Sheep or Goat? (Nov. 26, 2023) Mt. 25.31-46

It is with some trepidation that I come into the pulpit today. Today is known as Christ the King or Reign of Christ Sunday. It is the day that is the end of the liturgical year. This is the end of Year A in the liturgical calendar, the year that has Matthew as the primary focus in the Gospel readings of the lectionary. Next year, which begins on the first Sunday of Advent (next week), we begin with the Gospel of Mark. And so, we can look at this week as the New Year’s Eve of the church year (there will be no ball dropping though). But what is this notion of calling this Christ the King Sunday?

Christ the King Sunday is not an ancient high and holy day. It began being observed in the mid-1920s (1925), a practice instituted by Pope Pius XI out of a concern for the growing secularism and the rise of fascism in Europe. Pope Pius XI's encyclical instituting the feast states, "When once men recognize, both in private and in public life, that Christ is King, society will at last receive the great blessings of real liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace and harmony."

Now, look at what is happening in Europe at that time. The Great War ended just six years before and combatants were still reeling from the outcome and the absolute disaster that the war brought to the continent. In Italy, Fascism was on the rise with Mussolini calling for power to be sent his way and with his thugs making sure that it did. In Germany there were rumblings that another man was working to get power. That would prove to be the worst of the Fascists, the Nazis. All around there was chaos and misery. Into this the Pope called for the faithful to remember who they were and whose they were.

This day is also known as Reign of Christ Sunday because of the patriarchal language that king connotes and therefore the reign of Christ is considered better for all people not just the patriarchy.

Which brings us to the text for today. It is a familiar text and one that can cause a lot of heartburn when it is read and heard. Why? Because it appears to be pretty straight forward and is the most detailed descriptions of the Day of Judgement That is found in the Gospels. In fact, the only other place where there is a greater description of the coming judgement is found in the book of Revelation and we all know how keen we are to go there.

It begins with the Son of Man (a title for Jesus) coming in all his glory, with angels attending him and him sitting on a throne of glory.

Then all the nations will be gathered before him. This could mean all Gentiles or all the nations of the world, including the Jews. Whatever it means, there is going to be a gathering of a great crowd.

When all are gathered the king on his throne will separate the “sheep” from the “goats”. This would not seem to be something unusual. In the ancient times sheep and goats were herded together. At night the goats were separated from the sheep and put in a pen while the sheep were allowed to stay in the pasture. The reason for this is that the sheep could endure the cold nights better than the goats because of their wool. The separation would also make sense because, though they gave more milk, would graze anywhere, and were not as sheep like, goats were not as prized as sheep were. So, the separation would not have caused any alarm.

What would have caused alarm was where the sheep and goats were put: the sheep on the right and the goats on the left. Now this may not mean much to us today, but in the ancient Near East and Rome, being on the right of a ruler would say that you were favored by the ruler and would be in a special place in the court. To be on the left would mean that one was not in the favor of the ruler and that something bad was about to go down. Those listening would understand and wait breathlessly for the penny to drop.

Then the king says to those on his right: ‘Come, you that 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.’[1]Those hearing this will be astounded. They will ask “When did we see you in any of these things, Lord?” They will be told that when they have done these to the least of these who are members of his family, then they have done it to him.

Now, before we move on to the goats, let us take a moment to unpack what the king is saying to those whom he calls righteous. There are six things that the righteous did that made them righteous. The first is feeding those who are hungry. This, and the second giving a drink, seems obvious. In the ancient world there were plenty of people who were hungry and thirsty. Many were forced off their farms by large landowners who then bought up the land and added it to their large holding. The poor grow poorer, and the rich grow richer. Sounds familiar does it not?

The next is welcoming a stranger. Hospitality was very big in the Ancient Near East. When someone new came into a town or village, that person was not ostracized or left alone. They were greeted and welcomed into the homes of those in the village. They were taken in, fed and given a place to stay, even if they were a foreigner. Do you remember the commercial, I believe it was for The Olive Garden, where they said “Here, you’re family.”? This was what hospitality was for those in the Ancient Near East. Think of Abraham greeting and providing for the three strangers that came to him and you will get an idea of what is hospitality. Our hospitality pales in comparison. How many of us would welcome a complete stranger into our home and treat them like family?

