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Get on with it, you old goat! Matthew 25 31-46

HOW WOULD YOU RESPOND? Peter has always been known for having a robust energetic personality. He is a successful businessman and an active support of his church and community. He always projects confidence and optimism. He is 43 years old, has a good marriage and three children, one in college and two still living at home. You noticed that he has not been in church for a couple of months. He wife says that he has just been too busy with one thing or another. She says that nothing is wrong but she no longer wears the radiate smile that was once her trademark. A couple weeks latter, someone requests prayers for Peter and his family. The person says that Peter had been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease quite some time ago. The disease is advancing rapidly and doctors have told him he has only months to live. A few days latter, you learn through a mutual friend, that Peter is very depressed. The debilitating process of the disease is progressing and Peter does not want to go through any more suffering. Nor does he want his family to have to take care of him.1 How would you respond? Amy is the mother of school age children. She works as a teller at the bank and enjoys helping with the children's after-school-program and singing in the choir. Her husband only comes to church when the kids perform in a play or for a special dinner. He is an outdoorsmen and the weekends are his time for hunting, fishing or riding, whatever the season holds. His is known for having a volatile temper and spending a lot of time with his drinking buddies. Every so often, Amy does not show up for church on Sunday morning. She never gives a reason but you notice that her makeup is heavier than normal the next week. She seems to have frequent accidents. She had her arm in a sling for a couple of weeks and then she fell and bruised her ribs. One night you called her to ask her for help in putting on a special event and her voice sounded like she had been crying. She said that nothing was wrong. She told you she would get back with you but she has not called. What would you do? It would be real easy to express your concern to another person. Together you could sit and talk about you concern for Amy and Peter over a cup of coffee. You could discuss all the things that may be wrong and what they should do. It would be real easy to tell your pastor that you are real concerned and suggest that he should make a visit. It would be real easy to send a note offering your prayers and encouragement. SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES Have you ever considered that how serious God will judge your response? Judge, now that is a word we are not suppose to use in church today. It is not polite to be judgmental. The image of Jesus as judge is virtually incomprehensible to contemporary people. We prefer to see him as the good shepherd, a friend of children, the one who calms the storms and heals the sick. Jesus is a teacher and someone who could be our friend. The image of a stern black robed judge just seems out-of-sync with our expectations. Yet, today's gospel portrays Jesus in just that guise. At the end of time, when its all said and done, when all the nations of the earth will be gathered before the throne, The son of man will come and judge the living and the dead. Isn't that what we said in our creed, but do we believe it?2 I wonder what we would do differently, if we understood how serious God intended to judge our behavior. Children are very astute at assessing the seriousness of parental moods. All my girls knew exactly when my "No" meant, "I prefer that you do not do it but I am not going to do anything about it." And when my "No!" meant, "You do it and you will suffer serious consequences!" To make sure that his disciples understood the seriousness of his word, Jesus used symbols of sheep and goats to dramatize the critical nature of the pending judgement. Personally, I find both images unattractive. Sheep are helpless dull witted creatures. Their only real virtue is the commercial value of their wool and meat. I have difficulty meditating on the Scriptures that use this animal husbandry image. However, the people of Jesus day did not. They knew the difference between sheep and goats, and if they had to make a choice, they would prefer to be called sheep. They knew what goats were like-willful, ornery, unpredictable animals. The contrast is striking and Jesus employs it to make his point. There will come a time when the son of man will act like a shepherd and separate his sheep from the goats. Jesus is not trying to be subtle with the symbolism. His intention is strikingly obvious. All of humanity will find themselves as either one of the sheep or one of the goats. Jesus will say to the sheep, "Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Why? "...for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.