So here we are. This is it. The end of another liturgical year. The year of Matthew is near its end…and the year of Mark is approaching.
Transitional times can be both happy times and scary times. There is the end of what was known — as you enter into a new realm.
Excitement and challenges lie in store. What will the new liturgical year bring? We can only wait and see – and plunge in with both feet and do our best.
Matthew has been our mentor, has he not? He has taught us a great deal. He has given to us, his own unique slant, spin and perspective.
A judgment/punishment theme is present. Honor and dishonor are spoken of…separation is inevitable.
Sometimes in his teaching – Jesus was crystal clear and at other times – a little bit cryptic. Today, there can be no doubt. No shades of gray. It is all relatively straightforward, with little room for error.
Just so you are aware – it is the more liberal-minded denominations and theologians who have a preeminent concern for social justice – who almost exclusively use this passage.
The churches who are into “personal salvation” and who are predisposed to “evangelism” and “saving souls” completely overlook this passage.
We pick and we choose.
This is a social gospel, through and through. Get off your butts and do something…help someone…stop all the navel gazing…it was never about you! It is about “others.”
This is Jesus at his finest. This is Jesus making broad and sweeping comparisons between the righteous and the unrighteous.
The righteous, of course, were the “holy ones” – the elite, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Scribes, the High Priest, the Jerusalem cream of the top. They who looked the part, played the part and spoke the proper words. Their hearts were just not in it.
Judgmental, you bet! Judgmental and not apologizing for it in the least. Some time you have to call a spade a spade.
“They” (the goats) were not authentic. They were not genuinely serving the needs of others’, they were selfishly looking out for themselves.
This is about intentions, motivation, design, purpose objectives and deliberateness. They were cold hearted and calculated. They could care less about the poor and the hurting. There was something about them that was all askew, crooked, lopsided, slanted and awry.
Jesus was talking about a way of living – it was not motivated out of the “fear of hell” or “the hope of heaven” – but rather a life that is authentically driven by love and simple caring.
Religion is not about us, it is about the other. It is not about feeling good and putting a dollar in the plate. It is not about sitting up front to be seen.
It is about what you do – naturally – authentically – genuinely in your heart of hearts. What is your intention? What is your real motivation?
If intentions are not honorable then they are deceptive.
This whole parable of separating the sheep and the goats is nothing more than a discussion on “Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself.” It is about them. They come first. It is about the other…the holy other.
Following Jesus is not about reaping rewards. It is not about being saved. It is not about getting a slice of heaven. It is not about your room in the mansion.
It is about following our shepherds lead. It is about doing as he himself would do. It is not about works righteousness or working your way into heaven. There is no system of merits or brownie points.
It is about what you do every single day – about how you live your life. How genuine, how authentic a person are you. Do you help because you can – or because you think it is one step closer to those pearly gates?
Is your motivation for yourself or for those in need…for those who are hurting…for those who are in want…
The wealthy and the privileged tend to look down their noses at the dispossessed.
What Jesus is talking about is common sense and human decency. Help out to those in need. Help out those you are able to…not for gold stars or for non-existent brownie points…
…but because it is right and just and good and because you can. There is no self-interest involved. You are “other centered” the way Jesus was “other centered.”
Christianity is about them, not us…and always has been. Help those who are hurting. Amen.