did. But because we are a community, we all had a part in it-from the guys who built the church school partitions 40 years ago to the kids who shared their stuffed animals and toys; from the generous donors of our Equipping the Saints fund to each and every one of you who makes Pilgrim's mission possible by supporting it with your presence.

Together we join with others like Dick Rogers and the good folks at Bristol Lodge to be God's sheep together. Together we are judged and together we are found faithful. Thank God for all the people that help us do the compassionate thing. So that on the day of judgment (which is every day) we may hear God say, "Come, blessed ones, inherit the kingdom. For 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.'"