Loving God, you invite us to see Jesus in the people around us, and especially in those who are in need.  Help us to see that he is also in us, bringing love and compassion by the power of your Spirit, for in Christ’s name we pray.  Amen.

            Christ the King, or the Reign of Christ, tends to evoke images of Jesus in all of his heavenly glory, sitting on a throne.  One of the icons associated with Christ the King is known as Christ Pantocrator.  Pantocrator is a Greek word meaning “ruler of all” or “all-powerful.”  Jesus is pictured holding the New Testament – either open or closed.  When the book is closed, he is thought to be a judge, although his right hand is raised in blessing, and his eyes are full of compassion.  When the book is open, he is thought to be a teacher.  In our hymns today, too, you will notice plenty of heavenly images involving crowns and thrones and glory.

         At the same time, though, our gospel today reminds us that Jesus is not like other kings and rulers.  Granted, the parable that we heard does involve Jesus coming in glory with all the angels and sitting on a throne and judging all the nations.  After all, who else would be the Son of Man, the Son of God, a shepherd, a king, and a judge?  It’s got to be Jesus, right?

         However, as the parable progresses, we discover that Jesus is not up there somewhere, sitting on a throne, relaxing until it is time to come and judge the world.  No.  Jesus is right here among us and in all the nations of the world, and he is found in all sorts of distressing disguises.  Jesus is here and he is hungry and thirsty and cold.  He doesn’t have the clothes that he needs, and nobody has welcomed him.  He is sick and alone and unjustly imprisoned, and nobody has come to visit him.

         However, in some cases, people have taken care of him.  Sometimes he has been given the food and clothing that he needs, and water to quench his thirst.  Sometimes he has been welcomed and visited, and some have even advocated for his release from prison.  Sometimes he has encountered compassion and generosity and understanding, and has even discovered the love of God at work among us.

         It would be easy to take this parable and to make it into a guilt trip, but perhaps that is not the message that is intended.  After all, there were similar stories circulating in the first century in which “works of mercy” are the deciding factor on Judgment Day (Jeremias, The Parables of Jesus).  However, there is one significant difference between those other stories and the parable that Jesus tells.  In the other stories, those who have died boast about all of the good deeds they have done.  Not so with the sheep and the goats!  In fact, neither group had any idea what they were doing, and they are surprised when they hear the judgment.  Remember? - “do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” (Mt. 6:3).

         The message does not seem to be, “look after those in need, or else…”.  Rather, we are pointed to Jesus, who not only cares for the least of these, but is right there with them, and in them.  Jesus is also right here – with us, and in us.

         Sometimes with this parable I have been asked how come the goats are the bad ones and the sheep are good.  I’ve done some digging in order to try and answer this question and have discovered, at least biblically speaking, that there is very little difference between sheep and goats.  They were often kept in the same flock.  They were both used for sacrifices and for food and clothing.  Shepherds looked after both sheep and goats.  And, in the parable, neither group had any idea that Jesus was right there with them among those who were in need.

         Really, there is not a big difference between the sheep and the goats.  The sheep were not trying to be good, and the goats were not trying to be bad.  The sheep just naturally rendered aid to those who seemed to need it, while the goats did not – all of which points us to the Shepherd.

         The same one who will judge the living and the dead knows what it is like to be hungry and thirsty and naked and unwelcome.  He knows what it is like to be abandoned and unjustly imprisoned and tortured and humiliated.  He knows what it is like to be human, and he knows what the power of God can do – in us and through us and in our world.  And he knows the meaning of love and compassion.

         Mother Teresa was known to share the gospel on five fingers: “You. Did. It. To. Me.”  It was this mindset that enabled her to minister to lepers and others in need.  She strove to treat them as she would treat Jesus.  For our part, we are reminded today that Jesus walks among us.  He is not only with us, but in us, and in others.  He is both servant and king, and the only one who can bring real peace (workingpreacher.org).  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Christ the King / Reign of Christ (A)          Matthew 25:31-46

November 26, 2023

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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