Kingdom Come Ethics

November 23, 2014, The Last Sunday of the Church Year

Matthew 25:31-46 The Final Judgment

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again.

In the Lord’s Prayer we pray, “Thy Kingdom come.”

In the Apostles Creed we confess, “[Jesus] ascended into heaven and sits on the right hand of God. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.” And “We believe in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. Amen.”

It is one of the most important teachings of Christianity that the Christ who came at Christmas will come again at the end of the world. This makes faith important. This makes life meaningful. This gives hope to our lives. It affects our behavior and morals and ethics.

Our Gospel reading is about the last Judgment. “The Son of Man will come in his glory and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.” As we read further, the sheep go to heaven and the goats go to hell. The basis of the judgment is on people’s actions, as Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these my brothers of mine, you did for me” or “whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” Our faith in Jesus is lived out in our actions to others.

As we live our lives, we have to make many decisions. There are the big life decisions like education, job and marriage and retirement, and there are the constant moral and ethical decisions, too. The important decisions that we want to talk about today are the interpersonal ones, how we relate to other people and how we show love to them. To help us make decisions, there is a slogan that was very popular a few years ago. There were bumper stickers and posters and bookmarks with the slogan “WWJD?” it means, “What Would Jesus Do?” I guess you are supposed to think about this before hitting or hurting some one: “Would Jesus do that?” Jesus would forgive and be nice to that person. Before talking behind someone’s back, “Would Jesus spread gossip or would he say something good and constructive?” If you see someone begging: “Would Jesus put in a dime or a dollar into the cup?” It is a good ethical tool sometimes, but probably we already know what Jesus would do, for we have read the New Testament and studied the Ten Commandments and the Lord’s Prayer. And so the poster probably points a finer at us asks, “Why Aren’t You Doing What Jesus Would Do?” “Why Did You Do What Jesus Would Not Do?” If we really act according to “WWJD?” then we would feel good, but “WWJD?” can also accuse us of being with the goats and so it becomes a warning. Be careful! Look out!

Another slogan that people use, especially Lutherans, is “JBFA” which means “Justification By Faith Alone.” We are not saved by our works, but by our faith. This can be a totally freeing Gospel declaration, or people can use it to be free from all ethical responsibility. I am free from sin and hell by God’s wonderful Grace which I receive by faith alone. And so I can be free and happy to help someone who is hungry, sick, or lonely. But some people say, “God will save me even if I am a horrible person, because I can always get my sins forgiven. So I do not have to worry about being nice to other people.” There is the story of one old German Lutheran who said, “I know I am saved because I have never done a single good work!” And the problem that I, as a Lutheran preacher, have with today’s Gospel reading is that it seems to say that the basis of God’s judgment is not only on our faith but also on our works: did we feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the lonely, contribute for disaster relief, help someone in need?

When we read the parable, we realize that the sheep were simply living out their faith, while the goats had none to begin with. The sheep didn’t need a “WWJD?” or “JBFA” slogan. They were not concerned about whether their actions were pleasing to God, they were not doing things to get heaven. They were not working their way into heaven. When Jesus praised them, they said, “When did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink, etc.?” And Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.” The sheep were surprised. They did not do good deeds only to please Jesus; they did it from the love that was in their hearts. The goats were also surprised. The goats seem to say, “Well, we thought it was just some bum, if we had know it was you, Jesus, then surely we would have given you a cup of cold water or a piece of bread. We would have done that so that we could get to heaven.” Which means that the kindness that they would have done for someone was not to help that person, but to help themselves, so that they could get into heaven. It would have been a very selfish sort of charity. Much of the world’s charitable giving is based on the fact that people like to be praised for doing something good. The lists of contributors are published in newspapers, magazines, alumni newsletters and the like. This recognition actually is fine, and it is fun to seeyour name listed as a contributor. Charity organizations know about human vanity and how to utilize it.

But God does not judge in that way. God sees our hearts. Selfish giving is giving for our own benefit. The trouble then is that we really do not care for the welfare of others. And what will God think or our faith life? Will God put us on the right side or the left side? Will he count us among the sheep or the goats, the righteous or the accursed?

The solution is not just that there is a Son of Man who finally comes “in his glory” to judge. The solution is that long before he comes as awesome judge, he came as one who hungered in the desert of temptation, thirsted on the cross, was stripped on the cross, was arrested, convicted and crucified. And it is the sin of all humans, that we did not give him food or drink or clothing, the disciples did not visit him but rather ran away from him when he was arrested. And there on the cross, when we would not or could not help him, he helped us. He took our sin upon himself and forgave us. He came to this world to help us in our time of need: when we are hungry; when our hearts are thirsty, when we feel the shame of being naked or in prison, when sick or lonely. He gives us the Holy Spirit. He gives us faith. And he sends his messengers to bring the Good New of Salvation. We accept these brothers and sisters of his.

We Christians do not live in a dreadful fear of the Judge who will come at the end of time. We live in the joyful peace of our Savior who was born in Bethlehem, died on the cross, and on the third day rose again; and who comes to us in the Holy Communion and in the fellowship of the brothers and sister of Christ around us. The only sign or symbol that we need to guide our life is the CROSS. As a guide for our lives, it reminds us that our life is a life of sacrifice and love for others. “WWJD?” He would have died on the cross. The cross shows what Jesus did for us, how he loved us, how he still loves us. It is an unselfish love. Jesus sees that same sort of love in our hearts and says to us; “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared or you since the creation of the world.”

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church


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