Timothy Peoples Christ the King Sunday Wilshire Baptist Church 26 November :30 & 11:00 service Dallas, Texas A Great Awakening Matthew 25: 31-45

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1 Timothy Peoples Christ the King Sunday Wilshire Baptist Church 26 November :30 & 11:00 service Dallas, Texas A Great Awakening Matthew 25: Sandra and Kathy looked out at the area over populated with fast food restaurants and food deserts, and decided to create a place where any individual, no matter your income, could get a healthy and good meal. They decided to name it Shugga Hi. Recently, a grad student watched Sandra give breakfast to two young children walking to school. Sandra noticed the student whom she had seen many times before watching her interactions with the kids and made her way over to the student s table. She sat down as if they were old friends and said, We noticed these two children walking past our bakery on their way to school in the dark every morning. We adopted them. We call them Mr. and Mrs. President as we give them breakfast every morning. They need to know they can be anything they want to be when they grow up. And we need to feed them because they can t learn when they re hungry. And if we don t feed them and they can t learn, we re failing an entire generation. It s our responsibility. Jesus is sitting at the Mount of Olives sharing stories, parables to a crowd of eager folk. Telling stories about everyday things that take us to things eternal. Stories about everyday people and items but hold a message that gets us closer to the eternal God that we worship. But with most parables, sometimes we can miss the message. In Matthew 25, Jesus tells of three parables. The parable of the 10 bridesmaids, the parable of the talents and our parable for today about sheep and goats. And in each parable Jesus is giving us his insight. The unmarried Jesus sharing his knowledge about bridesmaids. The economically unsavvy Jesus giving his advice on investments. This roaming savior lending his voice on shepherding. Yet, in each of these parables Jesus alludes to the day of judgment and a punishment for those who do not follow or understand. Often, when reading Matthew 25 we focus on the judgment; we focus on the punishment. What if we read the text in a way that moves us into a space of holy assurance that empowers action more fitting in the kingdom which can shift the focus from a prospect of damnation to the possibility of participation in the coming kingdom of heaven and eternal life? 1 So, rather than judgment and death, why not consider Jesus is speaking not to the end but what we should be doing with our right now. Jesus is speaking of one of the greatest responsibilities we have in our Christian life. As usual, Jesus begins the parable with imagery that is well-known for those 1 Cynthia A. Jarvis & E. Elizabeth Johnson. Feasting on the Gospels--Matthew, Volume 2. ibooks.

2 who are listening. Sheep and goats. In Palestine, shepherds routinely had mixed flocks. And at night they separated the two. Sheep enjoyed open air of the pasture, while goats had to be protected from the cold. Sheep had much more commercial value and were preferred over goats. So, there is, of course, no question over who Jesus puts on his right or his left, but the question becomes am I a sheep or a goat? And Jesus begins to explain the difference. Those who are the blessed, the sheep. 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. I can imagine some in the crowd taking a sigh of relief. Because these were common acts of mercy within Jewish traditions. They followed Jesus around and heard him speak and even believed that they could do whatever he said. If Jesus was hungry and naked I would make some arrangements to help. He was a stranger but look at us now, we re on Instagram together! But I also imagine someone else in the crowd yelling out, Uh, Jesus, when have you been hungry or thirsty? I know your clothes are a little ragged but that's your own doing; when have you been naked? This is where the crowd got worried. The worry expressed is not at their being told that Christ Himself was the personal object of all their deeds: that they found Him hungry, and supplied Him with food: that they brought water to Him, and [quenched] His thirst; that seeing Him naked and shivering, they put warm clothing upon Him, paid Him visits when lying in prison for the truth, and sat by His bedside when laid down with sickness. And if I am honest, this is where I got worried, too. I feel like I can be honest with family and say, I m not too fond of this passage. Because conviction hits and I realize there are moments that I have chosen to be the goat. Maybe you have too. I will read the text, listen to the sermons and of course believe it but put no action into it. I will sing Savior like a Shepherd Lead Me, but do I really want Jesus to? The better question is, do I really want to see Jesus? This, my friends, is not a metaphor like most parables and neither is Jesus. When we overlook the hungry, the thirsty, the sick, the naked, the prisoner, when we overlook the least of these, we are overlooking God. A God who is in the midst the of ambiguity of human life. A God who is in all things including your neighbor, a stranger and even your enemy. A God in the vulnerable and the weak. A God in the faces we ignore. Paul Tillich points out, that it is only through encounters of another, the universe and the Ultimate Being God, when our soul will have its most intimate motions. We begin to understand essentially who we are and our essential participation in the world.