(35, 36)" SIMPLE NOT MIRACULOUS While reflecting on those words I was first, struck by the simplicity of the expectation. Jesus was not demanding miracles from his disciples. An early church father notes that we do not hear, "'I was sick and you healed me, or I was in prison and you liberated me'." Disciples are not required to perform the big and the spectacular. We are called to perform the "little ministries" of caring and compassion through visitation and service. We are called to seek out the people who are in need of the basic necessities of life. Too often, we minimize the impact that we have on people's lives. We assume that we have nothing to offer them. We are not board certified doctors and nurse, so what can we offer the sick. We do not have a social work degree so how can we solve the long-term problems of the poor. We are not lawyers so how can we free a person in prison. A similar attitude was held by people toward drowning victims up until the 18th century. According to a sermon by John Wesley, people did not believe that anything could be done to revive someone who had stopped breathing after they had fallen in water. Their was also the theological matter of claiming to possess divine power by bring the dead to life. The first methods of resuscitating a drowning victim, according to Wesley, were developed by several prominent men in Holland. However, the practice did not become commonly used until it were actively promoted by the empress of Germany and the magistrates of Paris. In England a doctor had to form a society and pay people two guineas if they at least tried for two hours to revive a drowning victim and four guineas if they succeeded.3 It took a long time for people to believe that they could make a difference saving the life of another. I believe that one of the reasons Jesus includes these six simple deeds is because he recognized that everyone could do at least one of them and everyone of those simple deeds would make a profound difference in the life of another person. OUR OBLIATION Another thought that came to me during my reflection on the text was the obligation Jesus places on us to minister to a hurting world. Sometimes we think that God is only concerned about what we do. We assume that the law is a litany of prohibitions to limit our behavior. We presume that if we do not steal, or do not commit murder or do commit adultery we have lived a virtuous life. We have a difficult time accepting the notion that apathy and indifference in the face of suffering is just as great an offence to God as murder. People are suffering from loneliness, isolation, and hunger. They long for friendship and companionship. They yearn for people who will care, people who will affirm their dignity and human worth. I was reminded of this during two conversations that I recently had with a hitchhiker and with an elderly person. (Just a warning, you are wasting your time if you try to convince me after the worship service not to pick up hitchhikers. I know the danger and I am willing to take the risk because I take very seriously the OT commandments to assist the sojourner.) Anyway, when I first saw him I was not very impressed by his appearances. My first reaction was quite judgmental. Then I listened to his story about attending college and serving in Vietnam. He told me that he was a believer and the important role his faith had in getting him through difficult circumstances. Our conversation reminded me of another sermon by John Wesley that I had read just the day before. The Methodist preacher wrote, " "...One great reason why the rich, in general, have so little sympathy for the poor, is, because they so seldom visit them. Hence it is, that, according to the common observation, one part of the world does not know what the other suffers..."4 After I listened to Marty's story I had a better understanding of his pain. I had more sympathy. The second person with whom I visited was Maria Baugh. Last week I served communion to the residents at Highline that meet for a Bible study led by Jay Plumb. After communion, Maria shared her frustration. She is going blind and losing her hearing. She is being isolated from the world around her. She is being cut off from life. You and I have an obligation to sit with people like Maria Baugh because our simple presence reminds them that they are still loved by God. CONCLUSION One Sunday evening a large church held a special choral concert and had the service broadcast live on local radio. The lay leader welcomed everyone and then set the theme for the evening with a grand introduction. There was a long pause. The choir director was holding his baton at his side waiting for the tenors to get ready. The lay leader's anxiety began to rise knowing that there would be nothing but silence on the radio time. Forgetting that his microphone was still on and that he could be still be heard in the sanctuary and over the airwaves, the lay leader, mumbled in exasperation, "Get on with it, you old goat!" Later that week, the church got a letter from one of its listeners. He was an elderly  man who had tuned on his radio to listen to the music from the comfort of his easy chair. When he heard "Get on with it, you old goat!" he took it as a message from God to get busy doing God's work.5 Let those who have ears hear!!! 1. Adapted from a story told by Joretta L. Marshall "Caring When it is Tough to Care," Religion-Online. 2. William H. Willimon, "Jesus Our Judge," Pulpit Resource, Vol. 27. No. 4. 3. John Wesley, "True Righteousness," Sermon No. 99, text from the 1872 edition 4. John Wesley, "Visiting the Sick," Sermon No. 92, text from the 1872 edition 5. King Duncan, Dynamic Preaching, Copyright 1999 by Seven Worlds Corp.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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