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Location: Hattiesburg, Mississippi, United States

Sunday, November 13, 2005

Second to last Sunday in Church Year 11/13/05 Text: Matthew 25:31-46 Title: Just You Wait!

Second to last Sunday in Church Year
11/13/2005
Text: Matthew 25:31-46
Title: Just You Wait!

Please join me in prayer. O’ God most Holy and Righteous Judge, we come before you this morning knowing that we deserve nothing from you. We give you thanks for your Son Jesus Christ, who took the punishment of our sins upon himself, thus freeing us from your wrath. May what I say this morning be pleasing to you and touch the hearts of those listening so that their lives reflect your love to all they meet. Amen.
Do you remember when you were young and had done something wrong? Your mom generally found out about it, usually before you got home, and you heard the dreaded words, “Just you wait until your father comes home.” Oh how I dreaded hearing those words, just go ahead and kill me now, so I don’t have to wait for dad to come home. “Just you wait” still makes me shudder. The wait was terrible, because you knew that you were going to get it when dad came home.
In our Gospel reading for this morning we too hear Jesus saying in affect what my mom use to say to me, “Just you wait, until your Father comes home.” Unlike the time I spent waiting for my father to come home, which by the way was usually worse than the punishment, the wait for judgment day for many people doesn’t frighten them as they just enjoy life, but the judgment of God will still come some day, there is no getting around it.
Now that statement can either strike fear in your heart, or comfort you, depending on how you understand your relationship with God. Let me explain what I mean by taking a closer look at our Gospel reading. First of all, make no doubt about it, this text is about judgment. It is a story about the end of our world as we know it, and that is why this particular Gospel was read today.
You might not be aware of this, but next Sunday is the last Sunday of the church year. On that Sunday we will have concluded our year long study of the Gospel of Saint Matthew.
The following Sunday, the 27th starts the new church year when we start our year long study of the Gospel of Mark. The 27th is also the first Sunday of Advent. The purpose of Advent is to help us focus on the coming celebration of the birth of Jesus. Notice I said our looking forward to the celebration of Jesus’ birth, because those who do not understand the true reason for the celebration are so sick and tired of Christmas by Christmas Day they just want it over with, except of course for the after Christmas sales.
While Christmas is over with on the 25th of December for most of the population, it has really only begun for the Christian Church, for Christmas in the church does not even start until Christmas Eve and lasts until Epiphany on January 6th which the more I think about it is kind of nice. All the commercialism is over, freeing us to focus all of our attention on our Savior’s birth and early life.
Oh by the way we will have Advent services at 2 and 7 every Wednesday until Christmas starting on the 1st Wednesday of December. Now that I got that little plug in for Advent we need to get back to our text for today where Saint Matthew through a story Jesus is telling, is giving us a glimpse into the future.
In this particular story we see that it is Judgment day and all the people of the world, all of those who had died and all of those who are living have been gathered together. The King who is Jesus, is separating the goats and sheep, putting the sheep on the right and the goats on the left. This has great significance since to be on the King’s right meant that you are favored by him. You had been allowed into his trusted circle of friends.
To be placed on the left meant, well it meant that things were not going well for you. You were on the outside, without a shot at being on the inside. Not a good place, for nobody wants to be on the outside, looking in.
After the goats and sheep are separated the King tells those on his right, that they fed him when he was hungry, gave him water when he was thirsty, invited him into their home when he had no place to stay, gave him clothing when he was naked, cared for him when he was sick, and visited him in prison.
Those on the right told Jesus “We never did any of those things for you” and Jesus responds with “If you did any of those things for my brothers you did it for me.” You see, those on the right did not even realize that when they had helped out someone that it was the same as if they had done it for Jesus. They were just serving those in need.
I wonder if Jesus were to come before you today, what would he say to you? Would he say, “I came to you hungry and you told me to get a job and wouldn't feed me. I came to you dirty and in stained and torn clothing and you told me to take a bath and wash my clothes. I came to you old and lonely and you put me in a nursing home and never visited me! I came to you sick with a life threatening disease, and you told me, “Where is your health insurance? I have enough problems of my own and I don’t have the time to help you.” I came to you when I got in trouble and went to jail, and you said that I was just a rotten criminal and deserved what I got. What would your answer be?
What would our answer to him be, as a congregation? After all, he does tell us in his Holy Scriptures, “For when you did any of these things to the least of my brothers, you did it also to me." What would our answer be?
I know some of you are probably thinking, “Wait a minute I can’t care for everyone, and we as a congregation can’t do all that stuff either, it is too expensive and probably would not make a difference anyway, for after all God said the poor will always be with us, so be easy on us, your being unfair pastor.”
If you are thinking that, or something similar to it, all I can say is that Jesus in this particular story is not just talking about just the doing of the actual deeds of caring, but as he does so many times, he is talking about the attitudes of those who call themselves Christians. He is teaching us that we can know that we are Christians because we have a heartfelt desire to help those in need.
Jesus is not asking us to do great things, to be great speakers, willing martyrs, or even great believers. He is just asking us to care about those things that he cares about. And we are to do that in those small, unspectacular ways that show his love, those things that show that we belong to the flock of the one who said, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
Most of us will never accomplish big things. Most of us will never be put in charge of much, except our own lives. Our impact upon the needs of the world will for the most part appear inadequate, but that is okay.
You might only give someone a refreshing cup of water to someone. Or give a sandwich to that hungry person who appears at your door someday. Maybe you will visit some lonely or sick person one afternoon. Or write a sympathy card, or letter to be sent to someone who is grieving. That might be all you might do and it will not look like much.
But in all of those common, sometimes mundane things that you do for those in need, God sees great things. It is not that he needs you to do anything for him, for he is God, but those things that you do, those acts of love toward someone shows his love to others and that is all he wants you to do.
In closing I just want to say one more thing. Don’t get caught up in how effective you are as you help others. It is God’s job to worry about the effectiveness of what you or this congregation is doing.
I don’t see how God would want either you or this congregation to decide on what outreach or human care project is to be undertaken on its potential effectiveness. That type of thinking can only hinder the work that God wants to accomplish through us. We are to just do, and let God take care of the outcome.
When you live your life letting God be responsible for the outcome of whatever it is that you do, you have freedom from the law, from making sure that it happens the way you want to happen, for all that matters is that it happens the way God wants it to happen.
Besides that you don’t have to fear those dreaded words, “Just you wait until your Father comes home.” for you know that when Judgment Day comes and it surely will, you will be able to stand before the Father and tell him that you are only there by the grace of God. And when he asks you, “Where are the works that prove that you are saved by the grace of God”, you can respond as Martin Luther and millions of other saved sinners have responded with, “I left them on earth, for they do me no good here. Just ask Jesus if I am saved, he will tell you I belong here, for he died in my place.” Amen