3 Until those encounters, we are estranged from who and what we are created to be. It seems as if it is time for an encountering and a great awakening. An awakening of the soul. Not too long ago, people piled into a room expecting a concert and they quickly found out they were having church. The raspy voice flowed through the speakers. Marcus Mumford seemed to be asking each one in the audience directly if they were living in true community, one where we confess our weaknesses and our doubts. The band Mumford & Sons is known for their lyrics of poetry and poise which suggest a life of hardship and loss and yet they haven't lost the hope of redemption. In their music, you may find a line from Shakespeare or even GK Chesterton. One journalist states, There s a refreshing absence of cynicism in their lyrics that provides a contrast to the dominant American attitude of entitlement, arrogance, and individualism it s the utter simplicity and wisdom of their message: life is dirty and hard, but we can persevere with integrity, humility, and community. Remember who you are, [is what] they seem to be saying. 2 Their song Awake My Soul, is influenced by a classic hymn, is a call to remember the bigger picture, to know that the metanarrative in which we live has meaning and yet the small, daily choices to love and serve others have meaning, too. 3 The song holds lyrics such as these: Lend me your eyes I can change what you see But your soul you must keep, totally free Awake my soul In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die And where you invest your love, you invest your life Awake my soul It s time for a great awakening; another great revival. Forget the big tents and the five-night services. It s a revival of the soul, an awakening on the inside. So that our beliefs will align with our actions. In the end, the two are not opposed. Action and belief become so intertwined that as faithful believers we move through life as those changed by the transformative spirit and word of God. We are awakened to invest our love and our life. And Jesus reminds us passage after passage where that investment must take place. We can always say that it is a social, political, or economic responsibility; but we must realize it is a personal responsibility, as well. In the midst of this whole following God thing there is a calling our lives, a responsibility to be met. 2 Braud, S. (2016, December 16). Awake My Soul. Retrieved November 29, 2017, from 3 Ibid.

4 In a world that seems too big to be changed, our lives have more meaning and value than we could ever imagine. And here is the thing, so often where we invest our love, we also invest our time, service, our gifts and even our pocketbook. As you sit here holding your pledge card for the All In campaign, I want you to remember we are a church who tries its best to be like this passage in Matthew 25. If you ever wonder or even hesitate a little, come find me, I have some folks you can speak with. Go find Robert Thiebaud and ask him about last week and the U-Haul full of food for families this thanksgiving. Go ask Mary Keller about the endless work she has put in at Gateway of Grace welcoming, loving, and supporting refugees here is Dallas. Ask Scott Spreier a few questions about the many times he has been in prison. Showing is support and working with each man so that when they get out they can have a better future. He is able to look at each individual and tell them they are worth much more than their worst act. If you ever hesitate or wonder, let me know and I have a few folks you can talk to. Because this is what we do as a church, as a community, as Christians called by God. We invest our life, our love, our time, and our service to building the kingdom of God as it is in Heaven. This is what we do. It s our responsibility! This past Summer I went to the Dallas Theater Center s premiere of Hood. It is a take on Robin Hood that is a little different than many we have probably seen before. While Robin is running from everything he has known, he lands himself in the middle of the forest. While there he encounters beggars, men foaming at the mouth and others who just seem a little on the crazy side. They end up asking him one of the most important questions of his life, Who is it that you need to be? Who is it that the forest needs you to be? As time continues we see that Robin has become the fighter for the least of those. And kings and rulers have put a price on Robin s head. One day while walking through the forest, he runs into a young boy who was crying. The boy informs Robin that his father had been killed by the authorities because they thought he was Robin Hood. The boy explained that he did not know why he was crying--his father beat him when he did bad and when he did good. Robin asked the boy his name and the boy says, All my old man has called me is Not Much so, I guess that's it. When he finds out he is speaking with Robin Hood, he pleads to join with Robin and tells him he is good with knives and fighting. Robin puts his hand on the boy s shoulder and looks him deep in the eyes and says, No longer shall you be called not much for you carry so many gifts within you. Today, you shall be called Much.

5 Y all, that's church. Only we have the power to tell another they are much; it s our responsibility. Despite what the world has put on them or even the terms they may be known, they are much. For we all are much, for we each carry the image of God. The hard part is just acting and living as if we do. Amen.