Unto the Least Of These

Sermon for 11-16-2008
Scripture: Mt. 25:31-44

Sometimes our Gospel lesson today is called “The sheep and the goats” although I’m much more comfortable focusing on Jesus’ teachings about compassion and how whatever you do or don’t do to the least recognized persons you do or not do to him. The last part of this scripture, I believe, is the moral core of all of the teachings of Jesus; but what about the first part—the judgment part? It’s so hard for me to accept that at the end of our life God is going to judge us and separate us into the good sheep and the bad goats. Liberal minded Christian pastors are inclined to want to assure everyone that God’s love will always give them another chance and that in the end if they see the error in their ways they will be forgiven. Margaret Seymour and I have an ongoing discussion where she thinks my picture of God is much too sweet and light and not enough judgment. Even Don Johnson has been known to wonder if my assurance of forgiveness is one where I leave out true repentance. Some pastors, including me, often talk about the grace of God, meaning that we are forgiven and loved even when we don’t deserve it. One of our great Christian theologians, Bonhoeffer wrote about cheap grace—grace that is without discipleship, without the cross, without the incarnate Jesus. I’m always pleased to hear different points of view from this congregation; I really do welcome them.

So I’m not at all certain about the part of this scripture that condemns the goats, those that did not show compassion for the least of these and therefore will be cast into eternal punishment whereas the righteous ones will have eternal life. Maybe some of you wish that you had a pastor that knew all the answers, but then you probably wouldn’t be here if that was what you really wanted. There’s so much I don’t know; I struggle along with you to try to understand what God is saying, knowing that God is still speaking.

Yes, you have heard me talk more than once about Jesus saying that when you give food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, and so forth that you are giving it to him. Jesus claims to be in each of us, no matter how rich and famous or poor and marginalized. In this passage he is talking, however, about the “least of these”, those that are begging on the streets of Calcutta, those that are huddled together in refugee camps in Sudan, those brothers and sisters that do not have food to eat in Zimbabwe; the day workers from Mexico gathered on the corner, hoping to get some work; the men and women suffering and dying with AIDS; those that are in prison for all kinds of different crimes. These are the folks that most of the middle and upper class don’t think about; out of sight, out of mind. This part of the scripture is very clear to me. It’s not enough just to be compassionate to those around us; we are to go out of our way to show love in action to those that we might ignore because of their race, their social class, their mental illness, their addiction to drugs or alcohol to give you a few examples. Can you think of a specific person that you have seen or know about that might fit the example of “the least of these”; someone you try not to come face to face with? Is there anyone that can’t think of someone like that?

I want to tell you a story that I have seen on the internet several different times, most recently when Margaret sent me an email. Listen to see if it reminds you at all about what you may or may not have done. I’m going to tell the story in the first person as a boy who is a freshman in high school but it could be any of us in many different types of settings..

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, 'Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd.' I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.

As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes. My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said, 'Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives.’

He looked at me and said, 'Hey thanks!' There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now. I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.

He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends He said yes. We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.

Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, 'Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!’ He just laughed and handed me half the books.

Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.

Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak.

Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him. Boy, sometimes I was jealous! Today was one of those days.

I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, 'Hey, big guy, you'll be great!' He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. ' Thanks,' he said.

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began 'Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends... I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story.'

I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.

'Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable.' I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and Dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.

Not until that moment did I realize the depth of what I had done. Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for worse. God puts us all in each other’s lives to impact one another in some way. Look for God in others.

What a great story! The boy says to look for God in others; Jesus would say, “When you show kindness to another; when you help out someone that is feeling down and out, you are doing that to me.” We sometimes think that religion is all about believing stuff and if we have the right beliefs we will be okay in the sight of God. Some of you may remember last week’s sermon about, “Are you Ready?” Our faith has a lot to do with being ready, being aware, opening our eyes and seeing what’s happening in our world and where we need to show that love Jesus taught us by both his life and his words. Jesus the Christ is all around us, in you and in me, in the homeless, the unemployed, the sick, the hustler, the alcoholic, in the person seated next to you. My prayer is that we can all open our eyes a bit wider and see those people that need a friend, those that are lonely and hurting. Remember that we are all God’s beloved. Would you turn to someone sitting close to you now and say, “You are God’s beloved” or “God loves you and so do I”. As we enter the holiday season, do whatever you can to share your blessings with others and remember to also be kind and loving to yourself. Amen and Amen