Today we have two scriptures that talk about sheep and goats and a Shepherd who has to decide who is who and what is what. Each scripture however, defines the shepherd and the sheep differently.
In Ezekiel, God says that God will be the shepherd to begin with. That the shepherd will take care of all the scattered sheep. In this case the scattered sheep were the people of Israel who were in exile. God says that God will seek the lost sheep, care for the injured, strengthen the weak, and feed everyone with justice.
No longer was God some distant caregiver.
In the time of Ezekiel, the people were in need of a shepherd who would take care of them. The people needed a guide who will do all the work and make sure the sheep are safe. The sheep are not expected to do any of the work. God then assigns the shepherd to be David, and David takes over the role of feeding and caring for God’s great flock.
But things are different when we get to Matthew. The Shepherd is no longer David, but instead David’s greatest descendent, Jesus. The shepherd has changed and suddenly, the sheep are no longer able to shrug off responsibility. The sheep are no longer the ones being cared for, but instead the sheep are now the ones doing the work. Now the sheep are responsible for tending the lost, caring for the injured, strengthening the weak, and ensuring that justice is distributed. But, Jesus is a great deal more specific than the prophet Ezekiel.
Jesus describes exactly what the sheep of God will do, and he assures the listener that those who do not behave like the sheep, will be labeled goats and separated from God forever. While this is a kind of scare tactic on the part of Matthew, the ultimate message of the passage is simple. We have to take care of each other, because no one is going to do it for us.
See, Jesus changed things. No longer was God some distant caregiver. Instead we have Emmanuel…God with us, and that changes everything. Jesus’s lessons focus not on how to rely on a cosmic shepherd light years away, but instead, they focus on how to serve an ever-present shepherd who is actively involved with the flock.
Jesus wants us to take it a step further.
So, as an actively involved Shepherd, Jesus describes how he would divide the flock. How he would choose those who has served him best. So he told his followers exactly how they would be judged. He says,
I was hungry and you gave me something to eat.
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.
I was a stranger and you welcomed me.
I was naked and you gave me clothing.
I was sick and you cared for me.
I was in prison and you visited me.
Jesus assures us that whenever we do these things for the “least of God’s children” we do them for him. He equally assures us that when we do NOT do these things for the “least of God’s Children” we do NOT do them to Jesus.
But just as important as what Jesus is saying is what he is not saying.
Jesus didn’t say. I was hungry and you sent me to 4 different pantries or I was hungry and you made sure that you had brought in a can of green beans to drop in a cart. Now, don’t get me wrong I’m not saying that those are bad things to do. On the contrary, I think they are wonderful ways of ensuring the hungry get fed. But Jesus wants us to take it a step further. He wants us to PHYSICALLY FEED the hungry. That’s why efforts like the meals at the Red Cross shelter are so important. Or why an undertaking like Thanksgiving Dinner is such a big deal. We are DOING the work in those cases. We are actually FEEDING the hungry.
Jesus came to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.
Welcoming the stranger is more than saying “hi and welcome” and then making sure that they aren’t sitting in your pew or that their children aren’t making too much noise. It means taking someone under your wing, welcoming them into the church, and making sure they feel like they are a part of this family.
Clothing the naked goes beyond dropping off clothes at one of the shelters. It might involve sticking around and helping organize or distribute the clothing.
Caring for the sick is more than sending flowers or making a phone call. It might involve making sure a sick person has food in their house, has clean towels or clean pajamas, or it might just be taking the time to sit with them. You don’t have to be the pastor of to visit a fellow member who is ill.
Visiting those in prison means physically walking into the correctional facility, but it might also mean caring for those who are imprisoned by other issues…visiting the person who cannot leave the nursing home…the person who cannot get out of bed…the person who is afraid to walk out their front door. But again, it means showing up and physically doing something.
That’s so typical of Jesus, isn’t it? Telling us to do more. Forcing us to be uncomfortable… asking us to DO something. I’ve often heard it said that Jesus came to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. I think that’s what he’s doing here. He’s saying…not doing anything isn’t the answer. He’s saying that as sheep of the great shepherd we have to take care of each other. We have to make sure that the “least of these” are treated with the same love, dignity, and compassion as we would treat the Savior himself.
