I love this passage. It is depicted on our Chapel window as a reminder that, in our encounters with people in need, we meet Jesus. Matthew 25 31-46 31When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for 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, 36 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.' 37 Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' 40 And the king will answer them, '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.' 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' 44 Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' 45 Then he 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." Today is Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday of the Christian Year. It celebrates that Jesus is Lord and the Gospel lesson makes clear what the Lord expects of us. This is the last story in Jesus' teachings in Matthew. Right after this story he says, “I am headed to the cross." But in this story, he reminds his disciples and you and me, "I'll be back. And there will be an accounting." This feels like the type of passage for our time. We are divided up, sheep and goats, good and bad. Liberal and conservative, red or blue, main line or non-denominational, are just a few of the ways we divide. We can also divide up in many other ways, city or suburb, race, religion, region, immigration status, sexual identity, young, old, techie, or Luddite. There are so many ways to divide up, and we keep coming up with more. Which are you, saved or unsaved, dunked or sprinkled? The Christian Church has done an excellent job of setting an example for the world on how to divide up over disagreement. And with each division, we are dismissed by the world as more and more irrelevant. All the time, we fiddle as Rome burns as we decide who are sheep and who are goats, rather than to see Jesus in the face of the other. In Godspell, there is a song "Learn Your Lessons Well" and these words come from it: I can see a swath of sinners sittin' yonder And they're actin' like a pack of fools Gazin' into space they let their minds wander 'Stead of studyin' the good Lord's rules You better pay attention Build your comprehension There's gonna be a quiz at your ascension Not to mention any threat of hell But if you're smart you'll learn your lessons well! And there is an important lesson to learn. Fred Craddock talks about this passage in terms of a final exam. We are going to be tested. But it should be an easy exam. There is just one question so we can study up and get it right. And we are told the question in advance. How did you treat me when you met me in the person in need? And we are given the correct answer as well: just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me. No problemo, we know the answer so we can easily pass. No problemo, we know the answer, and we have already failed. We have all taken time out of our busy schedules to help. And we have all been too stressed and busy and passed on by. According to Jesus, the only division that matters is, did you help or not? And our answer results in eternal life or eternal punishment. This story ought to get our attention. If you want Kingdom life, stop and help. In Luke, we get the story differently. Jesus is asked about what is necessary to obtain eternal life, and he replies: A man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves who beat him, robbed him, and left him for dead. Along came a priest and a Levite, and they pass by-these are goats. I bet if they knew that for all eternity, they would be known as the two who passed by, they would have stopped. A hated Samaritan comes upon the man. He renders first aid gets him to urgent care, and then the Hilton and says, “Here's my American Express Card. We can settle up when I get back in a few days. Until then, give him get what he needs and put it on my bill One of the sheep, and he didn't even know it. And this focus on what we do is what I expect from Jesus, especially in Matthew. He is what I call the hardcore gospel. He has a deep focus on our behavior. For Matthew, beliefs are important, but more important than what we profess is what we do. We can say Lord, Lord, all day, (Matthew 7) 21 “Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. .” If we don't help the one in need, it is all for nothing. And we know this. We all believe we are supposed to help, and that is attested to by the guilt we feel when we fail to help. Often we come up with reasons why it was okay not to help. This story, told by Jesus reminds us what we do matters eternally. And that is as it should be. It matters when people can see us, and it matters when nobody is looking. Although with the plethora of cell phones around, it feels like we are always being filmed. Not being seen is not as easy as it used to be. I am reminded of two classic stories about this passage. The first I know as "Martin the Cobbler," but it is also "Where Love Is, God Is" by Tolstoy. I found this excellent rendition by First Parish Church on the Internet. http://www.firstparish.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/SERMON.SEP15.pdf There was a shoemaker named Martin. He was a fine cobbler as he did his work well and never promised to do something that he could not do. He stayed busy with his work in his basement that had only one window. Through this window, he could see only the feet of people. He recognized most people by their shoes as he had made and/or repaired most of their shoes at least once. He had a wife, but she died, and all their children had died as well. In grief, he denied God, wondering how God could allow such a thing to happen to him. One day a missionary visited Martin, and Martin told him of his hardships. This missionary told Martin that he should live his life for God and not deny God. The missionary's words sank deep into Martin. After this encounter, Martin went out and bought a large print Bible. He began to read the Bible, at first only on holidays, but as he read more and more, it became daily. His life became full of peace and joy. After his day of work, he would sit down with a lamp and read. One night, Martin read a passage about a Pharisee who had invited Jesus into his house, and in the house, a woman anointed and washed Jesus' feet with her tears. Martin thought of himself as the Pharisee in that story as he was only living for himself. As Martin slept, he thought he heard a voice telling him that God would visit Martin the next day.