Sheep? Goats? A Sermon on Christ the King Sunday
But Lord
when did we see you and not comfort you?
(pause)
It’s when we ignored the cries of a man on the street
who was only doing what he could for his family
as best he could
but the prejudice that has been built into the system
allows us as a society
to pass system against those
like Eric,
because of their skin,
and because they are worth nothing
allowing them to perish,
(pause)
Lord when did we see you and not be attentive to you?
(pause)
It’s when we pass judgement on someone
because they already are known to the police
Or they have a record
And even when they profess that they have done nothing wrong
With the way injustice has corrupted the system
And the laws that were initially created for a sense of balance
And impartiality,
we execute sentences upon Tamir and Michael
with no grace,
And a community weeps out
Bleeds out
for peace
(pause)
Lord when did we see you
And not share of ourselves?
(pause)
It’s when children are punished
and shamed
because they don’t have enough to pay for lunch
and the food is taken from them,
And suddenly,
Our human made morality
Gets in the way
Of living out the Gospel
Because somewhere we made it the practice
Of making an example of those,
Who don’t pull their economic weight,
So that we wouldn’t have to take responsibility
Or see Christ
In one another’s faces.
(pause)
Lord when did we see you,
And not stand for you?
It’s when we don’t think with the heart
that you planted within us
and instead it’s been uprooted by
It’s when because of the narrative that has been fed to us,
Because of governmental policies
We allow and approve
Through our inaction
Watching people separated by a wall,
As people try to keep their families together
Or try to create healthy communities and future for themselves
or as we watch people
be denied their humanity
because of the lack of mercy practiced
even when it is supposed to be embedded
in the tenet of their faith
(pause)
Lord when did we see you,
And not welcome you at the Table?
(pause)
It’s when we don’t pull up a chair
and offer of ourselves
and conversation
to someone who’s new in our community,
our schools,
our neighborhoods
because we have grown absent-minded
and selfish
believing that Jesus Christ is our own personal Lord and Savior,
believing that people should jump through hoops
to be accepted and invited
to come to the Table,
receiving God’s Grace,
when in fact,
It doesn’t matter what we do,
This
Flows from the One,
Who is the beginning and end
Without money
And without price.
(pause)
What message
Are we,
As a collective society emitting
When we erase
All aspect of hope,
From the lives of those
Who are struggling,
With trying to exist and be?
Especially when
People claiming, they are of faith
Stubbornly defend someone
Because of the pseudo power they perceive they have,
And that perhaps that same power and status,
Will be given to them?
(pause)
What message,
Do we ignore
the Cross,
In the theology of Cross
Where God creates
Something new,
A new covenant
Reminding us
That no matter what the pain,
Situation
Or suffering,
Jesus Christ
Stands in the midst
Empowering us
Towards the Liberation
That has been embedded
And born within us,
Because of God.
(pause)
Right before thanksgiving
I attended
AAR’s conference
Of theological discernment
And formation,
A critical time to be immersed in scholarship,
As I am sure
Members of our own community,
Such as Dr. Menn, and Dr. Krentz
And the Albrights
Have experienced.
(pause)
What I encountered
Was the abstract,
Moving into the concrete
Not for our own edification
But for the preservation
Of the wider expression
Of community.
That Monday,
Over 100 theologians, leaders and scholars gathered,
Making a physical and written stand
Against the violation of life,
Through what’s known as
The Boston Declaration.
It’s modeled after the Barmen Declaration,
Where Bonhoeffer and Barth, many others
Signed a document
Protesting Hitler,
And a system of racist eradication
Against their fellow siblings in Faith.
(pause)
Womanist theologian
The Rev. Dr. Pamela Lightsey stated
“Today, too many Christians are placing party politics
over the foundational teachings of Jesus.
They make excuses for racial hatred and sexual abuse…
This is the basest kind of tribalism that feeds hatred.
It is the opposite of love,
the opposite of Jesus’ teaching of love and mercy.”
(pause)
The Rev. Dr. Peter Goodwin Heltzel added,
“Far too many Evangelical Christians
have embraced the politics of exclusion,
exploitation,
and hatred,
such that the Good News of Jesus
has become a cover for a social and economic order
that can only be understood as bad news
for far too many.
Responding to Jesus’ courageous call
to love “the least of these” (Matt 25),
we need put our prayers into action with revolutionary love.”
(pause)
The question is,
What side will we be on?
Now I know
This picture before us in our Gospel this morning,
Because of this parable
About the obedient sheep
And
Disobedient goats
That sheep are meek
Mild
Follow without any fuss
Or question
And yes,
In the presence of the One,
Who commands death to cease
Releasing US
Because WE belong only to GOD
The One,
Who calls us
From that place
Of self-dejectedness
Into the light of righteousness,
Yes,
In the presence of Jesus Christ,
We will follow
Without question
Because in His presence
There is unending PEACE
And LOVE.
But sometimes,
When people flip Scripture
For ill gain,
Trying to quiet our righteous anger
Against the fallacy in this world,
Trying to tell us
To be like sheep,
So that they can continue the slaughter-
Sometimes,
We must practice disobedience,
We must reject the narrative
Separating the things of Christ,
From the things that are Anti-Christ
(pause)
Those things that are detrimental
In living fully
Into who we are,
Children of the Creator
Stewards of one another
Goats,
Should not be given a bad name.
It’s not about the labels
But the evils in this world,
That we,
As Children of God
Must separate away
Racism of all forms
Patriarchy that is not committed to the equality and the protection of all
Economic systems that favor one set of beliefs and hierarchy over others,
That drain our lives
Instead of sustaining it
Those,
Those if you want to name it
Are the goats
Selfishness,
Cruelty
Entitlement
(pause)
Those are the things that we should,
As followers,
Yes,
As sheep belonging to Jesus Christ,
Separate from
And run to
The One,
Who has the power to transform US
(pause)
The One
Who recognizes us,
Because even if people perceive us to be meek,
Mild,
We are always doing-
We try to organize ourselves
To share of what we have
Making meals
And having conversations
At many tables
With both college students
And those who are seemingly alone in this world.
We try to organize ourselves,
In places where public witnessing
Is shunned
And truth,
Is buried
Because of the responsibilities that comes with it
Of Mercy
And Love
Advocating for another chance,
For those who have broken relationships
Their communities trust
And sometimes, our collective heart
Have served their time
And now just need…grace.
We try to organize ourselves
Making sure that everyone has enough
Making sure everyone has the same basic needs met.
We are trying,
As people of faith,
With the understanding that the bond between us
And of God
Can never be broken,
And even though we can’t always do things perfectly-
That’s not what Christ was calling us to.
Christ simply called us,
To Love One Another,
And because of Love,
We would at least, try to do
What we can
Where we can.
That’s the Root of the Gospel
That, is the Good News
(pause)
Leaving AAR on Sunday afternoon,
And navigating Boston’s public transit system
I was aware of so many, many homeless people
And perhaps just as you,
We encounter them as we are rushing through life.
I saw a man holding his sign
Stating his hunger
And this Buddhist nun, in beautiful attire
Stopped to not only help him out
But she took time to have a conversation with him
I remarked inwardly that it seemed so easy for her to do this
And questioned why is it so hard
For many of us
To do the same
Or maybe,
Because in our own pleading
For the manifestation of Jesus Christ
To be before us,
For us to see God,
Instead
We see it in the eyes
Of the forgotten
And that frightens us,
And moves us,
To transformation.
Thanks be to God.
