Christ the King November 22 2020
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24, Psalm 100, Ephesians 1:15-2, Matthew 25:31-46
Matthew’s gospel continues to be terribly troubling, but this week we get a glimmer of hope, grace actually. The picture Matthew paints is the Son of man sitting on the throne, and before him are all the nations. The one sitting on the throne places the sheep on one side and the goats on the other. Those that were placed on the right hand, the sheep, were those who had encountered people who were hungry and thirsty and fed them, those who had encountered strangers, aliens, outsiders, immigrants, and welcomed them, those who had encountered people who were naked and clothed them, those who had encountered people who were sick or in prison, and visited them. And they were surprised, they asked when did we do these things? And the King answered, you did it each time you relieved the pain or suffering of the lost, the lonely, the least.
Friends, this is incarnational ministry, we need look no further. This is what it means to live out the hope and grace of our baptism. Each and every time we encounter the most vulnerable and overlooked, the least of these, we are actually interacting with our Lord. As with the surprising appearance of God in both manger and cross, God continues to show up where we least expect God to be. The command to care for the most vulnerable is clear throughout Scripture; the promise that God is revealed to us when we do is the surprise. God’s inbreaking, God’s revelation, God’s presence is not some mountain-top experience or the result of an arduous spiritual journey but instead connected to actual, physical bodies and circumstances. Want to see Jesus? Look to the needs of your neighbor and, especially, your most vulnerable neighbors. And yet, so many who claim to be Christian look right past their most vulnerable neighbors. Or can’t seem to understand the category of neighbor at all.
And I want you to hear verse 32 again. Before the son of man will be gathered all the nations… Friends, this a political gospel; the Gospel is inherently political in that it challenges the total complex of relations between people living in society. That’s pretty risky to say, isn’t it? This is about how the least, the lost, and the lonely are treated not only by individuals, but by groups of people and by governments. And this is where the rubber meets the road. How do we live in a secular world and live by kingdom ethics? That is what we must always be asking and working toward.
This is a parable focused on a life of mercy. The criterion of judgment is the mercy we have lived. It is concerned with how we; followers of Jesus live out our baptismal ministry, how we let our light shine and give glory to God. Good works has less to do with ethical actions than with living a life of mercy in which Jesus is encountered and revealed. Again, not about moral dessert. But about living a live of mercy now, each moment, each day, this is how the beloved community works, this is what the body of Christ looks like, this is what loving our neighbor is about.
And it compels us to work to create merciful systems in our communities. It compels us to widen our circles. We are not the holders or keepers of the mystery of God, we are light bearers bringing God’s mercy to the outer reaches. We are the boundary breakers, not the boundary keepers. We are the margin sitters, guiding those who are lost to the places they may be found.
In our community, where and how do we break down barriers so that each child of God has access to what you and I have, health care, safe housing, meaningful work? In our community, where and how do we break down barriers so that each child of God has equal opportunity to education, especially in this COVID world, how do we make sure that each child has a stable and reliable internet connection? How do we be a part of creating merciful systems of justice?
We are sent out from the Lord’s Supper as body of Christ to discover that the body of Christ is already waiting for the community in those suffering in the world. Then, it would appear that the judgment we are all subject to is not one from on high but a judgment that is spoken through the need of our neighbor.
In these COVID times, how can we care for our neighbor? If we are out, we can wear a mask. What a simple and wonderful way we can care for our neighbors we don’t even know. We can stay home as much as possible. We can support our local establishments by getting take out or curbside as often as we would have gone out for a meal. We can figure out how to shop locally for our Christmas presents. And with our church neighbors and our physical neighbors we can make phone calls. Check on each other, please.
This day is called Christ the King Sunday. It is a day to affirm the reign of Christ and God's Kingdom, a kingdom in which we are citizens now, and to which we aspire in the future. A Kingdom in which we are called to encounter each neighbor as if they were Christ among us, because they are. We come to the end of the lectionary year, next week, the first Sunday of Advent begins the new year. We are meant to look back, and ask the question, how did the church live out and work for God's reign?
As the last Sunday of the church year, it transitions us into Advent and the beginning of the church year, and functions as a bridge. It reminds us that this is what we are about - to further the Kingdom, how we will be active and engaged citizens in God's Kingdom and the wider realities of community, the real meaning of the polis, or politics. Advent anticipates Emmanuel, with active and engaged waiting.
Live incarnationally this week. Expect to encounter Christ in any neighbor you meet. Care for your neighbor, and you care for Jesus. Amen.
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