By Rev. Rhonda Thorndale
Matthew 25: 31-46
We’re on the cusp of a New Year. It’s New Year’s Eve. What an exciting time in the church calendar. Next week we will start a new lectionary year, we begin to prepare for the coming of the Christ child as we enter the four week waiting period of Advent. Today we celebrate the end of the church year. A little different order than our household calendars.
Today is also called the Reign of Christ Sunday, and we are reminded that Jesus' teachings are not just about his divinity, but about the kind of world we are called to create. A world where love, justice, and compassion reign supreme.
In the parable of the sheep and the goats, Jesus teaches us that our faith is about how we live with kindness and respect for all others. It's about recognizing the divine in every person we meet, especially those who are marginalized and oppressed. I wonder if we reflect on our own lives and our communities how we would answer these questions:
Where are we seeing the reign of Christ in our world?
Where are we experiencing love, justice and compassion?
And where are we being called to work towards a more just and equitable world?
Jesus’ teachings are there to inspire, to reflect these values, to guide us by empathy and compassion. They strengthen us to continue to work for a brighter future for all.
As we consider this reign of Christ Sunday, we are reminded that it is not a distant or future reality, but a present and ongoing one. The reign of Christ is already here, as is our work of making it a reality for all people and our world.
I remember a time when I volunteered at a church soup kitchen. One of the guests, a man named John, struck up a conversation with me. As we talked, I learned that John had been struggling with homelessness for months and was feeling desperate and alone. But as we shared a meal together, I saw the dignity and worth in John's eyes, and I was reminded of the importance of treating every person with kindness and respect. This experience taught me that the reign of Christ is not just a future reality, but a present and ongoing one, and that we are called to live it out.
By finding inspiration in Jesus' teachings we have tools to build a world that reflects God's reign. We can be guided by the principles of compassion, empathy, and kindness, and be strengthened by our faith community to continue working towards a brighter future for all.
Thinking about what to say today, I recall a powerful experience I had while visiting a First Nations community in Victoria, with the Craigflower people. I had the privilege of attending a traditional ceremony, where the elder spoke about the importance of living in harmony with the land and with one another. As I listened to the elder's words, I was struck by the deep wisdom and spirituality of the people. And I was reminded of the importance of reconciliation and healing between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples and this was back in the 70’s. The experience opened another window for me, teaching me that the reign of Christ is not just about the individual, but about communal healing and restoration.
There are countless ways that people are living out the reign of Christ in their daily lives. I think about the single mother who works multiple jobs to provide for her family, yet still finds time to volunteer at the local food bank. I think about the retiree who spends his days visiting seniors in care homes, bringing joy and companionship to those who are lonely. And I think about the young person who is passionate about environmental justice and is working tirelessly to raise awareness and advocate for change. These individuals, and countless others like them, are living out the reign of Christ in their daily lives, often without even realizing it.
As we consider the parable of the sheep and the goats, we are reminded that our actions have consequences. We are reminded that the way we treat others reflects our faith. And we are reminded that we are called to be agents of love, justice, and compassion in the world.
Separation, judgment, and punishment – welcome to church this morning… it could be thought of a pretty harsh scripture that Adam read.
So, what do you make of it? Is Jesus separating the good from the bad? Is Jesus saying some are welcome and included in the kin-dom while others are rejected and excluded? And if he is, are you in or out, a sheep or a goat?
I suspect many would say yes, that’s exactly what he’s doing. That’s often how this text has been interpreted or maybe, misinterpreted. And too often that’s how we live. We separate ourselves from those who look, act, believe, live, and do differently from us. Look at all the ways that is happening our country today – politics, race, immigration, wars, the economy. And the list goes on.
It’s not just happening at the national level, however. It’s also local and personal.
I wonder if we’ve misunderstood what’s happening when Jesus separates. Jesus doesn’t always see things as we do. Maybe his purpose is the exact opposite of how we see separation.
What if, for Jesus, separation is not the same as exclusion? What if separation is a necessary and creative part of life?
From the time we are born we are learning how to separate and make separations. It’s a natural and necessary part of life and growing up. A newborn experiences himself or herself as one with the world. They cry and our response is food, a dry diaper, cuddles and coos. Then one day baby cries and we take too long, and baby begins to experience his or her separation from their tiny world.
My youngest grandson, a 2-year-old, is learning about separation and not always impressed by it. Doing things without mom or dad by his side is not always easy…going to play school, leaving his parents at the door has been a struggle, but once they are out of sight, he loves it. That little one is discovering some autonomy, individuality, and a new life. But it doesn’t end there.
There are struggles, arguments, and difficulties in growing up. It was a time of separating from parental authority, social norms, and beginning to discover our place in the world.
What about leaving home to go to school, starting work, getting married, retiring. That’s more separation that is about creating a new life and a new way of being.
Every choice we make involves a separation. The only question is whether that separation is life giving or life taking. I wonder if that’s the difference between the sheep and the goats.
Separation is at the center of creation and life. And I wonder if that’s what Jesus is talking about in today’s gospel, separating in order to bring about a new creation, a new life, a new way of being, in you and me? It’s not about sheep or goats, but it is about sheep and goats.
No one is all sheep or all goat. Who here has ever given food, water, or clothes to someone in need, visited someone in the hospital or jail, welcomed a stranger? You are a sheep. Who here has driven past the guy on the corner holding a sign that says, “Homeless and hungry,” or turned away from a stranger? You are a goat.
I’ve done both. So, are we sheep or goats? We are both. There are parts of our lives that are sheep-like and other parts that are goat-like. I don’t know about you but it’s a whole lot easier for me to see and focus on the goat-like parts in others than in myself. Yet everyone, including us have wounded, fearful, self-betraying, and hurting parts in ourselves. They need growth, healing, and transformation. Let’s not deny, ignore, or run from the goat-like parts of our life. They can be places of hope, growth, new possibilities, and more life.
We can take Jesus' teachings to heart and strive to be the sheep who care for the least of these. May we be willing to take risks and challenge the status quo in order to create a more just and equitable world, guided by the principles of love, justice, and compassion as we continue on this journey.
In the words of the United Church of Canada's Statement of Faith: "We are called to be the Church: to celebrate God's presence, to live with respect in creation, to acknowledge our brokenness, and to proclaim the healing love of God."
Let this Reign of Christ Sunday be a reminder of our call to live out our faith in the world, and to work towards a brighter future for all, including ourselves. Remembering that separation can be life giving or life taking, the choice is ours. But also remember we can be strengthened by the knowledge that we are not alone in this work but are part of a global community of Christians who are committed to living out their faith and who are working together to build a brighter future for all, where love, justice, and compassion reign supreme.
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