If I gave
sermons titles, I’d probably title this one “The Maybes’ Surprise.” Although
maybe I wouldn’t since the title would sound a little like a tell-all
television show about a family of hillbillies.
Today’s Gospel though, is full of “maybes,”
those things that could be this or that, or something in between, or even
something completely different from anything we’ve thought about before. You
know, something that was a “maybe,” a possibility, becomes a surprise!
Many of
us are people leading ordered lives. We don’t like anything that disturbs the
order of our days even if the surprises turn out to be pleasant. We would
rather plan our days ourselves, without any interference from others and maybe
even without any surprises from God.
This parable of
the sheep and the goats is a parable that is a surprise. It’s a surprise full
of maybes. Did you notice that neither the sheep nor the goats knew when they
saw Jesus? One group responds, “Lord, when did
we?” The other group responds, “Lord, when didn’t
we?” Both groups are surprised when Jesus describes the outcome of their
behavior.
What do you
think both those groups are surprised about? Are those righteous ones surprised
they acted in a righteous way? And are those unrighteous ones surprised they
acted in an unrighteous way? Here come the maybes, right along with the
surprises: Maybe both groups are
surprised they failed to recognize Jesus. Maybe
both groups are surprised at where Jesus chooses to hang out and with whom: the
hungry, the naked, the sick, the imprisoned the unclean, the enemy. Maybe the reason both groups are
surprised is because they expected to see Jesus somewhere else.
Today is the
last Sunday of the Pentecost Season, a Sunday that has been known since the
1920s as the Feast of Christ the King, or the Reign of Christ. And when most of
us think of a king, we think of power and glory and might and wealth and all
that stuff that seems to go along with a King. And Jesus does, indeed, begin
his parable describing a king in glory on a throne waited on by angels. So even
that reinforces what we think and know about kings and power.
Yet the parable
shows this same royal person who notices the people who help and heal those who
are least important, least powerful, and least capable of helping themselves.
Maybe this parable asks us to look elsewhere than in places of power and glory
and might and wealth to see God. Maybe this parable asks us to redirect
ourselves and experience God in people and places we never have before.
Maybe this is
the parable in which Jesus tells us he will be with those that are least
important, least powerful, and least capable of helping themselves. Then maybe
Jesus is telling us if we want to experience the real power and glory and might
and wealth of God, we will look for those things where we think we are least
likely to find them. We will look among the least important people, the ones
with no influence or power, those that are helpless to help themselves, those
without resources to dig out of the pits they inhabit. And maybe we are called
to see God in our enemies, in those who differ from us morally, politically,
intellectually, physically, or in any other way.
Take a moment
to think about the maybes in your life. You know what they are, things like
this. Maybe I could surprise God and myself by speaking to that person I
disagree with at work. Maybe I could surprise God and myself by asking the
grocery clerk why she’s not wearing her usual sweet smile today. Maybe I could surprise
God and myself by asking that person I disagreed with so violently in the last
election if she or he would like to have a coffee. Maybe I would discover
things about the person that transcend politics. Maybe I could surprise God and
myself by foregoing my usual after church group and asking someone I don’t know
very well how they’re doing today. And maybe I could surprise God and myself by
listening, really listening to the person. Maybe I could surprise God and
myself by taking the money I usually spend on a Frappuccino every week and
adding it to my pledge. Because maybe, just maybe, God would be surprised that
I was listening! Imagine what you might learn about God, other people and
yourself.
Now here’s the surprise. You’ve done
things like this before. That means you can do those things again, or something
like those things again. You can actually go do those things you thought about
just now. And you can listen and wait to see how Jesus will ask you to make more
maybes and surprise God and yourself. And those are the things that help to bring
about God’s reign right here, right now.
Maybe this
parable isn’t about judgment but about mercy. Maybe that’s the Jesus we know holding
out his loving arms when we are the ones who are most broken, most needy, most
vulnerable, and least powerful. That’s the Jesus who shows us what to do for
the broken and needy, the vulnerable and least powerful. That’s the Jesus we
know and love and who loves us. AMEN.
©2017
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