Before The Throne Of God
"When the Son of Man comes as King and all the angels with him, he will sit on his royal throne, and the people of all the nations will be gathered before him. ...Then he will divide them into two groups, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
Prayer:
Growing up in Accra, Ghana there was a judge called " No non sense Akufu." He was tough, criminals, and their defense lawyers dreaded Judge Akufu presiding over their cases. He doesn’t stand for any nonsense. He is decisive for African standard. He tries to get to the bottom of often complex cases. He can be rude and sharp-tongued. He doesn’t tolerate fools. There are always those who are disappointed by his judgments.
Today is the last Sunday in the church year and we are told about another Judge, Jesus. It is clear from the Gospel reading today that we are focusing on the last day
"when the Son of Man will come as King and all the angels with him, and he will sit on his royal throne, and the people of all the nations will be gathered before him".In the end, when it’s all said and done and our lives are finished, we shall all stand before his throne. All the nations of the world shall appear before the Judge, the King. He will separate all those gathered before him, the right from the left, the sheep from the goats, and those on the right are saved, and those on the left eternal separation. Images of sheep and goats are biblical ways of speaking about judgement.
Jesus the judge will be decisive and won’t tolerate fools but most of us wouldn’t think of Jesus in the same light as Judge Akufu. In fact, we don’t often talk about Jesus being a judge. We have this image of Jesus as a shepherd who lovingly cares for his sheep, even giving up his life to save them from danger appeals to us, especially when we feel unloved or the troubles of life overwhelm us.
The idea of Jesus as a king, the ruler of the universe, who has power far greater than anything that can destroy us, is comforting to us. The image of Jesus as a shepherd brings happy thoughts to our mind. We think of Jesus being a bit like King David, we think of him caring for us like a shepherd cares for his sheep. We think of his rod and staff comforting us, of his leading us to green pastures and quiet waters - and we feel good.
Jesus the shepherd: is a nice image, a comforting image, a helpful image. It is often the main image that we have of Jesus. So - what then do we make of Jesus the King who judges his people? What do we make of Jesus the shepherd who divides his flock into those which are sheep and those which are goats, inviting the first into his eternal joy, and sending the last into eternal alienation? In fact, to think of Jesus as Judge is too much to takes eh!
In the first place, it needs to be made quite clear – there will be a judgement, whether the world is ready for it or not. We can’t assume that everyone understands this. For some God could not possibly be a judge, one who invites some to eternal joy, sending others to eternal punishment. God is love after all. The idea of a judgement is not in keeping with this image of God we know of. Others find it hard to accept that there will be a final judgement because the thought of this world coming to an end is unthinkable.
The past few Sundays Jesus tells several stories prior to our text for today – all of them include judgement. The parable of the ten bridesmaids waiting for the arrival of the bridegroom. Five were prepared, five were unprepared. The five who were prepared went into the wedding feast. The five who were unprepared turned up late:
Then there is the parable of the three servants who were given various amounts of money to invest while the master is away. Two of them did very well doubling what they had been given, and they were rewarded for their faithfulness.
The third one hid the money away and did not use it wisely and "
he was thrown outside in the darkness where he would cry and gnash his teeth". We begin to get a different image of Jesus. Jesus is a shepherd and a king who judges his people. Some of us scoff at the thought of a judgement for many personal reasons. The gospel reading is a chilling reminder. Jesus says, "I was hungry but you would not feed me, thirsty but you would not give me a drink; I was a stranger but you would not welcome me in your homes, naked but you would not clothe me; I was sick and in prison but you would not take care of me".And then Jesus concluded,
"I tell you, whenever you refused to help one of these least important ones, you refused to help me". How scary! Jesus is talking to me here. He’s talking to you. Our hearts go out to the people in the Middle East and we want all that blood shed to stop. We shake our heads in sympathy to the images of suffering, hunger, homelessness in Asia, South America, Africa, and some of our major cities in North America and have responded in the best way we can.But Jesus is not talking about people far away from here, but people with whom we come in contact with face to face. How often have we been blind to the person in need right in front of us, the people who are in need right here on the St. Lambert, Brossard, Greenfield Park … NDG, right in our own neighbourhood. Jesus said, "I tell you, whenever you refused to help one of these least important ones, you refused to help me".
