Sermon for Proper 29, Year A
Reverend Gregg D. Wood
We have just heard what is often called the parable of the sheep and the goats. Actually, it is a description of the last judgment. Jesus is sitting in judgment, and he directs all the people to be separated into two groups, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. To those at his right hand he says, “Come ye that are blessed by my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” But to those on his left hand, he says, “Depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
I have always been struck by the clarity and the finality of this judgment. Apparently there is to be no further opportunity to make amends; there are only two destinations in view, heaven or hell, without any opportunity for appeal.
This is in contrast to Jesus teachings elsewhere, where he stresses the mercy and forgiveness of God. After all, the basic message of the Gospels from the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry is, "the kingdom of heaven is at hand; repent and believe." Why repent, unless there is the possibility of forgiveness? When a questioner asks him, Master how many times must I forgive? Seven times? Jesus’ answer is, Seventy times seven. The implication is that we are to be forgiving because God himself is forgiving. “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." In many of the parables the theme of forgiveness is paramount. For example, take the parable of the prodigal son: the son goes off and squanders his inheritance in loose living, but repents and comes home to his father, who receives him with a feast, and a robe, and a ring, and exclaims with joy, “This [my son] was dead, and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.”
And so it is that, against this background of mercy and forgiveness, that the severity and finality of the judgment given to those on his left hand comes as a bit of a shock. Of course, Jesus was capable of harsh judgments. In Matthew 18, speaking of those who misled or abused children, he says "if any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea." If we are to understand why Jesus is so harsh to the people on his left hand, we need to get a clearer idea of who they are and what they did to deserve such severe punishment.
The people facing judgment, it must be noted, are not all believers, not all Christians. It is not simply the community of the faithful that is being judged. We are told, “All nations will be gathered before him.” It stands to reason, then, that many of the people at this scene, indeed probably most of them, would never have known Jesus and would know nothing about him. The fact that they are awaiting judgment from this divine-human personage who is otherwise a complete stranger to them must puzzle them greatly. Puzzle and frighten them.
And what Jesus says doesn’t do much to clear up their confusion, although it probably helped to reassure them and calm their fears. “Come, you that are blessed by my father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” So whatever is going to happen to them, it sounds like it will be something good. But then he goes on to say, “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,” and so on. And the people are genuinely confused by this. They never knew this man, never saw him before in their lives; what can he be talking about? “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food,” they ask. And Jesus answers, “Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”
Here I have to make a comment about the translation at this point. In the King James Version of the Bible, this verse is, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” The version we are using, the NRSV, was published in 1989, and one of its aims was to be as gender-inclusive as possible. To modern ears, “brethren” seems to exclude females, which Jesus clearly did not intend, so the translators had to find a substitute word or phrase. For some reason they didn’t go with the obvious choice, “brothers and sisters.” Instead they came up with this awkward phrase, “these who are members of my family.”
However, regardless of the translation, it is clear who Jesus is talking about. It is not just his blood-relatives, but all who strive to do what is right, for he says in Matthew 12:50, “Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
So what did the people on Jesus right hand do? They showed compassion to righteous people who were in need or in distress in some way. They saw people who were hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or imprisoned, and they helped or comforted them. And without knowing it, they helped and comforted Jesus too, for he shares in the sufferings of all who suffer. In their faces we see his face.
To those at his left hand, however, there is condemnation. They did not practice compassion when they had the opportunities to do so. They turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to the need and the pain of others. They can be judged because, though they may not be Christians or Jews, all humans have a moral compass, a law written on our hearts, which moves us to be kind and compassionate. To disregard that impulse we have to harden our hearts, and it is that hardness of heart which Jesus condemns. They have disobeyed a law that is written on all hearts; they have broken a bond of love and fellow feeling that embraces all people. And this is not a defect of the mind, which might be corrected by education; it is a defect of the heart, and not amenable to change. Therefore their punishment is severe and permanent.
Finally, we have to be aware of who we are, and how we stand in relation to this teaching. For we, you and I, are not “all nations.” We are not ignorant of what God expects of us. We know the teachings of Jesus and the grace of God’s Holy Spirit. If those who have never known these things are expected to be compassionate, then what about us?
- We, who have tasted the bread of heaven and the cup of salvation; how can we not feed the hungry and lead the thirsty to drink?
- We, who were once strangers to God but have been made members of his family and heirs of his kingdom through our baptism; how can we not reach out to welcome the stranger?
- We, who have been freed from our bondage to sin and share the glorious freedom of the children of God, how can we not visit and help those who are in prison, whether those prisons are physical, or mental, or spiritual?
Let us not delay to practice compassion to those around us, for three reasons. First because it is the right and good thing to do. Second, because it gives joy and satisfaction to the giver even as it gives aid and comfort to the receiver. And third, so that we may eventually hear a familiar voice saying to us, “Come, you that are blessed by my father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
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