Jesus Cares for the Least of These
Christ the King Sunday – November 20, 2011
This gospel passage is one of my favorites. I love it because of the vision it gives of what it will look like, at least in part, it gives us one aspect, when the kingdom comes and God's will is done – the place where the hungry are fed, and the thirsty given something to drink, and the naked clothed, and the stranger welcomed, and the sick cared for, & the imprisoned visited. And these, I think, are just a sample of the ways that the troubles and tragedies of this human life will be healed and returned to wholeness. They don't begin to speak of all of the ways people and creation are wounded and broken, but they remind us that God cares for the entire spectrum of human experience; that God is concerned for everyone, and is looking out especially for the last and the lost and the least; that God has not forgotten the lonely and the outcast and the neglected of this world.
Of course, this same passage – with God's vision of what the world will be like when the kingdom comes in its fullness – is a stark reminder that the kingdom has not completely arrived yet. We don't have to look far to know that we are surrounded by people in need – people who are hungry and thirsty, people who lack clothing and have no place to lay their heads, people who are sick or imprisoned physically, emotionally, or spiritually; people who are forgotten and ignored by the rest of the world; people who are powerless and voiceless in the face of the struggles and obstacles in front of them.
And that's where this passage goes from inspiring to challenging. Because what Jesus says to his disciples as he describes the end of time makes it pretty clear that we human beings have a responsibility to each other. We are expected to look out for each other, to help each other. We are called to move past self-interest and into compassionate action for the sake of those in need, in our individual and congregational and community lives – politically, economically, spiritually. And that's not easy to do, caught up as we are in living our own lives, in wrestling with our own problems, worrying about our situations. It's quite easy to turn a blind eye to the trouble we see around us – we're too busy to reach out and make the effort; we're afraid we'll be taken advantage of and made a fool – or worse!; we just don't see how whatever little thing we could do could begin to make a difference. We have lots of reasons for not getting involved, many ways to justify why it is we don't do something...
And then we read Matthew's gospel and it stops us short. Because Jesus says to those at his right hand (the sheep), “'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me. '” - And then he says to those at his left (the goats), “'...[the king] will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to
me.' 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
Whew. Stark words – because we know we fail to live up to them. We know that there have been times when we have turned our backs on someone who needed help, when we have walked past someone, averting our eyes, pretending we can't see or hear their requests for help, when we have refused to see Christ in the least of these... and we really don't want to end up with the goats, going away into eternal punishment. We want to be put on the sheep side – righteous, entering into eternal life.
But eternal life isn't just something that starts when we die. In John 17, verse 3, Jesus says, “And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” Eternal life begins in knowing God the Father and Jesus the Son – and that starts here & now. We are invited into that relationship today – every day – continually. And if we know them, our lives will show the fruit of that relationship. Walking with them and living like them becomes a part of our daily living – so that we're not always fretting about being on our best behavior because we are afraid of being punished, but instead are being set free from fear, and formed to live like Jesus more and more every day. We learn to follow in his footsteps, to do the things he did and is still doing in the world – to see, really see those in need and stop to help, to show compassion and mercy. It's not so about making sure we complete a checklist – I said way back in the beginning that this isn't a comprehensive list – it's about the way we live our whole lives – leaving time and space in our day to day for relationships – so that we might be able to recognize the face of Jesus our King in the faces of the least of these. It's about honoring Christ, the good shepherd who looks for the lost sheep, who has a special concern for the downcast, the powerless, the voiceless, the victim.
In following Jesus, we become like him, and in becoming like him, we learn to live like him. And in learning to live like him we become fit for the kingdom, the kingdom that we wait for yet still finds ways to break in and break through even now. We learn to speak the language of God's kingdom – the language of self-giving love. We learn the customs of God's reign – acts of sharing and hospitality and mercy. We practice here and now so that when the kingdom comes, we'll be ready to live there, under the rule of the one who does “these things” to the least of these, even us.
He feeds us with his body. He nourishes us with his blood. He welcomes us to his table, not as strangers, but as invited guests. He clothes us with his righteousness, cares for us in our sickness, and sets us free from all that imprisons us. Knowing how deeply we are loved by him, may we learn to share that love with the world.
Amen.
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