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November 23, 2008

Christ the Shepherd King

Christ the King Sunday
November 23, 2008
Matthew 25:24-37

Today is the last Sunday in the Christian Year. We call it Christ the King Sunday. But unlike other special days in the Christian year, this particular observance is less than 100 years old. Our three main high holy days Christmas, Easter, Pentecost have their foundation in the Bible. And the seasons of Advent and Lent, while not specifically found in scriptures, have been practiced since the early beginnings of our Christian faith.

The first time the Christian Church celebrated Christ the King Sunday was in 1925 under the direction of Pope Pius XI. The world was reeling from WWI. It was a period of economic uncertainty and the Pope observed people “kneeling” to human saviors and political parties throughout Europe that promised to rescue them. (sound familiar??)

Simultaneously, religion was being pushed to the private sector while forces jockeyed for power and control. It was in this climate that Pope Pius XI called for the annual celebration to lift up the Kingship of our Lord. He called for a day on which people would gather to “kneel” to Christ as a witness to the world that the Church confesses Jesus is High Priest of Heaven and Earth.

Christ the King Sunday is a two-fold proclamation: first no earthy ruler is lord of all. Second, Jesus is king not only of our hearts, our private moments, and our personal salvation, but of all time, all space, and all people.

But what of that image of King? It isn’t exactly one that we embrace in our culture today. We’ve been studying the gospel of Matthew this year so let’s go to Matthew and see if we can glean any information from him. Matthew’s Gospel, more than any other, is grounded in the Hebrew Scriptures (OT). We recall that when speaking about Jesus, Matthew often uses such phrases as “all this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the prophet…”

Being grounded in the Hebrew scripture, Matthew and his readers are familiar with history of the Israelite people. We probably are familiar with their story too, but allow me to recap their history as it relates to their kings. We recall that God brought the Israelites out of Egypt. They wandered in the desert for 40 years. They settled in the promised land. God was their focus, the only one they were to worship. Prophets spoke God’s truth to the people and made decisions based on God’s laws and God’s guidance.

However, not too long after settling in the promised land, the people came to the prophet Samuel (see 1 Samuel chapter 8) and asked for a king to govern them. All the other nations that surrounded Israel had kings and the people wanted a king like the other nations. God was displeased with the people’s request, but God worked with Samuel to provide a good king for the people.

The first king of the Israelites was Saul. He was anointed King in about 1020 B.C. He ruled for 20 years. David followed Saul. David was the most beloved and well-known of all the kings of Israel. David ruled for about 40 years.

After David, his son Solomon ruled for 40 years. During Solomon’s reign, things changed. Solomon started out as a faithful king. However, he married many women from other countries and fell under their influence. Solomon worshipped God and his wives’ gods, thus beginning Israel’s fall from grace. After Solomon the kingdom divided into two countries, with two separate kings. Over the next 200 years, scholars believe the kingdom of Israel had 20 Kings before they were conquered by the Assyrians. Of the 20 kings, none were faithful to God. Simultaneously, the kingdom of Judah had 21 kings over a 335 year period. Of those 21 kings, four were listed as following God’s commands.

So of the 45 kings, only 6 were considered Godly kings who adhered to God’s commandments and were men of God. It doesn’t seem as if the image of a king is one that would excite the Israelite people. And yet a king is what they have always wanted their God to be. So Jesus offers his listeners a different kind of king—a Shepherd King.

Of all the gospel writers, Matthew is the only one who recounts today’s story about king who separates the sheep from the goats. This is probably because this image resonates with Matthew’s audience.

They will remember the prophet Ezekiel’s image of the Shepherd King—one who will save them from those who have abused them in the past. One who will gather them to his breast. One who will rescue them, feed them, who will search for them no matter how far they’ve been taken from their home land. The people had been misled by their kings and also mistreated and abused by the invaders who carted them off to a foreign land. They were currently living under Roman occupation. They would be glad to recall this Shepherd King who calls them home.

Matthew writes: When the Kingdom of Heaven comes, Christ the Shepherd King will come in all his glory, and all his angels with him. Then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him… and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. There is a turn in the story and this is typical Jesus. Just as he is getting his listeners all warm and fuzzy about the Shepherd King bringing them home, he reminds his listeners that the regular folk will be held accountable too. “Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture? When you drink of clear water, must you foul the rest with your feet?” (Ezek. 34:18)

Jesus story reminds us that there will be consequences for our action or inaction on the part of others. With this in mind, we can be glad that we still have some more time. How am I doing in this area of serving those in need. This pending judgment makes me very nervous. How do I know when I’ve done enough? Who do I serve? How do I know if people are really in need or not? What kind of service is expected?