Being naked and clothing them is another that needs no explanation. Here the righteous go out and clothe those in need of clothing.

Visiting the sick. This requires some explanation. In the ancient world they did not understand germs or viruses. They did not understand what made people sick. What they understood was that they could, and probably would, get sick if they visited those who were sick. So, here are people taking their lives in their hands to go and minister to those who are sick. They are ready to help those who cannot help themselves because they are sick.

Finally, visiting in prison. Prisons in ancient times were not like the prisons of today. They were not to be used to rehabilitate or punish those in them. They were sort of a holding cell for those awaiting trial. To be in prison meant that you were in a bad place. To visit one in prison was not to go and talk to them about life on the outside and ask them how they are doing. It was to take to them the necessities of life: food, water, clothing, blankets, anything that one needed to live while awaiting their fate.

It is these things that the lord says the righteous did to him when they did it to the least of these. The lord is hidden among them, and those righteous ones did not recognize him. But they did what they did without looking for a reward from the lord. They did it because they wanted to do it.

Those on the left are told: ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels...’[2]This tells us one thing: that the eternal fire was never meant to be for humans but for the devil and his angels. But now there are the accursed being sent to this. And why? Because they did not do the things that the righteous did. They did not feed and give a drink. They did not welcome and clothe. They did not visit the sick and the prisoner.

Now, before you look down upon those who are the unrighteous, think about this: All those in this text are surprised by the words the lord speaks to them. They wonder when they did or did not do these things. There were probably some in the righteous side who would say “Why am I on the honored side? My life was a wreak and I did nothing to show belief in God.” And there would be on the left side those who did believe in God, who said the right things and lived an upright life. What are they doing in the group assigned to the fire? The lord does not ask them for right belief, he tells them that the right action is what makes one righteous or not.

There are those who state that this text is about how the nations treated Christians and what their reward or punishment would be because of that treatment. There are others who state that the text talks about the treatment of all those who are the least of these. I fall into the second category. I believe that Jesus was telling his followers that they better be careful in what they do and say. They better not rely on their good belief and outward actions toward those who are watching. Arland Hultgren says that “The person who acts to alleviate human misery and suffering, and does so without thought of reward and makes no claims to righteousness or right belief, is the one whose life is whole and approved by God.”[3]He also goes on to state that while we Christians know why we do this, there are others who do not know for whom they do this, civic and non-religious organizations included. He states that we should work with these groups because in so doing we are doing the work that Christ calls us to do.

How are we doing with what Jesus calls us to do? Are we serving the least of these? Diane Givens Moffet asked a question when preaching from this text. It was to the presbytery as we were to vote whether or not to be a Matthew 25 presbytery, one who would serve the least of these. Her question was this: If we were to close doors today, who in our community would miss us? If only those in the church, then we need to have a conversation. Who would miss us if we closed our doors? Would they say “Yeah, that was the church with the great music program and…and…” I want us to a church that reaches out to the least of these and does it not for the reward, but for the simple act of doing it. Hebrews tells us that we may entertain angels unawares when we do good to those in need. In fact, we may do it to Jesus himself.

The Statler Brothers sang a song that has this chorus: “Would you recognize Jesus if you met him face to face; Or would you wonder if he’s just someone you couldn’t place; You may not find him in a chariot of the Lord; Jesus could be riding in a ’49 Ford.” When the Son of Man come and is in all his glory, we will know him then. Will we know him now in the faces of those who are hungry, thirsty, the stranger or alien, the naked, the sick, the prisoner? Will we be a sheep or a goat? Amen.

[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print. [2] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print. [3]Hultgren, Arland J. The Parables of Jesus, A Commentary. Grand Rapids. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 2000. 327.