Community Church Sermons
November 23, 2008
Pentecost
28 – “Reign of Christ”
Matthew 25:31-46
Today is the Sunday before Thanksgiving and we want to wish all of you a joyful and blessed holiday. And I want you to know that you have helped over 400 other families have a happy Thanksgiving as a result of your generosity through our annual Turkey Hunt. More than $10,000 was raised this year, and the great people of the Good Samaritan Center of Loudon County and Good Shepherd Center of Monroe County are hard at work putting together nice baskets full of good things including a turkey and all the trimmings. Thank you for loving our neighbors!
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Obviously, the food has something to do with my love for the day. But, more importantly, the motive that runs under this holiday appeals to me. Thanksgiving is not a day for getting stuff. It is a day focused entirely on giving thanks.
Now our scripture text today may not seem to fit the joy of this holiday, ending as it does with the words, “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
It is the famous judgment scene that Jesus painted at the end of his ministry. Anybody who thinks that salvation is about what you believe needs to read and re-read this passage because Jesus makes it very clear that salvation is based upon what you DO. In fact, the Bible is very clear in teaching that what you DO with your life is the truest reflection of what you actually BELIEVE. Do you understand? As James 2:18 says, “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.”
And so Jesus assembles all the nations in this judgment story – and it is just a story, you know, intended to motivate us to be faithful - and Jesus says to some, “Come, ye blessed of my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”
And in the story, these people Jesus is applauding react to this reward by saying, “Say what? When did we ever see you hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick, in jail…and help you?”
And then Jesus speaks those amazing words that we all need to memorize and build our lives around: “Whatever you did for the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you did for me.”
And the end of the story is not a prediction of what will happen on judgment day, but a warning to us all about what COULD happen; that not caring for the least of the brothers and sisters of Jesus puts us on the outside looking in on the beautiful kingdom of God.
I love this story, just like I love Thanksgiving. It is a story of thanks! The words of Jesus here are not really intended to focus our attention on those who are faithless. No, the emphasis, the heart, the key to the passage is centered on those who are FAITHFUL! And don’t you love how surprised they are when they hear the King say, “You’ve done a great job with your lives! Come on in!”?
Sometimes, when religious people think of Judgment Day, they think of God punishing the world for all that’s gone wrong. But today, Jesus gives us a different slant - that Judgment Day is the day when God reveals all that went RIGHT!
Which brings me to A.J. Jacobs.
Do you recognize the name? A.J. Jacobs is an editor with Esquire magazine, and quite a prolific writer on subjects that require him to take on the very interesting role of a human guinea pig. For instance, A.J. once wrote an article on the subject of “outsourcing” which is an important trend in business today. Outsourcing is why, when you call the support line for your American computer, you speak to someone in Bangladesh! We ALL know about outsourcing.
But to explore the full impact of outsourcing, A.J. decided to outsource his life! He actually hired a team of people in Bangalore, India to live his life for him for a month – answer his emails, answer his phone, argue with his wife, even read bedtime stories to his son! Then he wrote an article for Esquire describing the experience. It’s called, “My Outsourced Life.” Another article you might be interested in is one called, “I Think You’re Fat!” which describes his experiment with living for a month practicing radical honesty! He says it was the worst month of his life!
But what I really want to share with you about today is A.J.’s most recent book, “The Year of Living Biblically.” As an agnostic Jew, A.J. wanted to find out why religious people are religious, and so he decided to spend a year of his life literally following every rule of the Bible – from the Ten Commandments, to not wearing clothes of mixed fibers, to not shaving his beard, and even to stoning adulterers. You need to go and get this book to find out about how A.J. did that! He says that, at the start of the year, he sat down and made a list of every rule, every guideline, every suggestion, every nugget of advice he could find in the Bible. The list ended up being 72 pages long, with more than 700 rules!
Bob Puckett recently emailed me a YouTube video of A.J. speaking to a group of people about the things he learned through his year of living biblically. One of the most important discoveries, A.J. said, was about…giving thanks.
Thou shalt give thanks!
The Bible commands us over and over again to give thanks. And so A.J. Jacobs did – he gave thanks for meals, for home, for family – all the things people usually give thanks for. He gave thanks throughout the day, and he says the practice of thanksgiving began to shift his entire perspective and even made him feel more positive and happier about life.
And then A.J. stepped into a deeper dimension of thanksgiving. He started giving thanks for all the little things that went RIGHT each day – the train into Manhattan showing up on time, ink flowing from his pen when he started to write, not tripping and falling down when he went up the stairs, how comfortable the couch was when he sat down.
He says the experience of giving thanks for all the little things that went right each day, for everything that worked the way it should, gave him a deeper appreciation that in a typical day when one or two things go wrong for us, there are a million things that go right!
And isn’t that true? Why, the sun came up this morning! The alarm clock went off on time! The coffee smelled so good! There was hot water in the shower. The car started right up and – at least so far today – a deer didn’t hit you! The new knee you got worked well enough to get you to church this morning! A friend said, “Hello!” You found a seat, Marty didn’t select any newfangled hymns, Bob Puckett remembered to turn on his microphone!
Give thanks!
Can you possibly add up all the things that go right every day? What a wonderful discipline it would be to try, and then – at the end of the day to recite them all to God and give thanks! Do you realize how your life is filled up and overflows with things that work and go right every day?