When we think about serving others, there many things that keep us from serving. Let me name a couple this morning. One: We focus too much on ourselves. It’s human nature to think about ourselves. Either we think we deserve more (i.e. entitlement) or we think we aren’t worthy (ego). For example. I had a girlfriend who couldn’t forgive herself. We used to go with a group of women on weekend retreats together to Fox Lake. There was very spiritual priest who ran the retreats, Father Lutz. One retreat, my friend had a talk with Father Lutz about her feelings of self-doubt and unworthiness. Very lovingly, Father Lutz said to her, “God has forgiven you. Who are you to not forgive yourself?”
If you find yourself spending too much time thinking about yourself, do something for someone else.

Another thing that keeps us from serving is our “busy schedules.” We’re all at different phases of our life and so how we serve will look differently. We can’t look at someone else and berate ourselves for not being like them. Some of us have more flexibility in our schedule than others. We can we do something on our own and join up with others at another time. Some of us have extra hands around the house that could be put to good use and have some fun too. I overheard two people after the Church Council meeting discussing how one could help put the angels together with her children while the other person would then put them up on the display. That’s serving.

Another thing that keeps us from serving is our inability to ask for or accept the help of others. We think to ourselves, “Who would I ask for help and why would they do it?” Somehow we have been given this false idea that we need to work things out for ourselves. In fact, we are put in this life to be together. If you aren’t comfortable receiving help or asking for help from others, you probably have a hard time helping others. It’s time to start asking for help in small ways.

Another thing that keeps us from serving is that we aren’t living in the moment. The “what should I do” is obvious is we’re in the moment. Throughout the day we receive opportunities to help another person—through a word, a smile, or following through with something that God initiates. We miss these chances when we aren’t in the moment.

Still the judgment feels as if its looming. Here’s the good news. We are not the judge-of ourselves or of our neighbor. Most of us are harder on ourselves and others then we need to be. For centuries, the Christian Church has served as judge and jury for kings and rulers. Those in positions of power worked hand and hand with the church. While it may have started out with the best intentions, throughout history we have witnessed the near impossibility of handling the kind of power that comes when one is ruling over others.

It takes a special kind of grace, humility, and love of the people to be able to pull it off. And history has recorded the terrible deeds done in the name of a judging and vengeful God. When actually it was the human beings in power who wanted to maintain the status quo. There are exceptions to this reality of handing power with grace and love, but they are rare. There is only one who did it perfectly. Jesus.

Jesus, our judge didn’t come into power. He left the power to come and be with us. He did not live in a palace separated from the people and from their daily struggles. In fact he sought out those who society cast away to let them know God loved them. Jesus did not fight those who were afraid of him and wanted him dead by killing them first. He sought God’s direction and then did the most difficult thing—innocent he took what the human system of power had to give. In some cases, like Desmond Tutu, the system gives decades of prison. In Jesus’ case, the system extracted the ultimate—his life.

But that’s not the end of the story. Christ, our judge, reappeared three days after his death to tell his people that death would not hold him. And we need not fear death either--for death is not the final word for us if we believe in Jesus Christ.

God raised Christ from the dead to secure his place over all principalities and powers in heaven and on earth. We believe in the beginning, Christ was with God and after being with us on earth, he returned to God. His walk with us on earth, in a human vessel, is what informs Christ’s throne of glory and his ability to judge us. This throne of glory is in our heart.

Returning to the separating of the sheep and the goats, neither side remembered their loving actions or their selfish inaction. Because it was the way they saw the world. The sheep saw through the eyes of their heart. They saw people in need and responded out of the same grace and love they experienced in Christ. The goats saw no one but themselves and so they never saw Jesus.

Brothers and sisters. Let it be said of us that people have heard of our faith in the Lord Jesus and of our love toward all people. And may the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Parent of glory give each and every one of us a spirit of wisdom and revelation that we may come to know Christ and place him on his throne of glory—in our heart.

Posted by vickie at 10:00 AM