Can You See Me Now?

November 20, 2011 23rd Kingdomtide – Christ the King

Ezekiel 34:11 – 16, 20 – 24; Matthew 25:31 – 46

Can you see me now?

Before We Know It.

Wow. Can you believe that it's almost Thanksgiving? I can hardly believe how quickly time has flown by. And can you believe that next week is the first Sunday of Advent? That means Christmas is coming. I love the season of Christmas. Somehow, I seem to feel closer to people during the Christmas season even more so than all the other times of the year. Maybe, it's because we spend more time together, sharing our food, our time, our gifts and our joy. Christmas is a joyful celebration of our hope in the coming of Jesus Christ.

We as Christians hold certain beliefs about Christmas. We believe that God became a human person, was born into our world to the Virgin Mary. We believe that Jesus lived until he was a young adult, died, and rose again. And we also believe that Jesus ascended into heaven and is now with God, but one day Jesus will come again.

This season of Advent is a four-week time of preparation when we consolidate all of our hopes that Christ is coming again. Even though Christmas speaks of remembering the birth of the Savior, the wonderful gift God gave all of humanity, it is also a time of celebration and expectation of Christ's return.

Jesus and Signs

Matthew in his Gospel, chapter 24 and 25 gives us some of the details that Jesus spoke about as he talked about the day when he would come again. The disciples were curious, just like we are today, about the signs of those times. They had asked Jesus about it, and Jesus told them about the wars, the false prophets, the famines, pestilences, earthquakes, and how these would be signs of his imminent return. But, the signs were just that, signs. Jesus explained that no one except God in heaven knows the actual moment.

Not too many days after giving the disciples this explanation, Jesus was dead. The disciples had seen that event as well as witnessed his resurrection. Luke, in Acts 1 gives us the last glimpse the disciples had of Jesus. The last glimpse was of him being taken from their sight. From that day until this, Jesus has been with God.

But the 33 years Jesus spent with people is not the end of Jesus’ time on earth. He will spend more time here. Just as the two men said to the disciples on the day of Jesus’ ascension…” This same Jesus, who was taken from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw him go” (Acts 2:11). Jesus is coming back, and it could be at any moment.

Anticipation

We look forward to that day. We are not so different from the ancient Jews who constantly hoped for and looked for their Messiah to appear. As their suffering worsened, the more they hoped. Hope is a curious thing. It’s somewhat of a paradox. The worse things get, the greater we cling to the promises God has given us in Christ, and the more we hope for Christ to appear.

Hope is also a present reality. Today is Christ the King Sunday when we celebrate and give thanks for Jesus. It is appropriate that we look back to the past, consider the present, and look forward to the future. In all of these times and places Jesus has been, Jesus is, and Jesus will be present offering grace and hope to us all.

The present is affected by past events. Who among us has not had a past which has brought us spiritually to where we are today? The most important event to us is the birth, life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. That event made salvation possible including our own. What Jesus did was God's universal work to bring about the restoration of the world.

The present is also shaped by how fully we live in Jesus Christ today. One response to the great gift of salvation in Christ is to live in readiness for Christ's return. The parable of the talents (our lesson from last week) highlighted the way we are to live and prepare for that day. The lesson was that we must live boldly, fearlessly and in constant trust of what God will enable us to accomplish for the kingdom.

Today’s Lesson

The scripture we read today is about judgment day. Told in the everyday jargon of the Judean people, with symbols and images they could relate to, Jesus shows the outcome of judgment using the image of how a shepherd separates sheep and goats; one going one way and one going another.

In the reading from the Old Testament book of Ezekiel, the writer also uses a shepherd metaphor in describing how God will seek, save and feed God’s sheep…through establishing one shepherd over his flock. John tells us in his Gospel that Jesus is that good shepherd (John 10:14). God did just as God said. God established Jesus as the good Shepherd of his flock, whom God sent to save and to judge.

Here in Matthew Jesus explains that at the judgment the nations will be separated as a shepherd separates his flocks. Traditionally shepherds separated their flocks in the evening just before the end of the day. The shepherd – judge in this passage places sheep on his right and goats on his left. The spiritual message that this passage conveys, and that Jesus explains, it is that those on the right (sheep) are considered righteous, and those on the left (goats) are not. The passage also conveys that each will be judged. The righteous are rewarded, and the unrighteous receive punishment.

Christians today sometimes don't like to contemplate Jesus as the righteous judge. We prefer to see Jesus only as the good Shepherd, loving us, feeding us, healing us, carrying us and laying down his life for us. Why is it that we avoid this issue of judgment?

