LIVING BLIND
Matthew 25:31-46
November 20, 2011 – Rev. Jerry Duggins
What’s
not to like about this text? It very much affirms what we believe at
Isn’t
there a great deal of comfort in the simplicity of this text that defines in
concrete terms what it is to be a follower of Christ and what it is to fail to
follow Jesus.? Lindsay Armstrong, associate pastor at First Pres. in
I
was really quite taken with this image and the idea it implied, that we follow
Christ one loaf of bread, one cup of water, one embrace of the stranger, one
bowl of chicken soup, one angel tree gift… at a time. It’s simple. It’s
beautiful. It’s achievable. It gives faith a practical turn. We love to talk
about faith in action…. We want it to depend on these things that we can and do
do. Some of us have fallen in love with this social justice litmus test of
faith. What’s not to like about this text?
Try
this: some days I feel like a goat, not a sheep. Ever feel like you’ve just
been giving and giving and giving and that you’re going to shoot the next
person that asks you to do something for her or him? Ever worry that Jesus is
going to show up on a “goat” day and not a “sheep” day? Ever wonder how sheep
got to be sheep? Do you even get much say in the matter? Wouldn’t everyone be a
sheep if they could or is there something in our world that inclines people to
behave like goats? Ever notice that inclination in yourself? After a long day?
When nothing went your way?
What’s
not to like about this text? Did you notice that nobody, neither the sheep nor
the goats, recognizes Jesus? It’s pretty common for people to talk about the
message of this text as the need to see the face of Christ in the people we
meet. It’s a true enough message, but it fails to take note that the sheep are
as confused by the king’s judgment as the goats. Again, Lindsay Armstrong
writes about the goats: “…had they known God was in their midst, they would
have done the right thing.” But it wasn’t recognizing Jesus in “the least of
these” that motivated the sheep in the story! They did the right thing even
though they didn’t see Jesus in the person before them. They didn’t do it for
Jesus.
Did
you know that this is sort of a farewell story from Jesus to any who would
follow him? It’s the last story he shares before the plot to bring him to a
cross gets in full swing. I suppose that even if the sheep in the story don’t
recognize Jesus, we might still be intended to learn from it the importance of
looking for Jesus among the least.
But
do we… look for Jesus that is… among the least? Where do we see Jesus? Some of
us saw Jesus last week as we listened to Marianne Houston read her poems about
homeless individuals. We saw him in the pained expression on Anthony’s face
from a tooth that was giving him a great deal of trouble. But most of the time
I’m not looking. I’m living a life that is blind to the presence of Christ much
of the time. Some days, I lose myself in the routine: shower… breakfast… take
something out for dinner… brush teeth… head to work,.. check emails… prep for a
meeting… write a sermon… home… dinner… cleanup… read a book… watch a movie… go
to bed. It’d be nice if Jesus showed up on these days.
But
then he does show up on some days and he’s weaving a very interesting story,
little of which is actually true, but he needs to make it good so that I’ll pay
for his night’s lodging at the local motel. He knows that the story doesn’t
matter, that I have a little emergency fund and a fairly inflexible policy
about its use. No cash, checks made out to the service provider, assistance to
any particular Jesus only once. The whole thing feels very “goatish.” But
there’s only so much bread and water to go around. The needs are too many, too
overwhelming. One loaf, one cup, one embrace at a time doesn’t put a dent in
the problem.
Maybe
that’s why the story emphasizes that “nations” are gathered before the judge.
Solutions to the problems of human need require more collaborative efforts,
larger groups of people engaged in addressing the issue. Bread for the World,
Ministry with Community. As I said earlier, we do pretty well with this at
If
I have so much trouble negotiating the needs and complexities of my own life
that I have neither the time nor the energy to look for Jesus in the lives of
the least, how can I hope to live up to the call of Jesus in this story. Do you
see how so many things blind us to the face of Jesus in others? We haven’t the
time. We are so distracted by other things. The problems themselves are so much
more complicated than the individual who stands before you in need. You don’t
know whether that person really needs bus money or really intends to spend your
dollar on a cup of coffee. You don’t know whether the person buying a steak
with their bridge card is abusing the system or having a special celebration
that merits this “extravagance.” You don’t know what put a person on the street
or led to the loss of a job. You don’t know why so many kids drop out of school
or why they act out in class. We are living blind. Our vision could not
possibly take in the complexities of many of the needs out there or even the
needs that exist among us.
If
these thoughts spark a sense of despair in our prospects for feeding the
hungry, then I think you can understand why the sheep are as confused as the
goats. The goats saw none of the need, but the sheep saw only the need, only
the ones that they could not find a way to feed.
Neither
group really sees Jesus. The goats see a few loaves of bread and some fish and
are willing to make some rules to see that the most deserving are fed or if
they’re a little ornery are satisfied that it is enough to fee themselves. The
sheep see the bread and the fish and the five thousand people but they don’t
see Jesus there to work the miracle.
Jesus
knows that his death is not far off. He has disciples gathered around him for
the last time and he knows that the time is coming when they will no longer see
him, no longer recognize him, so he tells this story about sheep and goats, the
faithful and the faithless. Nobody sees Jesus. Everyone is blind to his
presence, but the faithful do the right thing. How does that happen?
Somehow
they must have sharpened their other senses. They must have remembered what
Jesus taught and decided to live their lives that way even though he’d left
them. They must have taken into themselves some other awareness of God’s
kingdom. They must have remembered that with or without Jesus the kingdom of
God is about eating and drinking, about giving dignity and self-respect back to
those whom society has stripped naked, about turning strangers into friends, about
bringing healing to the bodies and minds of the infirm, and about standing with
those who have been bound in some way. The
The
work can become quite discouraging, make one feel a little “goatish.” We may
even feel abandoned by Jesus in the work. But even when we don’t see him, we do
know him. And if we ever saw him hungry, we would feed him, or thirsty, we
would give him water, or naked, we would clothe him, or a stranger, we would
welcome him, or sick, we would tend him, or in prison, we would visit him. And
when we do this aren’t we inviting him to be present. Is there any doubt that
when this kind of sharing and caring takes place that God has to be in the
midst of it.
We
don’t see all the miracles, but we’ve experienced the blessing of being fed,
clothed, healed, cared for, freed and loved; and Jesus reminds his disciples
before his journey to the cross, that these are the things that engage the
lives of his followers, because these are the things that create community,
that invite God to be present, that redeem our lives, that bless and redeem the
world… one loaf, one cup, one embrace, one bowl of chicken soup and one angel
tree gift at a time. Amen.
Armstrong, Lindsay P. “Matthew 25:31-46 – Homiletical
Perspective.” In Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common
Lectionary: Year A, Volume 4. David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor,
General Editors.