There is more stuff that works in your life than doesn’t. There is more good than evil in this world. There are more people who are doing a great job fulfilling Jesus’ words in Matthew 25 than those who are not!
Let me illustrate that. Is there anyone here today who has cared for the least of Jesus’ brothers and sisters in the way he describes in the story? Is there anyone here today who has seen someone hungry and provided them something to eat – or someone thirsty and you gave them something to drink – or someone who was a stranger and you welcomed them – or someone who needed clothes and you gave them some – or someone who was sick and you took care of them – or someone in a prison and you visited them?
If you have done any of those things for Jesus’ brothers and sisters, would you raise your hand?’
Look how many of you are living out Matthew 25! Well done, faithful servants! For Jesus says, “whatever you did for the least of these, my sisters and brothers, you did for me! Come on in to the Kingdom of God!”
So give thanks today for the hundreds of millions of people who are faithfully living the good news of God’s love as Jesus describes it in Matthew 25! Give thanks for the thousands of things that work and go right in your life and in our world every day!
It was Thanksgiving Day and Mrs. O’Malley looked wistfully out the front window of her house as the Smith family next door piled into their minivan to drive to the big Turkey Day football game. A tear fell from her eye as she remembered how wonderful it was when her family was all together for the holiday. But now the kids were grown with families of their own and lived in other parts of the country, and Ed – her husband – had died earlier that year. As she watched Bill and Mary Smith drive away with their two children it struck her how very alone she was on Thanksgiving. With memories running strong - of the aroma of roasting turkey, and fresh-baked apple pies, and the sound of her family’s laughter – she trudge out to the kitchen and opened the freezer door to see what she would have for Thanksgiving dinner. There were the Swanson’s Frozen Turkey TV Dinners that she had gotten on sale – buy 4, get one free. And as proud as she was of getting a good bargain, Mrs. O’Malley felt a great sorrow as she stood there staring into the freezer. So this is what life has come to, she thought – from a beautiful Thanksgiving feast with my family gathered around to a Swanson’s Frozen Turkey TV Dinner eaten all by myself. She suddenly lost her appetite. She swung the freezer door shut and went to take a nap.
Meanwhile, the Smith family watched their son’s high school football team win their big rivalry game, and – overflowing with the joy of victory – returned home for Thanksgiving dinner. It was cold outside and it was good to get home. Mary Smith was glad she’d put the turkey in the oven before leaving for the game. It would be just about done by now, and she’d have time to get all the other things ready before Bill carved the bird. But as soon as Mary came through the door, she knew something was wrong. There was no smell of roasting turkey! Rushing to the kitchen, she soon realized why! She had forgotten to turn on the oven!
“Mama, I’m so hungry!” piped up little Sally. “I could eat a horse!” chimed in Tommy, the football player. But poor Mary Smith was in a panic! It would be hours before the turkey could be ready!
Then came the ring of the doorbell. “Oh, just what I need - company!” muttered Mary Smith. But when Bill opened the front door, it was just Mrs. O’Malley who had awakened from her nap just as the minivan pulled into the driveway. She had made a lovely floral centerpiece for her neighbors and had come to deliver it.
“Happy Thanksgiving!” Mrs. O’Malley beamed.
Mary Smith burst into tears.
“Mary, what’s the matter?” Mrs. O’Malley asked. “Honey? What’s wrong?” asked Bill Smith. “Mom, when are we going to eat? I’m starved!” chirped little Sally.
And then Mary Smith told them what had happened.
“Does this mean we’re not going to have Thanksgiving?” Tommy asked.
“Son, I think it means we’re not going to have turkey for Thanksgiving,” answered Bill Smith.
And just then, a thought came to Mrs. O’Malley.
“I happen to have five Swanson’s Frozen Turkey TV Dinners sitting in my freezer. Would you like to have Thanksgiving with me?”
“Oh no…” Mary Smith started to say, but was interrupted by her children who thought it was a great idea! “What actually is a Swanson’s Frozen Turkey TV Dinner anyways?” asked little Sally as she buttoned up her coat and took Mrs. O’Malley’s hand.
“Well,” said Mary Smith, “if you’re supplying the turkey, let me bring along the apple pie. At least I didn’t mess that up!”
And so they had a beautiful Thanksgiving - Mrs. O’Malley and her neighbors, the Smiths. Sally and Tommy both thought the Swanson’s Frozen Turkey TV Dinners were the best turkey dinners they’d ever had! “Mom?” asked Sally, “Can we have Swanson’s Frozen Turkey TV Dinners EVERY Thanksgiving?”
That night as Bill and Mary Smith went to bed, Bill said, “Funny how today worked out okay, huh?”
Mary said, “It was better than okay. It was wonderful, Bill. What started out as a disaster ended up with so many good things - a really happy Thanksgiving.”
Across the way, Mrs. O’Malley knelt on her ancient knees by the side of her bed. She folded her hands and bowed her head to pray. In silence, she thought about all the gifts God had brought into her life that day – the children, Bill and Mary, the laughter and conversation they shared, the delicious apple pie they ate, and yes, even those five Swanson’s Frozen Turkey TV Dinners she’d gotten on sale the other day, buy 4 and get one free.
And as she thought about all those little things that somehow went right that Thanksgiving Day, Mrs. O’Malley whispered a simple prayer to God.
“Thank you!”
As this new week begins, I invite you to give thanks!