As I said earlier, the present is shaped by how fully we live in Jesus Christ. And how we live today will affect the end, our end, the judgment that we face. Perhaps then, when we take stock of ourselves, honestly take stock…well maybe that why we avoid talking about the judgment. Honesty with ourselves and God will often reveal our un-repented sins. Not fun. Something to avoid.

But there is good news. Jesus is the good shepherd…and also the righteous judge. Paul tells us in second Corinthians 5:10 that we all will face judgment. Peter says that ”all will give account before the one who is to judge the living and the dead” (2 Peter 4:5). All means all. Whether we are Christians or non-Christians, none of us will avoid the judgment.

At present however, the judgment that Jesus is talking about in the passage we read today is still in the future. But we can't forget that it does have a present reality that we need to pay attention to. What I mean by that is that the way we act today, will affect that moment in time when we stand before the judgment of the Lord.

Remember how I said earlier that Jesus ascended into heaven. Well, if it wasn't Jesus who had said it, we could certainly find a paradox in the passage. Jesus in fact has identified himself as being with us here on earth.

When Jesus explained the judgment he gave us a way to understand what to do in order to find ourselves in the sheep pen rather than in the goat barn. It had to do with how we treated…well how we treated Jesus. You may say…preacher I think you said Jesus is in heaven with God. But, is he?

Seems as though a key to righteousness before the Almighty has everything to do with how we treat who Jesus refers to as the least of these. Jesus identifies himself with those who are hungry and thirsty, the stranger, the sick, the naked, and the imprisoned. In other words, Jesus is saying that whenever we see people who are suffering, then we are seeing Jesus. It is how we respond then to Jesus…that is, Jesus who is in them that will determine how we are judged.

Seeing Jesus

I remember couple years ago there used to be a Verizon commercial on TV. I'm sure you remember it. A Verizon technician would carry his cellular phone from place to place and ask the question: can you hear me now? Remember that?

Well, today let's use that idea. Think about another question and how well we are able to see Jesus. The question we will ask is this: can you see me now? The one Jesus is walking around asking us. Imagine for a moment that Jesus has hidden himself somewhere. Jesus has hidden himself in plain view, somewhere that you will be able to see him if you are looking in the right place. Think about those pictures they have in the Charlotte Observer sometimes, the ones where there's only the slightest difference between them, and to solve the puzzle, or to find the difference you must really look closely at both pictures.

Since Jesus has informed us that he is in those who suffer, where should we look for him? I must admit that those of us who live in this country, have a more difficult time in seeing those who suffer. Occasionally we may run across a homeless individual, or a needy child, or a family whose home has been burned. Unless you are a teacher or social worker, I venture to say that most of us here don't often see those who are deeply suffering. I know you would agree with me when I say, we live insulated lives.

Most of the time, our contact with people who suffer comes primarily through the words and images of others, people who are up close and personal. That of course is certainly one way to become aware of Jesus in those who suffer.

Pisgah UMC has for many years used this way of seeing Jesus in the faces of those who suffer. When you know about or are show the details about a ministry, mission, or critical need, you have always stepped up and given from your resources to help those who suffer. From the children who bring their quarters, dimes and dollars to this little church, to those of you who contribute directly to the Bonnie Murray benevolence fund, to the whole worshiping congregation who gathers a special monthly mission offering…you are generous.

Here comes the hard question. Is sending our money enough? Some of us may think that's certainly that should be enough, if of course we can be sure that the money goes to the place that’s it’s intended to go to.

Others of us may think that no, it's not enough, that it's also important to go and actually visit, actually serve, actually give something face to face and hand-to-hand. There is no wrong answer, because both are very important. Ministries do need money, and ministries also need volunteers.

In our Scripture this morning, Jesus talks about those who were cast out; those who at the judgment had missed seeing Jesus, and by doing so failed in their responsibilities as lovers of God. When you and I can't see Jesus in those who suffer, we also run a great risk in failing to give love to Jesus.

I know that is not our desire. Our desire is to know Jesus, to care for Jesus, and to love Jesus with our whole hearts, minds, strength, and resources.

The Challenge

So today I am issuing a challenge to all of us. As we continue giving from our resources, I am also challenging every single one of us to become more involved in more tangible ways. Hands-on ministry.

· Volunteer somewhere: Christian ministries, Hospice, Hesed House (Homeless shelter), UMAR, Amy's house, crisis pregnancy center, volunteer at any place where your passion might be.

· Visit someone who is shut-in, sick, in the hospital, rest home, or someone.

· Adopt another family or person for Christmas, invite them for Christmas dinner.

· Become a mentor at an elementary school.

· Adopt a rest home resident.

There are really more ways to see Jesus then we know. Let’s look for him, and do unto him…with love.

Amen.