God is with us.
So, how do we ensure that we are taking care of our fellow sheep? How do we make sure that we are reaching the “least of these” in our very midst?
We do it with a spirit of Emmanuel. Emmanuel means God with us. And while we are not yet at Advent or Christmas and we aren’t celebrating just yet, that doesn’t change the fact that god is indeed with us. The first Christmas made that possible and resurrection made it permanent. Through Jesus Christ god is with us always. We have Emmanuel. But the hard part is to actually see that…to recognize the presence of God in every person. It’s the “Emmanuel Test”. Would we pass the Emmanuel test? Meaning…are we actually able to trust that there is a part of God with us in every person we encounter?
God is with us in the person asking for food or bus tokens.
God is with us in the nursing home patient who just wants a visitor.
God is with us in the child who just wants a bike for Christmas.
God is with us in the lonely widower who doesn’t know what to do without his wife.
God is with us in the person too afraid to leave their home, but praying someone will visit them.
God is with us in the addict struggling to stay clean.
God is with us in non traditional families.
God is with us in children.
God is with us in our older friends who have so much to teach us.
God is with us in the student who wants to learn.
God is with us in the child who needs a net over her bed because of the mosquitoes.
God is with us in the line of people waiting for food at the food pantry.
God is with us in the couple who wants to get married.
God is with us in the broken heart of a newly divorced person.
God is with us in the person fighting a disease they can’t beat.
God is with us in the parent watching a child suffer.
God is with us.
We must recognize the Emmanuel in each and every person and treat that person as we would treat Christ himself. Perhaps it sounds a little simplistic, or even a little naieve. But the truth of the matter is that it really is that simple. Jesus makes it clear…
Those who take care of the “least of these” take care of Jesus himself. They are seeing the Emmauel in another person. And those who don’t? Well, threat of hell or worse aside, how would it feel to know that you had turned away Jesus? How would it feel to know that the person you refused was Christ himself. I don’t ever want to know how that feels.
Think about it for a moment. When have you done one of the things Jesus is talking about. When did you feed the hungry, or clothe the naked or visit the sick. There is a yellow strip of paper in your bulletin today. I’m not going to tell you what these are going to be used for just yet, but if you would, please write on that strip one thing you have done or that you CAN do to help the “least of these” in our community and in our church. When did you treat in the spirit of Emmanuel? Later, you can put this strip in the offering plate…but for now, just think about how you have treated someone as God with us.
The Jesus in me
Loves the Jesus in you.
When I was a counselor at Church Camp in Kentucky one summer we had a powerful experience. The camp had traditionally been full of kids from “white” churches, but that year, we were suddenly a great deal more diverse. There were some real tensions around the camp fire that first night, as traditions clashed and there seemed to be a huge disconnect on which group knew which songs. In an uncomfortable moment when the counselors were trying to figure out just what do to next, one of the new kids stood up. The tension in the air was thick as she walked across the campfire to her most vocal critic…to the girl who had said some very un-Christian things just a while earlier. The counselors stood ready to jump in, uncertain of what exactly was going to happen next. And then, then she simply began to sing…
The Jesus in Me
Loves the Jesus in you
The Jesus in Me
Loves the Jesus in you
So easy…So easy…so easy to love.
That song became our unofficial theme song that week at camp, but more than that, it became the attitude with which campers treated one another. It was as if suddenly it was very clear that the Emmanuel in each person was not only recognized, but honored and loved. It was so simple…just by seeing Jesus present in each person, we were all changed.
So as complicated as we would like to make it, it’s really very simple. We must work so that the Jesus in each of us can find and love and care for the Jesus in everyone else.
If there comes a day when the sheep really are separated from the goats, then I want my Shepherd’s decision to be an easy one. I don’t want any doubt that I’m a sheep…that I’ve been serving the “least of these” and doing so without holding back or being selfish or any of that. So I don’t know about you, but I’m going to do my best to say to every person I meet…either through my words or through my deeds…
The Jesus in Me
Loves the Jesus in you
The Jesus in Me
Loves the Jesus in you
So easy…So easy…so easy to love.