The Peoples' Court, Matthew 25:31-46

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!

Time for Loving Matthew 1:18-25

Okay, I have to admit that I have always thought of this passage as being lame. It’s sort of like spending a lot of time on the genealogy that precedes this text. Yes, there are some interesting names and situations that arise from the genealogy, but really not that much. Or is there?

We really don’t give Joseph much time. He is the almost contender. He is the guy that God beat out. He is the guy that I never wanted to be or hoped to be. Maybe that is why Joseph doesn’t get much time. It just may be that Joseph makes us nervous. As a matter of fact, aside from this story in Matthew and the second chapter story of Joseph taking Mary and Jesus to Egypt and then returning after Herod has died, nothing else is said about Joseph in Matthew at all.

Yet the imprint of Joseph continues to influence the story of our faith in interesting ways. Tradition says that Joseph is a carpenter and that he passes the trade of carpentry down to Jesus. In some of the non-biblical stories of Jesus we hear that Joseph and Jesus build a cabinet together, and, when they get it finished, it is too big to go through the door. Jesus shrinks the cabinet enough for it to go through, and then he expands it to its original size so that they can deliver it as ordered. Another time Jesus cuts a board, and it is too short so he lays his hands on it and stretches it to the right length. (There have been a few times in the shop when I’ve wished that I could do that.) No, we don’t get this information from the Gospels, but there is a long tradition that says that Joseph is indeed a carpenter, and, because of that, Jesus is a carpenter too.

So, who is Joseph? From the genealogy given in Matthew we learn that Joseph is the son of Jacob. Really? Wasn’t there another Joseph who was the son of Jacob? Wasn’t Jacob the father of twelve sons who became the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel? Wasn’t Jacob’s son Joseph the one who was sold into slavery? Wasn’t Joseph the interpreter of dreams? Wasn’t Joseph the one that the Pharaoh went to with the dream of the fat bullocks and the skinny bullocks? Wasn’t Joseph the one who saved his family in the time of famine and gave them a place to live in Egypt? And wasn’t that first Joseph the ancestor of Moses who led God’s people out of slavery into the wilderness and then to the Promised Land?

We may not know much about this Joseph, but there is a great deal that we know about the first Joseph who was the son of Jacob, and Matthew wants us to remember these things when we begin to think about who this Joseph, the father of Jesus, is. Therefore, we are not surprised when the angel comes to him in a dream and tells him he needs to take the mother and the child to Egypt. We are not surprised when they return from Egypt because of a dream. This is the pattern of freedom and learning to walk in faith with God. The difference this time is that we learn what it means to have God walk with us having faith for us.

So today the outcome of so much depends on Joseph’s decision and actions concerning his betrothal to Mary. We are introduced to him with these words: Joseph is “a righteous man”. For many of us, we might easily translate righteous into good and therefore think, “Joseph is a good man.” And, because he is a good man, we might think he will naturally do good things. Joseph is righteous because he follows the law, not just the 10 commandments, but all of the laws found in Leviticus and Deuteronomy including Deuteronomy 22 which prescribes the consequences of being pregnant  while engaged. By law, both the woman who got pregnant by someone other than her betrothed and the other man were to be stoned. If the woman was taken (raped) in the fields, the man was to be stoned, but the woman was to be unpunished. Still that engagement was ended, and the woman was shamed. This is what the righteous man should do. He should end the engagement and walk away. Although he could be generous by doing this quietly, people would probably still talk.

When the angel comes to tell Joseph that the baby is from the Holy Spirit, Joseph is caught in a dilemma. If he walks away from Mary, he will dishonor God, but, if he honors God, staying engaged to Mary, then he states to the community that he is the father of the child, taking the shame of Mary’s pregnancy upon himself. Joseph is confronted with the other side of righteousness. The first definition of righteousness is to follow the law, but the other is to do justice. What is a guy to do?

Joseph’s decision pushes us in a new direction. His decision marks the beginning for those who will follow this child, this Jesus, our Emmanuel. For from this moment on, when law and justice do not walk hand-in-hand, justice will be the part of righteousness that will win out. This decision of Joseph’s marks the beginning of Christian thought that says to act with concern for the other is sometimes more important than personal appearances.

And so, Joseph makes the decision to choose unrighteousness in order to become righteous for the sake of the world. Doing this, he claims Jesus as his son with all of the responsibilities that go along with that decision. As a righteous man, he teaches his son his trade. He passes on his love of his work. In the process of living, he passes on his understanding of the law and the need for justice that goes beyond personal honor, a justice that lifts up the dishonored and the shamed as having value. He passes on his love of God’s people in a way that claims the need of God’s people to live in relationship together is more important than living by the letter of the law. From this decision, learned and appreciated by his son, we will hear, “You have heard it said,…but I say,….”

In the deserted wilderness place, Joseph’s son will feed thousands. In the midst of the world’s suffering, the outcasts (the blind, the lame, the unclean, the deaf and the poor) will be lifted up into new ways of living. From this righteous man, Jesus will learn to care for the needs of those around him even to the extent that he will suffer death, even death on a cross, taking the sins and the shame of the world upon himself, for the justification and justice of the world.

No, we do not know much about Joseph, but, through his ability to interpret dreams, he discerns the way to go. He claims and protects the one who will free us from our slavery to sin, who will lead us through the wilderness of our lives into the relationship of God’s grace and mercy that lifts up all of creation into God’s own kingdom of justice. With his decision, Joseph claims a time for loving judgment rather than punitive vengeance. By his decision, Joseph initiates a time and a season for loving that will only grow through the life, death and resurrection of his adopted son.

