1 Pentecost 23rd After A 2011 November 20, 2011 Rev. Dr.

Dena Williams Denver, CO The Holy Gospel according to the community of St. Matthew in the 25th Chapter Glory to you, O Lord "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. 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, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, the sheep. 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 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, 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.' 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? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing?

2 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those at his left hand, the goats. 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 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.' 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?' 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.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." The Gospel of the Lord Praise to you, O Christ Thats What Sheep Do Ever said to your children, or heard from a parent, something like this:

3 If you dont wear your hat and mittens, you will catch pneumonia. or. a common warning at our house: If the car starts before you have your seat belt on, you will die. or, my childrens personal favorite: It is against the law for you to get married before you are 25 and have a Masters degree, you will be arrested. or . . . well, you get the idea, you have stories of your own, stories involving parental prophecies, prophecies spoken as warning, prophecies delivered, not because they will come true, not prophecies that predict the future, but prophecies designed to shape the future. Prophecies designed to shape the future . . . Here we are in Matthew, Chapter 25. Two weeks ago, Matthew warned us to be prepared. In the story of the wise and foolish virgins, the writer of Matthews Gospel, speaking as Matthews Jesus, we hear that if we are foolish, if we neglect to remember the oil for our lamps, the love of the great commandment, God will declare to us, I do not know you. and we will be shut out of the wedding banquet.

Then last week, Matthew warned us to overcome our fear, make good use of Gods gifts to us, because if we dont, there will be outer darkness and weeping and gnashing of teeth. Now this week, feed the hungry, water the thirsty, welcome the stranger, care for the sick, visit the prisoner, because if we dont, we will go with the goats, straight into eternal punishment, eternal fire. And here we are, back in the barnyard with the sheep and goats. The sheep go to eternal life, the goats to eternal punishment. Unlike our walk through the 23rd Psalm a few weeks ago, where the whole sheep business seemed to make some sense, I confess I am at a loss concerning sheep and goats. Is Matthews point that being as stupid as a sheep is somehow better than being as stubborn as a goat? Let me ask that question again Is Matthews point that being as stupid as a sheep is somehow better than being as stubborn as a goat? I once read another explanation that in Jesus time, on the day of atonement, the people of the village would select a goat. The sins of all the people from the past year would be symbolically placed on the goat. Then the goat was driven out of the village,

5 taking with it the sins of the people. Hence, an expression we use: the scapegoat. Interesting enough, I suppose, but still begs the question Why a scape goat, not a scape sheep? Why eternal life for sheep, and eternal punishment for goats? Well, whatever we think about the sheep and the goats, we are pretty sure that it is better to be a sheep, so that is what we all believe ourselves to be . . . sheep. Now, before we get too confident and decide that we are, indeed, sheep, we need to realize that there is a temptation here. It is tempting for we sheep to spend some time trying to figure out who is a sheep and who is a goat. It is tempting to start making lists in our minds: Well, I am certainly a sheep. But that guy over there, the one with the beard, he is certainly a goat. After all, wasnt he accused of embezzling from his company? And that woman, the one with the pointy ears and unusual eyes, do you know how she spends money? Whew! She is certainly a goat. And that man, have you seen the billy goats he hangs out with? He is certainly a goat. Sheep remember that it is not their job to divide the sheep from the goats. Sheep do not waste their time pointing their fingers at the goats: here a goat, there a goat, everywhere a goat-goat. Sheep spend their time and energy helping others,

6 and not just other sheep. we are called to serve others even when we think they are acting like goats. It is not up to us to decide who is a sheep and who is a goat. Its up to God. So we need to let it go. Thats what sheep do. In the midst of all these sheep and goats, we hear Matthews usual call to righteousness if you want to do right, if you want to be a sheep, you will: feed the hungry, water the thirsty, welcome the stranger, care for the sick, visit the prisoner. What does Matthew say here? That if we want to do right, if we want to be a sheep, we must go to church, wear nice clothes, have never have been in prison, never received welfare, be upstanding, law abiding members of society. Or, at least, in order to be a sheep, we must certainly have to have faith. Is that what Matthews Jesus says? No, that is not what Jesus says! Jesus says: Sheep provide a shoulder to cry on, a listening ear. Sheep provide affirmation and support to others. Sheep share time, energy, money with those in need, not just when it is easy and convenient,

7 but also when the giving involves discomfort and risk and sacrifice. A sheep treats others with kindness and respect. And, sheep remember that sheep behavior begins at home, with our own flock, among those we love most. Thats what sheep do. Why? Why are the sheep the ones who help others? Because, Jesus says, when we care for the poorest, the weakest, the most vulnerable we care for the Christ. If you want to be counted among the sheep, you help others. Thats what sheep do. Matthew, of course, like most parents, cannot leave it at that, can he? He cant seem to just shape the future, but includes that dire prediction as well. If you act like a goat, you will go away into eternal punishment, eternal fire. What about that? Is that prediction of the future or shaping of the future. Well, heres what I think about this parable. If you worshipped with us last Sunday, it will sound familiar. When we act like goats, when we are stubborn around helping others, when we resist Jesus call to righteousness it is not God who causes our misery, we create our own misery. When we live lacking compassion, refusing to share, overlooking the needs of others,

8 we will be miserable, not because of who God is, but because of who we are. We create our own misery and eternal punishment. Matthews Jesus prophesies, not in order to predict our future, but to shape it in the most life giving way. Well, thats convenient pastor, but, really, it seems pretty clear in each of these three stories from the 25th Chapter of Matthew that outer darkness, weeping and gnashing of teeth, eternal punishment, eternal fire, are part of the picture. How can you dismiss that, deconstruct that, with words about us creating our own fear, our own misery? How? Listen to what St. Paul writes in his letter to the Christians at Rome: every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Paul does not write that only the sheep will find Jesus as Lord. I do not know how, but with St. Paul, I believe that our God, the God of the Great Commandment to love, that our God, in Gods time will cause all people, the sheep and the goats, to know Christ. I believe that God can and will transform the most stubborn old goat into a sheep. Perhaps not in our time, but in Gods time. Well, pastor, if you believe that God is going to transform all people into sheep anyway, then whats the point of:

9 feeding the hungry, watering the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, caring for the sick, visiting the prisoner. The point is this: we are called to do the work of the kingdom, not to transform ourselves from goats to sheep, Christs sacrifice took care of that transformation on our behalf. We are called to do the work of the kingdom to serve others, in loving response, in thanksgiving for Gods love toward us, a love so great that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Thats what sheep do. Amen