Nov 26, 2023 |
Sunday Sermon
| The Rev. Gabriel Lawrence
Sunday Sermon
For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my
sheep and will sort them out.
On this day, we gather in time on a threshold: the last Sunday of the Church year, the feast of Christ the King. We end today what we began a year ago on the first Sunday of Advent 2022, and we prepare to begin again next week on the first Sunday of Advent 2023. In this last year, we have walked through the story of salvation. We heard the prophets call us to repentance and then celebrated the birth of God into this world in the person of Jesus. We heard stories about Jesus healing the sick and even raising the dead. This past spring, we walked with Jesus through the week of his Passion- Holy Week- that lead to his death and then resurrection and then ascension. We celebrated the arrival of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and all summer and fall, we have continued to hear about the love of God made known to us in Jesus that still lives and moves in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. And today, on the last day of our journey, before we begin again, we celebrate Christ the King. It is a feast that ends our journey and begins a new one. The feast acts as a threshold to bridge us from what was to what will be.
But lest we are tempted to think that the Kingdom of God, ruled by Christ the King himself, looks like a familiar earthly Kingdom with all the trappings of a royal court, an army, a castle, crowns, fine robes, and power, we are given stories today in our texts that include sheep and goats. Kind of startling, isn’t it? On a day when we celebrate the Kingdom of God and the reign of Christ, the Church gives us barn animals.
In Ezekiel, we hear that God will search for God’s own sheep and will sort them out-- sort here meaning that God will count the sheep, see who is missing, and check on sheep that might need special attention. “I will bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak.” God will also not only sort and help the sheep, God will also supply all of the needs of the sheep. “I will feed them with good pasture. There they shall lie down.” God’s promise here is that God’s sheep will live from a place of abundance. And then my favorite part- “I will feed them with justice.” God’s will make things right. God will rescue the sheep from all harm. “I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged.”
If we turn to the Gospel, we hear Jesus using sheep and goats to further talk about God’s will and work in the world. He tells us that those who give of themselves to take care of the least among us- the hungry, thirsty, sick, imprisoned, estranged- will be rewarded with eternal life. And in a dramatic act, Christ the King, will separate the sheep from the goats. He will separate those who helped and those who didn’t. (Something to note here: there are only two options. Either we help those in need or we don’t. Jesus doesn’t give us an option to be passive. Either we are serving him by serving others or we aren’t. These words can be tough to hear. Brandon reminded us in his sermon last week of the risky business of discipleship. Jesus doesn’t mince words here about our work as his disciples.)
But this parsing out is not a condemnation- even if Jesus’s words here are pointed and may feel harsh. This parsing out is an invitation to dream about a different kind of Kingdom, one very different from the kingdoms of this world- a Kingdom that is reimagined. If we look closely enough, these texts about sheep and goats- barn animals- are actually perfect assignments for today’s feast of Christ the King. Jesus is not giving us a list of who’s in and who’s out- who makes the cut and who doesn’t. Jesus is rather giving us a list of the citizens of the Kingdom of God- who the people are that make up the rule and reign of God. He is telling us what the Kingdom of God looks like and who the Kingdom of God looks like. And in stern words, Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of God is made up of folk who took the time to feed the hungry, quench the thirst of the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, and heal the sick.
In this invitation to dream, to hope for a new world in which all are fed and clothed and healed, Jesus asks us “Who among you are hungry? Thirsty? Naked? Imprisoned? Sick?” He is asking us to take care of these people, yes, but he is also inviting us to ask ourselves who else is hungry and thirsty? Perhaps hungry and thirsty for justice and peace and an end to war and conflict. Who else is naked? Perhaps the unhoused in need of a home, house, to cover their life and provide them with safety and security. Who else is imprisoned? Perhaps a prisoner to addiction because addiction to something external is the only way they know how to cope with the pain this cruel world has dealt them. Who else is sick? Perhaps those with little or no access to healthcare, victims of a system that often only serves those who can afford care.
Today, we will baptize Chloe into the Body of Christ, the Church. And in this act of baptism, we will invite Chloe into this dreaming with us about what is possible in the Kingdom of God. Chloe’s parents and godparents, affirmed by our support, will take vows on her behalf to make sure she is raised up in the faith and joins in on God’s work already happening around us in the world. Into this imagined Kingdom that is not fully here, but to which we continue to strive and work toward, we baptize Chloe.
And here is the good news—it is by taking care of Christ by taking care of the most vulnerable, the sheep, we have eternal life. We experience an encounter with Jesus in the eye of the hungry, in the handshake of the thirsty, in meaningful conversation with the lonely, in the liberation of the prisoner. This imagining rests on the threshold of a feast- a feast that leads into our hope: the season of Advent, a season of preparation as we wait for the coming of Jesus at Christmas. For we are not left to imagine this Kingdom into being on our own. Jesus walks with us. We are not left to building this Kingdom on our own. Jesus picks up the hammer and nails and invites us to dream and work this Kingdom into being alongside him.
