Our scripture passage this week is
Matthew 25: 31-46. This passage is
sometimes referred to as “The Great Judgment” because it is the only passage in
the New Testament that explicitly discusses the final judgment.
In these verses, Jesus provides detailed criteria, laying out what one
must do for salvation. Jesus describes
the final judgment as a process of separating sheep from goats. In this case, it is far better to be a sheep
because they will be invited “‘to inherit the kingdom prepared…from the
foundation of the world’” and eternal life.
By contrast, the goats will be sent “away into eternal punishment.”
The criteria for separating the sheep from the goats concerns whether
we have cared for our fellow neighbors.
Jesus says, “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.” (vv. 35-36)
I have always appreciated this passage of scripture. For me, it’s as though Jesus has provided a
study-guide for the final exam. Perhaps
you remember study-guides from your school days. They were guides, sometimes with practice
questions, designed to help students focus their studying exclusively on the
material that would be covered by the final exam. So, in essence, in this passage Jesus is
telling us that what is important for our salvation is service—that is, helping
others. I suppose that this is the
ultimate study-guide of all time. J
Biblical scholars have pointed out that all of the criteria named by
Jesus in the parable have to do with “right practice” (orthopraxy), as opposed
to “right belief” (orthodoxy). It’s interesting. For literally centuries, Christian
theologians have been engaged in bitter arguments about highly nuanced
understandings of orthodoxy. (In the “Great
Schism of 1054,” the Eastern and Western sections of the Church split in large
part over different interpretations of a preposition!) Yet, as important as it is to struggle with
the theological implications of our faith, the passage suggests that the final
judgment is all about orthopraxy. It is
all about how well we live out our Christian faith through service to others.
During a Bible study this week, I learned that not everyone appreciates
this passage as much as I do. One of the
parishioners at my church finds this passage “guilt-inducing and manipulative.” She asked, “How much is enough to be saved?”[i]
I think that it’s important to look
at this question from a broader perspective.
The Christian life should not be about guilt, manipulation, or bare
minimums. Instead, Christian life should
be lived with joy and love in response to God’s love for us. Through faith in Christ, we experience God’s
love pouring down and filling us to overflowing. Out of this overflowing love, we respond with
love and concern for our neighbors who are suffering—just as the sheep in the
passage. We can’t help but respond in
this way because we are so filled with God’s love. All of this is through faith. Goats must not be able to experience the full
in-flowing of God’s love because they don't respond with full love and concern for their neighbors.
John Wesley, the founder of
Methodism, believed that there were two avenues for spiritual growth. The first route he called, “works of piety.” By works of piety he meant attending worship,
prayer, Bible study, and especially receiving the Sacrament of Holy Communion. The second route he called, “words of mercy.” By works of mercy he meant the works of the
sheep in Matthew 25; feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, caring for the
sick, etc. While Wesley believed that
both types of works were vitally important, he believed that works of mercy
were primary.
Wesley makes an important point.
Not only do we care for others in response to God’s overflowing love for
us, we also care for others as a means of growing spiritually closer to God
ourselves.
This weekend (March 8th and 9th), my proclamation on the “Sheep &
Goats” is the second in a three-part sermon series on “The Nature and Purpose
of the Church in the 21st Century.” Come
and join us as we explore in more detail why vital congregations focus so much
on service to the community and the world.
Our church is located at the corner of Main and Dawson Streets in
Meriden, Kansas. We have two worship
services each weekend:
Ø Our
contemporary service starts at 6 pm on Saturday evenings.
Ø Our
classic service starts on at 10 am on Sunday mornings.
Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.
[i]
(We also wondered: If Paul is correct when he says in his letter
to the Romans that nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God in
Christ Jesus our Lord,” then what does that mean for the goats headed to “eternal
punishment”? Does that mean that even in
eternal punishment the goats will still experience God’s love—and by
implication some sort of relationship with God?
This is a fascinating question which I cannot pursue during my message
Sunday.)
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