To everything there is a season: a time to reflect and a
time to dream. As we stand on the threshold of 2017, reflecting on the past
year and looking forward to our time together in the future, we are called in today’s
readings to pause and consider Christ’s judgment of where we have been and
challenged to think about where we are going. We are called to take time to contemplate
our place in the world and our place in God’s Kingdom. We are encouraged to take
some time to dream about the possibilities of what God’s good creation and
goodness means and what a world of mutual care and support might be like.
Here, near the end of Matthew, tucked in between Jesus’s
entry into Jerusalem and his arrest, crucifixion and resurrection, is this
amazing and disturbing scene of the end time. It is not presented as a parable,
“The kingdom of God is like…”; rather, it is set in apocalyptic literary form
in the great judgment hall of heaven. Here the son of man comes in glory to sit
upon the throne of glory to judge the nations.
In this heavenly courtroom, we are called to look around and
notice where we are. We are called to remember the other times we have been
here. Noting this space, we remember the other words that have come down to us
from this judgment place. We hear the words of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and
the other prophets declaring God’s words of judgment, forgiveness, and
reconciliation; and we remember that this scene of judgment is not the final
statement of Matthew’s Gospel.
So, as a people of the nations, as people of the United
States of America, let us sit in the gallery of the heavenly courtroom and
witness the judgment of the world. Let us sit in anticipation of our nation’s
judgment. Will we be among the sheep or the goats?
I can imagine myself sitting in the gallery, not being
surprised to discover that there are no sheep, only goats. And yet, in this
heavenly courtroom, Jesus tells us that the picture of the world is not as
dismal as it first seems: indeed, the nations wonder how they were chosen as
sheep. Indeed, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or
naked, sick or imprisoned?
2016 has been one of those years that will probably have
historians scratching their heads for many years to come. Crises throughout the
world have raised the specters of fear and hate, death and despair, arrogance
and oppression, and, in response to these specters, many nations have turned to
isolationism, preferring to pull into themselves like a turtle into its shell,
withdrawing from the problems of the world.
Yet, the problems of the world do not go away. More than 4300
people have been shot this past year in Chicago alone. Of them, more than 700 died.
There was the shooting massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, the bombing
and the attempted bombings in New York. This is without mentioning those who
have died in our area due to violence and drugs.
Many of those who have been entrusted with the duty of
protecting and serving us have been captive to racism and power. In the
performance of their duties, law enforcement officials have killed more than
950 people; more than 40 of the victims were unarmed, and many were mentally
ill. In response, people have shot and killed 64 innocent police personnel
without cause. These 64 deaths account for almost half of the 135 police
officers who died in the line of duty.
“Then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the
nations will be gathered before him and he will separate the peoples, one from
another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” Other than the
fact that I am blind, is there something wrong with my vision? I am not seeing
any sheep! I am only hearing the bleating of goats.
Internationally, we were already reeling from the bombings
in Paris, when Brussels was bombed in February. Then there were the truck
attacks where more than 80 people were killed in Nice, and most recently, 12
killed and 48 injured in Germany. Let us not forget the tens of thousands of men,
women and children who died in Aleppo.
In the meantime, we held an election that included the
selection for the highest office in our country. During that process, some of
the most vitriolic language was used by our two major parties. Threats of imprisonment
and charges that parts of our society are irredeemable were made. Indeed, Lord,
when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger, or naked, sick or
imprisoned?
But there are sheep. They are gathered at the son of man’s
right hand. He has called them to recognize their blessings and to enter the
kingdom that has been prepared for them from the foundations of the world. But where
are the sheep coming from?
If this heavenly courtroom scene were the last statement of
Matthew, I would have nothing but dreadful words of condemnation for you today.
With the disciples, I would throw up my hands and say, “So who can be saved? I
know that there was a plan that was good and strong from the foundations of the
world, but remember? Humanity screwed that one up years ago. We have proven
time and again that we are more interested in ourselves and our personal
relationships than we are with you, God, or anyone outside our personal zones
of influence. We are a selfish, stiff-necked people. We are interested in our
own sense of honor, our own privilege, our own homes and our 401K’s. Okay, we
give to what we consider to be good causes, but really Lord, the dead-beat
jobless? The sick? The imprisoned? Illegal aliens? The naked? The hungry? And
thirsty? Why don’t you just ask us to clean up the air and the water, to give
up our scenic vistas so that endangered species will thrive again? What do you
mean, it’s not about us?”
And as the Gospel of Matthew continues, we are confronted
with a hierarchy that wants to arrest and kill Jesus; disciples who begrudge
Christ’s anointing; the Last Supper that leads to Jesus’ arrest, trial,
renunciation, crucifixion and death. Jesus will be hungry, thirsty, called a
Nazarean stranger, stripped of his clothes, sickened by oppression, and
imprisoned. Throughout this time, his closest disciples will betray and desert
him. It will be left to just a few—Pilate’s wife, Simon of Cyrene, a centurion
and those with him, Joseph of Arimathea, and some women—to be the sheep, the
ones who cared enough to recognize Christ for who he is. The rest of the world are
goats who deserve to suffer eternal punishment.
But wait! The throne of glory for the son of man is not a
royal throne but a cross. The judgment of the world is not based on merit but
grace. The verdict is not about who we are but whose we are. The decision of
eternity is not based on our lives but the resurrected body of Christ. God’s
judgment does not end at the tomb. He goes ahead of us to Galilee; and we are
called to follow and find him there to baptize and teach, to gather at Christ’s
table to feed and give drink, to welcome all into our midst in Christ’s name,
to be clothed in Christ’s righteousness, to support them in sickness and in
health, to lift them up from the prisons of those things that attempt to
separate us from the love of God, and to walk in Christ’s ways.
To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose
under heaven: a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to despair and a time
to hope, a time to die and a time to rise from the dead, a time for reconciling
peace. I swear it’s not too late. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, I am
beginning to see a lot of hopeful sheep. Thanks be to God!
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