The teenager up the street who is facing court proceedings because of drug violations? Is he Jesus? Or is he simply a child who has gone wrong, a no good who needs to learn a lesson before he destroys himself and his family? What about the young woman, the single mother who is pregnant again. Is she Jesus? Or is she the girl who should have known better? The one who got herself into trouble by hanging around with bad company?
What about the drunk who lives a few houses up the street? Or the divorced man who has walked out on his wife and family? Are they Jesus - or are they simply people who have made their beds and now should lie in them?
Or what about the children at school who dress in old clothes, the ones who seem to be uninterested in the work the teacher sets them? Are they Jesus? Or are they ones whose parents ought to be looking after them better?
Or what about the elderly woman whose mind is not what it to used to be and is cranky and hard to get on with? Is she Jesus? Or is she only the poor old thing who is doing OK? Jesus is here. He lives near us, he lives in those whom we forget and in those whom we dismiss as unimportant, or as deserving of their fate.
Friends in Christ- I like to think that no one wants to be a goat, I like to think that we all want to do the right thing, but I’m afraid our actions give us away. We allow our judgments about other people to blind us to the fact that Jesus is here in our community right now, that he is here, and that he is in need.
That’s what makes the idea of a final judgement so scary. We are afraid that on the basis of our record we won’t hear words of blessing and a welcome into heaven but instead Jesus will say, "Away from me, you that are under God's curse! Away to the eternal fire which has been prepared for the Devil and his angels!" that thought frightening.
If it were up to us to present a case in God’s courtroom why we deserve to be "called blessed and possess the kingdom which has been prepared for us since the creation of the world" what would be your defense? What would be your defense?
But here is the good news! Jesus is not only judge but he is also our lawyer, our advocate. He not only speaks up for us at the last judgement, but reminds all those gathered around the seat of judgement that he has died for us. He is our Saviour.
We believe and trust that he died on the cross to except us from any accusation that will come up on the last day. His death wiped away all guilt for our failure to see Jesus in those who were hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick, or in prison.
Or let me put it this way. Bodyguards of high profile political figures, such as our own Prime Minister or the President of the United States. These men or women are so dedicated that they are prepared to stop a bullet to ensure the safety of the person they are protecting. Jesus has stopped the bullet for us. He died to save us. He has ensured that those who believe in him, rely on him, trust in him, will not die, but have eternal life.
If our eternal future depended on the good things we did in this life then we would be doomed for sure. Every good thing we do is covered with our own selfishness and pride. Our eternal future rests solely on Jesus who stopped the bullet to save us. And I have chosen personally Jesus to be my defense lawyer before the Throne of God.
There is one more important point that this story about judgement brings out, that is, the difference between false faith and genuine faith. Those who truly have faith in God will see to it that those who are hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick, or in prison have their needs met.
They will see that to help such people is what faith in God is all about. Showing love toward others and taking care of their needs is the way faith in God is put into action. Did you notice how surprised the people were in Jesus story when they were told that they had been generous toward others? "When did we do that? When did we see you hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick or in prison?" Faith does what comes naturally.
It's like an apple tree producing apples. Or a tomato plant making tomatoes. Faith gives food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, clothing to the naked, welcome to the stranger, company to the sick and imprisoned, without being told, without thinking about it. That's how faith in Christ serves Christ.
The parable provokes a question. Are you a sheep or a goat? I think, it is imperative that each and everyone of us answer that for ourselves. But if you are not sure, I know Jesus the advocate personally, and I would be more than happy to introduce you to him.
The fact is we have neglected the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and the imprisoned. Even though we have not demonstrated faith in the light of the Gospel. On the other hand we are sheep, through faith in Jesus that brings us into Shepherd's flock. We are loved dearly by Jesus who stopped the bullet and gave his life to rescue us. We are his forgiven sheep to whom he says,
"Come, you that are blessed by my Father!
Come and possess the kingdom. Which was prepared for you before the foundation of the world."
Amen.
Rev. Samuel King-Kabu
November 24, 2002