Now the birth of Jesus took place in this way, learning of God’s love and sharing it in our time and Advent season of loving.

Her Name Was Saphronie

But she was always Miss Peterson to me. She wasn’t quite five feet tall. She had been blind all of her life. She started teaching the week after she graduated from high school and then worked her way through college during summer school. In 1962 she was my fourth grade teacher, and, later in life, she became a model of faith for me. At eighty-four, she had cancer and needed a ride to the treatment center. I had gotten my sight back by that time and could drive, so I drove Miss Peterson to her appointments for several weeks.

Following each treatment, I took her to a Bible study where her friend, a professor at the university, was part of a study on the book of Psalms. It was part of an ongoing Bible study where professors could come and speak about their faith with students at the Lutheran Campus Center. It was fairly academic, so I mostly took notes and kept my mouth shut. This Bible study was my first real introduction to scholastic disciplines that could be used as helpful tools for interpreting God’s living word. The conversation was miles above me, and yes, I was a little intimidated by my professors talking about their faith and admitting to wrestling with faith issues.

Now you have to understand that, although I had great respect for Miss Peterson as a teacher, her years of service, the years of activism and commitment to advancing living conditions for blind people around the state, and, although I knew that she was involved in the life of her church in Janesville, I thought of Miss Peterson as an aging elementary school teacher who had been retired for many years and not current in modern biblical study.

Since I was a student and she was a guest, I was unprepared for her standing up during one of the studies to raise questions and challenge some of the ideas of these university professors. What shocked me more was that she quoted extended passages from the Psalms from memory, apologizing for only knowing the King James Version of the Bible when we were using the New Revised Standard version. She revealed she had memorized all 150 Psalms when she was young and not taken the time to memorize the newer versions, and so she hoped they would forgive her antiquated language.

Yes, I was amazed. Her questions were appropriate, insightful, and poignant. This was my fourth grade teacher. She was holding her own with these university professors, and I was proud to claim her as my friend and mentor.

Following the study that day, one of the women came and talked with Saphronie. She said, “You are such an inspiration to all of us. I can’t believe that you have memorized all 150 Psalms.”

Saphronie replied, I’m blind, I’m not retarded.”

Taken aback, the woman continued, “I know that you have cancer and are taking treatment, so I wanted to tell you that, as talented and gifted as you are, I know that, when you get to heaven, you will be completely healed and able to see just like the rest of us.”

I had smiled at Miss Peterson’s first response, but I was totally unprepared for her next statement, “If God won’t take me the way I am, then I don’t want to go.”

What Saphronie Peterson understood and believed more concretely than most of the seminary professors I have studied with since is that, if we have to change in order to be acceptable to God, then our challenging lives and the struggles we encounter have no meaning because what makes us who we are is the sum of our life experiences. If we need to change ourselves or be changed in order to be acceptable in God’s eternal kingdom, then we are no longer who we are and the goodness of our creation is discounted.

Is there anyone who believes that a black person needs to become white in order be part of God’s eternal kingdom? Do we think that everyone will have red hair? Do we have to leave our race, our sexuality, our nationalities, or our knowledge here and have all of that changed in order to be acceptable to God? Do we really believe that we are created in God’s image? That means all of us, and that we are good. Or do we think that only some of us are truly God’s creation? Can we say with confidence that our wholeness comes from Christ and not from ourselves?

If we are all created in the image of God and our wholeness comes from Christ, then is it possible that God’s being is so far beyond our understanding that not only is God’s image able to be understood as male and female, but that God’s image can also be known as black and brown and red and white and yellow, gay and straight, and able-bodied and disabled, and smart and cognitively challenged? Is it possible that since the one who is raised up from the dead; the one who appears to us with the marks of the crown of thorns, lash marks, and holes in his hands, feet and side; the one who shows that what was once death producing is now death defying is the one who appears before the disciples without change, that we might also retain our worldly marks in the death defying life of God’s eternal kingdom? Might it be that the great change in 1 Cor. 15: 51-58 is only about the perishable putting on imperishability and the mortal putting on immortality so that death might be terminally defeated in a way that does not disparage or discount the lives that we live but, instead, lifts up our lives as having great value in shaping who and whose we are? Can we know the breadth and depth of God’s love and forgiveness if we cannot come before him as we are? And if we need to change, can God even be God? Does not knowing who and whose we are enable us with Paul to say, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

I am reassured by the thief on the cross in Luke’s Gospel.  “But the other [criminal] rebuked [the first] saying, ‘Do you not fear God since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ [Jesus] replied, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.’” (Luke 23: 40-43, NRSV)

Jesus does not tell the criminal that he must first repent of all of his ways. The criminal need not repay what he has stolen nor repent of the lives he has taken. Jesus does not tell the criminal that he needs to change, but only to know him and to lead his life from this time onward bearing witness to who Christ is. The only person in Scripture to be assured of paradise is accepted as he is.

So, with Miss Peterson, small in stature, blind in life and faith, holding onto: the rock of our salvation, our present help in time of trouble, the one slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, the good shepherd, the mother hen who longs to gather us under her wings, I stand by her side. If God won’t take me the way I am, then I don’t want to go either.

Thank God for God’s grace revealed to us in the person of Jesus the Christ who redeems us and forgives us even when we don’t know what we’re doing. Let us stand firm in our faith, secure in the wholeness of Christ’s incarnational body, without sight but with a vision of God’s kingdom that includes us all. Yes, let us go in Christ’s shalom wholeness and peace, loving and serving God!