Today is “Reign of Christ Sunday”, which was traditionally called “Christ the King” Sunday. The celebration was started in 1925 by the Roman Catholic Church to proclaim Jesus Christ is “the goal of human history, the focal point of the desires of history and civilization, the center of humankind, the joy of all hearts, and the fulfillment of all aspirations,”[1] This is the last Sunday of the Christian year, kind of a New Year’s Eve, when we remember that despite the challenges of the past year, Jesus loves us, leads us, and works with us to make this world more and more like the Kingdom of God.
This morning, we read another one of Jesus’ parables, the last of the series from Matthew we will reflect on. This parable sounds harsh, but remember, it is a story, not a prediction of what will happen. Also, remember, the church is a place where imperfect people come together to work to do better, not a place for perfect people. Listen to this parable of Jesus as we read from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter twenty-five, verses thirty-one through forty-six:
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.
32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,
43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Prayer for Understanding
Holy Spirit to touch my lips, open our hearts & transform our lives. Amen.
Leo Tolstoy is best known for his novels – he wrote War and Peace which is renowned for its length and the tragedy Anna Karenina. Religious themes and moral quandaries are front and center in his books. Tolstoy was a devout Christian and wrote many philosophical works, fables, and short stories with Christian themes.
One of this stories is a retelling of today’s scripture. It is called “Martin the Cobbler.” In the story, Martin began to read the Bible and become more faithful in his old age. He had a dream where he heard Jesus tell Martin he would come and visit him the next day. Martin wondered at the dream, and hoped Jesus would actually visit him. The next day was very cold. Martin waited for Jesus to appear, and waited, and waited. No one who was recognizably Jesus appeared at Martin’s door. But, Martin did invite a chilled disabled veteran inside for a cup of tea; a young mother and her baby inside to warm up, have some soup, and rest; and he helped an old woman who sold apples and a young hungry boy. At the end of the story, just as Martin was fretting that Jesus didn’t come to visit, a vision of the 4 people Martin had met during the day appeared and said: 'I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in.'… 'Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren even these least, ye did it unto me'
The Bible and Jewish and Christian literature have many stories about people who welcomed God, Jesus, or God’s angels without realizing who they were. In the letter to the Hebrews, it says: “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” Abraham and Sarah were visited by undercover angels who predicted Sarah’s pregnancy with Isaac. God appeared to Moses in the burning bush and to Elijah as a still, small voice. Throughout Jesus’ lifetime, many people had conversations with Jesus without realizing his significance – he talked to the Samaritan woman at the well and then revealed himself midway through the conversation; when Jesus preached in Nazareth, he was driven out of the town because he was “just the son of carpenter Joseph”; and before his crucifixion, Jesus had a long conversation with Pilate who was unsure if Jesus was the messiah or not.
Our salvation is not tied to how many people we help – we are not redeemed by our own good works but by the saving grace of God. God doesn’t keep a giant tally sheet where every good deed we do is marked off – we don’t earn our way into God’s good graces. But, when we are committed to our faith in Jesus and committed to living out his teachings, we respond by doing good. We care for God’s creation because God made it for us to enjoy and tend. We care for our fellow man (and woman) because God created us to love each other. We help people who are hurting because God designed us to be healers and helpers and workers of good.
In Tolstoy’s story, Martin is a humble man. He was a cobbler, not a banker. He didn’t not have extra money or more possessions than he needed. Yet, when he saw people in need, he did what he could to help. He had tea, so he shared his tea. He had a warm room, so he welcomed in a cold mother and baby. He had kind words to share with the old woman and hungry boy.
We are in the midst of a pandemic. Things are shutting down. We don’t know how much longer we will wait until we can be vaccinated. We don't know how longer we will wait until our lives will resume like “normal.” We aren’t sure if we will ever have “normal” again.
But, we can still help people. We can still do good for others. We can still be hospitable and kind and generous. We can support the work of the church as we endeavor to do good in the village of Skippack. We can bake cookies for the bags for seniors, and donate toothbrushes and food, and buy Christmas presents for the kids whose families depend on the support of the Daily Bread Community Food Pantry. We can order masks and Christmas bags from the ladies who are in the program at Every Good Gift. When it snows, we can snow blow our neighbors’ walk or brush off their snow-covered car. We can remember to be extra kind to grocery store clerks and extra generous to servers when we pick up takeout. We can clear out our closets and donate men’s clothes to the Clothing Cupboard for homeless men at Old First UCC. We can call friends and fellow church members who are stuck at home. We can send note and cards to cheer up people we only see “virtually.” We can pray for each other.
This morning, we baptized Carrie. During baptisms, confirmations, and when we join the church as adults, we answer the same questions and we make the same promises. We promise, like Carried promised, to be Christ’s disciples, to follow in the way of our Savior, to resist oppression and evil, to show love and justice, and to witness to the work and word of Jesus Christ as best as we are able. In our reading this morning, we are reminded that when we treat others with kindness and generosity, we also demonstrate our love of Jesus—with our actions we “witness” to the work and word of Jesus Christ. Let us work to live out Jesus’ teachings and to treat all people with love and justice.
May it be so. Amen.
The church is not for perfect people, it is for people who are trying to do better.
[1] “The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World,” ch. iv, §45, in The Documents of Vatican II, ed. Walter M. Abbott, S.J. (New York: Herder and Herder, 1966), 247.
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