On this day, we gather in time on a threshold: the last Sunday of the Church year, the feast of Christ the King. We end today what we began a year ago on the first Sunday of Advent 2022, and we prepare to begin again next week on the first Sunday of Advent 2023. In this last year, we have walked through the story of salvation. We heard the prophets call us to repentance and then celebrated the birth of God into this world in the person of Jesus. We heard stories about Jesus healing the sick and even raising the dead. This past spring, we walked with Jesus through the week of his Passion- Holy Week- that lead to his death and then resurrection and then ascension. We celebrated the arrival of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and all summer and fall, we have continued to hear about the love of God made known to us in Jesus that still lives and moves in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. And today, on the last day of our journey, before we begin again, we celebrate Christ the King. It is a feast that ends our journey and begins a new one. The feast acts as a threshold to bridge us from what was to what will be.
But lest we are tempted to think that the Kingdom of God, ruled by Christ the King himself, looks like a familiar earthly Kingdom with all the trappings of a royal court, an army, a castle, crowns, fine robes, and power, we are given stories today in our texts that include sheep and goats. Kind of startling, isn’t it? On a day when we celebrate the Kingdom of God and the reign of Christ, the Church gives us barn animals.
In Ezekiel, we hear that God will search for God’s own sheep and will sort them out-- sort here meaning that God will count the sheep, see who is missing, and check on sheep that might need special attention. “I will bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak.” God will also not only sort and help the sheep, God will also supply all of the needs of the sheep. “I will feed them with good pasture. There they shall lie down.” God’s promise here is that God’s sheep will live from a place of abundance. And then my favorite part- “I will feed them with justice.” God’s will make things right. God will rescue the sheep from all harm. “I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged.”
If we turn to the Gospel, we hear Jesus using sheep and goats to further talk about God’s will and work in the world. He tells us that those who give of themselves to take care of the least among us- the hungry, thirsty, sick, imprisoned, estranged- will be rewarded with eternal life. And in a dramatic act, Christ the King, will separate the sheep from the goats. He will separate those who helped and those who didn’t. (Something to note here: there are only two options. Either we help those in need or we don’t. Jesus doesn’t give us an option to be passive. Either we are serving him by serving others or we aren’t. These words can be tough to hear. Brandon reminded us in his sermon last week of the risky business of discipleship. Jesus doesn’t mince words here about our work as his disciples.)
But this parsing out is not a condemnation- even if Jesus’s words here are pointed and may feel harsh. This parsing out is an invitation to dream about a different kind of Kingdom, one very different from the kingdoms of this world- a Kingdom that is reimagined. If we look closely enough, these texts about sheep and goats- barn animals- are actually perfect assignments for today’s feast of Christ the King. Jesus is not giving us a list of who’s in and who’s out- who makes the cut and who doesn’t. Jesus is rather giving us a list of the citizens of the Kingdom of God- who the people are that make up the rule and reign of God. He is telling us what the Kingdom of God looks like and who the Kingdom of God looks like. And in stern words, Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of God is made up of folk who took the time to feed the hungry, quench the thirst of the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, and heal the sick.
In this invitation to dream, to hope for a new world in which all are fed and clothed and healed, Jesus asks us “Who among you are hungry? Thirsty? Naked? Imprisoned? Sick?” He is asking us to take care of these people, yes, but he is also inviting us to ask ourselves who else is hungry and thirsty? Perhaps hungry and thirsty for justice and peace and an end to war and conflict. Who else is naked? Perhaps the unhoused in need of a home, house, to cover their life and provide them with safety and security. Who else is imprisoned? Perhaps a prisoner to addiction because addiction to something external is the only way they know how to cope with the pain this cruel world has dealt them. Who else is sick? Perhaps those with little or no access to healthcare, victims of a system that often only serves those who can afford care.
Today, we will baptize Chloe into the Body of Christ, the Church. And in this act of baptism, we will invite Chloe into this dreaming with us about what is possible in the Kingdom of God. Chloe’s parents and godparents, affirmed by our support, will take vows on her behalf to make sure she is raised up in the faith and joins in on God’s work already happening around us in the world. Into this imagined Kingdom that is not fully here, but to which we continue to strive and work toward, we baptize Chloe.
And here is the good news—it is by taking care of Christ by taking care of the most vulnerable, the sheep, we have eternal life. We experience an encounter with Jesus in the eye of the hungry, in the handshake of the thirsty, in meaningful conversation with the lonely, in the liberation of the prisoner. This imagining rests on the threshold of a feast- a feast that leads into our hope: the season of Advent, a season of preparation as we wait for the coming of Jesus at Christmas. For we are not left to imagine this Kingdom into being on our own. Jesus walks with us. We are not left to building this Kingdom on our own. Jesus picks up the hammer and nails and invites us to dream and work this Kingdom into being alongside him.
