The Reign of Christ Year A November 23, 2014
Luther Memorial Church Seattle, WA
The Rev. Julie G. Hutson
Ezekiel 34: 11-22 + Psalm 95 + Ephesians 1: 15-23 +
Matthew 25: 31-46
Grace and peace to you from Jesus Christ, whose reign is one of justice, mercy, and love. Amen.
For those of us who wonder how we choose the Scripture readings each Sunday, the answer is: We Don’t. They were chosen for us many many years ago and are found in a 3 year cycle of readings called the Revised Common Lectionary. It’s actually pretty interesting stuff and maybe one day I’ll do a forum class on how they all work together and how they were chosen. But suffice it to say, that every now and then, maybe more times than you might imagine….I get a GIFT of a text….a softball…..a GOLDEN chance to see once more how Scripture speaks to and lives with what’s happening in the world, or the life of this congregation. Every time I read the lessons for a Sunday I hear something new. I always read them out loud before I start studying them for sermon writing, because that’s how I hear that new thing, that living word. It’s why I don’t ever preach the same sermon – God’s word is living and active and new every day.
So for a congregation considering affordable housing for families at risk of homelessness….that’s us….for this congregation to have this Matthew 25 Gospel reading today. Wow. How fitting that we get these words straight from Jesus’ mouth. 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.
When we wonder what the project will look like/be like/feel like….or when we wring our hands about where we will park….these words from Jesus hit us right between the eyes: Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.
You might think I was going to preach about that text today. But I’m not.
Instead, or maybe in addition to, hear these words, beloved people of God at Luther Memorial to the beloved people of God at Ephasus, from Paul: I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason, I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that , with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you.”
Earlier this past week, I was chatting with Evelyn. Evelyn is the crossing guard at Broadview Thomsen, so she’s a fixture in the community…shepherding those children and their sometimes harried parents safely across Greenwood. Evelyn said something that took my breath away. She said “You all are the presence of God in this neighborhood.” She went on to talk about the families she watches walk a safe path through our garden, the people who garden and harvest, and the folks she knows who get their lunch here.
At that moment, as in many moments, I was filled with thanksgiving for the ways this community of faith lives in the kingdom of God. Because it is not always easy to live in the world in ways that both challenge the world and love the world. In ways that challenge the marks of empire: unjust leaders, the oppression of minorities, economic injustice, those who abuse power and in ways that love the world we live in, with its beauty, its gifts and the many people, ideals, and opportunities we give thanks for this week.
And so on this day, that is the final Sunday in the Church year, we consider what it means to live in the reign of Christ. Why it matters that we don’t just love the world and that we don’t just challenge the world, but that we participate in the work of the Kingdom. This Sunday is something like the Church’s New Year’s Eve. It is a chance for us to look back at what has been, to be grateful, to be thankful. And it is a chance for us to look forward with resolve and dedication. To hope that we will live deliberately as people of God’s Kingdom; as citizens of the reign of Christ.
This afternoon our confirmation students are going to talk about two topics in our confirmation class. We’re going to talk about Stewardship – what we do with what God has given us. And we’re going to talk about why it matters that we come to church. Why it matters that we are part of a community of faith.
And our assigned readings today are clear about how we steward what we’ve been given. The prophet Ezekiel asks pointed questions to the people of Israel about the ways they were living in the Kingdom. Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture? When you drink of clear water, must you foul the rest with your feet? And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet and drink what you have fouled with your feet? Because you pushed with flank and shoulder and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide.
God makes clear to the people of Israel what is and is not life in the Kingdom. Mistreating others, working for one’s own gain, not considering the needs of everyone, especially the weak and marginalized….that is not life in the kingdom. Life in the Kingdom is messy and complicated. But the people of God, the followers of the reign of Christ are called upon to participate in God’s justice making.
That feels really, really big. How can we, individually and as a single congregation, even dare to imagine that we can live in such a way that God’s kingdom is enlivened and enriched and furthered? Hear me say that although God can certainly bring the Kingdom into the world without us, God needs us for the kingdom to be more than it would be without us.
Because the BIG things of the Kingdom are often a series of small acts of love and mercy. The BIG UPSIDE DOWN news of the Kingdom is very often known in small things.
And that’s Matthew’s Gospel lesson today. The faithful are known by acts of basic hospitality: the feeding of the hungry and thirsty, clothing shared with those who have none, a word of welcome to the stranger, care of the sick, visiting those who are in prison. More than that, they did not offer these generous acts of kindness and caring because they hoped the Son of Man would put them at his right hand. They didn’t even know what they were doing. They asked Jesus: And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?
We are called to do the work of the Kingdom with what we have been given in response to God’s wide love and mercy for us. It’s Stewardship living. It’s living in the reign of Christ. And whether we are five years old or fifty five years old or somewhere north of seventy five years old….it is those things we do in the name of God and for the sake of those who are struggling and oppressed…..it is those acts that shine the light of Christ into a broken and hurting world.
And so as this Church year comes to a close, and as the American Thanksgiving holiday greets us this week I echo Paul’s words. I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ….this week I heard it from the school crossing guard.
And your love toward all the saints – toward those who are hungry, and those who are cold in these days, and those who are learning about their faith.
And for this reason, sisters and brothers, I do not cease to give thanks for you, as I remember you in my prayers. Amen.