Reflections on "Separating" Matthew 25: 31-46

Not sure what to make of this sermon.  It didn't feel particularly good or bad.  It might have been better if I had focused on one particular aspect of the text instead of just a general approach to it.  It is a challenge to preach a text that is fairly well know.

The conclusion did not work particularly well.  The Will Rogers quote could have been used more effectively in another place perhaps.  Not knowing how to conclude the sermon was probably a sign that it was not focused enough.

Introduction: Continue looking at parables Jesus told that are also being taught this summer at Kirkmont Center, although many biblical scholars would not include this passage as a parable. It lack the classic marks of a parable; it is generally treated as some type of statement by Jesus on judgment.

Nevertheless, Kirkmont included it as a parable, so it makes its way into our preaching series on parables!

Move 1: Simple parable, or story, or vision, or whatever it is.

a. Very visual.

b. Sheep and goats

1. Different animals.

2. Mingle together during the day, but the shepherd separates them at night.

3. I think if you can conjure up an image of goats and sheep, you would have visual distinction as well.

100. And if you are not a shepherd or goat herder, you have the image of right hand and left hand.

1. Pretty basic distinction.

2. most of us can see the difference.

500. Jesus uses this simple imagery to describe judgment day.

1. some inherit the kingdom; other head off to eternal punishment.
2. Again, pretty straight forward.

Move 2: But, when we start to engage the text, it gets complicated.

a. Study it.

1. Turns out that in Jesus' time sheep and goats looked a lot more alike than we might imagine.
2. Sheep's wool is a lot different in the hot climate of the Middle East. And there's a lot of dust. So the sheep and the goats were harder to distinguish than they are at the Cincinnati Zoo.

3. I read that the easiest way to tell the difference between a goat and a sheep is that a goat's tail stands up and a sheep's tail hangs down.

4. I confess that that knowledge makes me no more confident to distinguish the difference between a goat and a sheep than before I learned that information.

5. And now I am pondering if Jesus uses the image of goats and sheep to introduce a bit of uncertainty into figuring out who is will end up n the right hand of God and who will end up on the left.

6. not so simple.

b. Interpretations of the image Jesus shares.

100. Some hear these words of Jesus and it immediately kicks their guilt into overdrive.

1. They can quickly list all the times they did not give money to the person on the street asking for help.

2. Or how many times they did not go and visit their neighbor who has sick and bedridden for several weeks.

3. And they've never visited anyone in jail.

4. The guilt overwhelms and paralyzes them.

5. It reminds me of why the Reformed theologian John Calvin developed the doctrine of predestination. After breaking away from the Catholic church and its system of determining for a person whether they were going to heaven or hell, the people in the reformed movement were paralyzed by their concern about salvation. Calvin's response was to assure the people the God had salvation figured out – they did not have to spend their time, effort, and money worrying about salvation – they could go and serve Christ.

6. But some people hear this story from Jesus and rush to judge themselves.

100. Some of us go the other direction.

1. we hear Jesus talk about goats and sheep and we quickly recognize ourselves as the sheep and just as quickly, or maybe more quickly, know who the goats are.

2. This image of judgment seems to invite us to sit in judgment of others.

3. And, I suspect, we can often be much more judgmental of others than we are of ourselves.

4. In fact, when we name the goats among us it makes our status as sheep seem even better.
   
   
5. In the race to affirm ourselves and judge others, we miss the tension in Jesus' words and skip over the challenge he offers us.

6. We never stop and seriously examine how we are doing feeding the hungry; giving drink to the thirsty; welcoming the stranger; clothing the naked taking care of the sick; or visiting those in prison.

7. not sure that is what Jesus had in mind.

500. We also make this story confusing by our desire to figure out who among us are the hungry, thirsty, naked, homeless, and imprisoned that Jesus is describing.
     
     
     1. Surely Jesus did not mean the poor people who make bad choices and had created their own mess.
        
        
     2. Maybe if someone has lost a job because their company downsized they are worthy of our help, but others have chosen their plight in life and are unworthy or our help.
        
        
     3. I suspect that it is not quite that cut and dried, but we sometimes find ourselves going to great lengths trying to figure out who really deserve our support.
        
        
     4. Jesus did not seem to have that same issue.

e. No surprise, of course, that this gets complicated.  Consider the prophet Joel

(Joel 2:11-13) Truly the day of the LORD is great; terrible indeed--who can endure it?

Yet even now, says the LORD, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the LORD, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing.

(NRSV)

1. One verse proclaims God's judgment; the next the God who relents from punishing.

2. It's hard to figure out what God is doing in all this.

e. This simple story of judgment day suddenly seem rather complex.

In fact, about all I can relate to with certainty in this story is that the people were confused and did not know whether they were goats or sheep.

Move 4: But that's not a very good place to end, so hear the good news we find in this story.

a. First of all, God alone judges us.

1. We do not self-select ourselves as sheep or goats. This story is not a call to beat ourselves up for all our failings

2. We are not called upon to judge others. We do not have to waste our time or effort worrying about what others are doing.

3. Others do not get to judge us. They may want to judge us; they may make judgments about us, but their judgments are not what matters – God is the one who separates the goats and the sheep.

b. Think about what that means.

1. God, who desires to redeem us, is the one who judges us.

2. God, who sent Christ to die for us, is the one who judges us.

100. Secondly, Jesus gives a pretty straightforward list of what to do as his followers.

1. feed the hungry;
   
   
2. give drink to the thirsty
   
   
3. welcoming the stranger
   
   
4. clothing the naked
   
   
5. taking care of the sick
   
   
6. visiting those in prison.

7. Surely in that list we can find a place to respond.

8. Good news – Jesus invites us to share with him in his work.

Conclusion: “It doesn't take a genius to spot a goat in a flock of sheep” (Will Rogers).

it only takes a faithful follower of Christ to be a sheep.