Sermon on Ephesians 1:15-23 and Matthew 25:31-46
St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church, Youngstown, PA
Sunday, November 23, 2008,
The Reign of Christ, Year A
(word count: 1077)

Simul Sheep and Goat

A man lies in the street in pain, groaning. A stranger stops. She kneels beside the person.
Today's reading from chapter 25, the parable of the sheep and the goats, comes at the end of Jesus' teachings. This is the last story King Jesus tells before he heads to the cross to die for our sins.

What a story it is. Jesus tells us that, at the end, he, the king, on his throne, will judge us according to whether we helped people in need. Did we give food to the hungry and drink to the thirsty? Did we welcome the stranger and clothe the naked? Did we care for the sick and visit the imprisoned? If we did, Jesus will welcome us to life. If we did not, Jesus will send us to hell. Boom.

Note that Jesus does not place conditions on our helping people in need. He does not say, “Only help people who deserve help.” He does not say, “Only help white people,” or “Only help Americans.” Jesus does not say, “Help everyone, except Muslims.” Christ the King does not decree, “Help everyone in need, except illegal immigrants.” No, through this story our King teaches us that we are to help all people in need, no exceptions.

The woman wipes away at the wounds of the man lying in the street. They are full of puss and blood. They stink, but she keeps cleaning them. People walking by say, “Man, that's disgusting. I wouldn't do that job for a million dollars.”

Are we sheep or goats? Do we help people in need, or do we make excuses not to? Do you give food, money, attention, and talent to reduce poverty, care for the sick, and support people in jail?

I think I am a sheep, for the most part, although there are times when I am a goat. Plenty of times I look the other way instead of helping someone. When I hear about poverty-stricken children on TV, sometimes I turn the channel. I give money to charities, pray for people in need, try to help people, but I could do more. I could give more money to people in need instead of spending it to over-eat. The synod runs trips to Mississippi to help Katrina victims. I could do that. Why don't I?

Am I a sheep or a goat? It depends. Most of us are like that. Most of us do not fit neatly into one category. The Book of Concord teaches that we are both saint and sinner. God has made us saints, but we still sin. Romans 3 proclaims, “All have sinned.” Are you a sheep or a goat? You're both. We all are.

So then, how can God divide people into sheep and goat? Aren't we a combination of sheep and goat, a combination of good and bad? Aren't we all sinners?

Maybe part of the point of the story of the sheep and the goats is to show us that we all fall short. When we hear this story, if we are honest, we will confess that, while sometimes we care for those in need, other times we neglect people. There's some goat in each of us.

Perhaps, then, this story helps us to see how much we need Jesus to die for us. We hear this story, and we say, “Yes, I have my sheep moments, but I can be pretty goatish, too. Sometimes I help those in need, sometimes I don't. I do not do enough. I am a sinner.” When we acknowledge that we just cannot do it all on our own, that we can never be good enough, then we cling to the cross, for it is through the cross that Christ has saved us. Are we as good as should be? No, but Jesus died to save us.

Indeed, the Book of Concord teaches that the Law of God, the passages of commandment and judgment, function like a mirror to show us how much we need Jesus. These tough passages of the Bible, such as the story of the sheep and the goats, hold a mirror to us [hold up mirror]. We look in the mirror. We see our sin. We declare, “Look at all that sin. I can't do all this on my own. I need Jesus.” Then we the baptized sprint to the cross, trusting that Christ forgives us. We cannot be good enough, we cannot be sheep enough, we cannot help people enough, we cannot earn our way into heaven, so alleluia for Christ the King, who has saved us. Whew, what a relief!

Christ the King has snatched us from the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Christ the King takes his place on that throne called the cross to save us. From the cross, Christ says, “Because you are hungry and thirsty and a stranger and naked and sick and in prison, I die for you.”

Christ the King dies to give us life, and Christ the King empowers us to care for the needy.
Further, because Christ the King has saved us by dying for us, we can help people in need without worrying about reward. Feed the hungry, visit the sick, welcome the stranger. Why? To get a reward? No, Christ has earned the reward for us by dying on the cross. Ephesians 2:8 and 9 tells us that we are saved by grace through faith, not by the good deeds we do. So why should we care for people in need? Because God wants us to, and because, when we do so, we help God himself.

Mother Teresa cleans the pus-filled, bloody sores of the sick man lying in the street. The sores stink and run. Disgusting. A reporter mutters, “I wouldn't do that job for a million dollars.”

Mother Teresa replies, “Neither would I.”

Christ has cared for us, has saved us. He then sends us out to care for others, not for reward, but because that is what God wants us to do. Further, when we help people in need, we help God himself.

For this new Church year, what is some new way you could help people in need? What new deed could I do? What could St. James do?

“I wouldn't help human beings for a million dollars.”

From the cross, Jesus says, “Neither would I.”