Sunday 20th November 2011 - 1st before Advent
(red/white)
(Christ the King)
Theme: Sheep and Goats
Readings: Ezekiel 34:11-16,20-24 Ephesians 1:15-23
Matthew 25:31-46 Ps 95:1-7
(Christ the King)
Theme: Sheep and Goats
Readings: Ezekiel 34:11-16,20-24 Ephesians 1:15-23
Matthew 25:31-46 Ps 95:1-7
Collect:
God the Father,
help us to hear the call of Christ the King
and to follow in his service,
whose kingdom has no end;
for he reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, one glory.
Comment
Jesus’ message in the reading from Matthew is very clear. It is not very easy to hear, however, especially in a culture where fear is stronger than love. Love responds to the needs of Christ’s ‘brothers and sisters’, offering food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, hospitality to the stranger, clothes to the naked, care to the sick and to those in prison. Fear says that in times like these we need to be careful. “Save your resources for yourself, for you do not know what needs you may have in the future. Don’t talk to strangers. Avoid infection. Don’t waste your time. Be suspicious, don’t trust what you cannot prove, don’t take risks, look after yourself.” These days it is much easier to be a ‘goat’
than a ‘sheep’.
There are a number of details in this passage that can easily be overlooked. Jesus talks about ‘the least of these my brothers and sisters’. Jesus did not call everyone ‘my brother’. In Matthew 12:46-50 he asks who his brothers are, and then points to his disciples and says, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Jesus’ brothers and sisters are those who do God’s will. Yet in this passage we find some of them suffering hardship. We learn therefore that following Jesus is not the key to ‘success’ in this world. It is, however, the key to significance in the eyes of God: not only are we reckoned as Jesus’
brothers and sisters, but also whatever happens to the least of us is counted as happening to Christ the King, for he is in us and identifies with us completely however lowly we may feel ourselves to be. We need therefore to be so careful to love one another truly, for in so doing we love Christ.
We are not in a position to judge who are Christ’s brothers and sisters.
Neither sheep nor goats were aware of Christ’s presence in a person. He could be present in any one we meet, however unlikely it may seem to us.
Jesus wants us to treat every human being – especially the ‘least’– as if they were Christ himself.
The inheritance given to the righteous is to those who are ‘blessed by my Father’. In judgement the Father and the Son act together. The righteous are not just blessed by the reward they receive; they are also blessed by the life of love they have lived – it is more blessed to give than to receive. As for the reward, it has been in preparation throughout history; Jesus teaches that actions and events can bring greater or lesser rewards from God (Matthew 5:12, 6:1). But the greatest reward is the relationship we are given with God.
Questions
1) Who are Christ’s brothers and sisters in our world today? When might we be helping Christ himself?
2) Why was Jesus so harsh with the ‘goats’ of his day? What can we learn?
God the Father,
help us to hear the call of Christ the King
and to follow in his service,
whose kingdom has no end;
for he reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, one glory.
Comment
Jesus’ message in the reading from Matthew is very clear. It is not very easy to hear, however, especially in a culture where fear is stronger than love. Love responds to the needs of Christ’s ‘brothers and sisters’, offering food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, hospitality to the stranger, clothes to the naked, care to the sick and to those in prison. Fear says that in times like these we need to be careful. “Save your resources for yourself, for you do not know what needs you may have in the future. Don’t talk to strangers. Avoid infection. Don’t waste your time. Be suspicious, don’t trust what you cannot prove, don’t take risks, look after yourself.” These days it is much easier to be a ‘goat’
than a ‘sheep’.
There are a number of details in this passage that can easily be overlooked. Jesus talks about ‘the least of these my brothers and sisters’. Jesus did not call everyone ‘my brother’. In Matthew 12:46-50 he asks who his brothers are, and then points to his disciples and says, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Jesus’ brothers and sisters are those who do God’s will. Yet in this passage we find some of them suffering hardship. We learn therefore that following Jesus is not the key to ‘success’ in this world. It is, however, the key to significance in the eyes of God: not only are we reckoned as Jesus’
brothers and sisters, but also whatever happens to the least of us is counted as happening to Christ the King, for he is in us and identifies with us completely however lowly we may feel ourselves to be. We need therefore to be so careful to love one another truly, for in so doing we love Christ.
We are not in a position to judge who are Christ’s brothers and sisters.
Neither sheep nor goats were aware of Christ’s presence in a person. He could be present in any one we meet, however unlikely it may seem to us.
Jesus wants us to treat every human being – especially the ‘least’– as if they were Christ himself.
The inheritance given to the righteous is to those who are ‘blessed by my Father’. In judgement the Father and the Son act together. The righteous are not just blessed by the reward they receive; they are also blessed by the life of love they have lived – it is more blessed to give than to receive. As for the reward, it has been in preparation throughout history; Jesus teaches that actions and events can bring greater or lesser rewards from God (Matthew 5:12, 6:1). But the greatest reward is the relationship we are given with God.
Questions
1) Who are Christ’s brothers and sisters in our world today? When might we be helping Christ himself?
2) Why was Jesus so harsh with the ‘goats’ of his day? What can we learn?