On this Christ the King Sunday, the lectionary readings help us remember that neither Christ’s kingship nor the kingdom of God are made in the image of the world, with ostentatious displays of wealth or power, or with legions of sycophants.
Instead of parades, pomp and regalia, we get Jesus, speaking to his disciples, two days before Passover and his arrest and crucifixion.
And by now we shouldn’t be surprised that he is telling them a story or parable. Sometimes these verses are called “The Great Judgment” or “The Judgment of the Nations” but this speech isn’t speculation about the end times, and it isn’t about “being ready for the end.” Addressing a Christian community that has been persecuted, Matthew is delivering a word of salvation and grace.
Jesus begins by describing the Son of Man sitting on a throne of glory with all the nations gathered before him.
And, I wonder how often we miss that detail. All the nations - all the peoples, believing and unbelieving - are gathered there. And Jesus is the shepherd of us all, of the whole world.
Jesus then says the shepherd king separates the sheep from the goats.
Jesus the Good Shepherd has both sheep and goats in his flock. The same Good Shepherd lays down his life for all of his flock on the cross and “draws all to himself.”[i]
All means all. Absolutely nothing and no one is outside the kingdom of God, and nothing, not even evil, willful disobedience or ignorance separates us from the love of God.
So what do we make of the separation that Jesus describes? What could it mean?
One possibility is that the first group, those on the king’s right hand, is called righteous and rewarded with blessing for the works they did while the other group, those on the left, is called cursed and punished for what they failed to do.
But Jesus hasn’t shown a lot of interest in making goodness or badness the criteria for entering God’s kingdom or providing reward or punishment to his followers. He eats dinner at sinners’ homes and spends time with pariahs like tax collectors and prostitutes. And, in other parables, he welcomes “unreformed bad people [such as the prodigal son] as acceptable” and he lets both bad and good - weeds and wheat – grow together until the harvest.[ii]
Another way to hear Jesus’s words is that the hungry, thirsty, stranger or prisoner are angels hiding among us in disguise, so we better feed them, give them something to drink, welcome them and visit them, just in case God is watching.
But Jesus hasn’t shown much interest in seeing us prove our worthiness or earn our place in his kingdom either.
Instead, we are called to humility.
The Beatitudes give us the reversals that say, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, …the merciful.…the poor in heart.” (Matt. 5:3,7-8) and when the disciples are arguing about who will sit at his right and at his left, Jesus reminds them:
whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave (Matt. 20:26-27)
And then Jesus gives them the two greatest commandments:
'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' [and] 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' (Matt. 22:37,39)
What is interesting to me is that the righteous group is just as surprised as the so-called accursed group at the judgment they receive. They weren’t keeping score or trying to earn a reward. They were in relationship with their shepherd king, and they were living out of their identity as sheep of his flock and subjects and being obedient to him. Their lives weren’t a game or competition, but a practice of faith in the every day.
In the same way, when we go about our lives in the world following Jesus, we don’t need to be worried or anxious about judgment and end times or wondering where we stand with God. To quote Martin Luther, “No one can know or feel he is saved; he can only believe it.”[iii]
Jesus, our Good Shepherd, draws us all to him, and we are to be obedient to the commandments we’ve been given and let our lives reflect our desire to love God and love our neighbor.
Let us pray…
Sovereign God,
Thank you for your Son Jesus, our shepherd king who gathers us to him, that we would know your abundant grace.
Help us live out of our identities as your beloved flock, following your Son.
May your Holy Spirit guide us and empower us to reflect your love and mercy in all of our actions and words.
We pray in your Holy name.
Amen.
[i] Robert Farrar Capon. Kingdom, Grace and Judgment. 505.
[ii] Capon. 507.
[iii] Capon, 511.
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