Today is Christ the King Sunday, the last day of the church year. Christ is King! God as king makes me think of God, up in the sky, far away from us and life here on earth. We want to be close to God and experience peace, joy, and the blessings of knowing Him. So how do we get close to God?
When I think of a King, I think of someone with a lot of money, palaces, and you have to bow or curtsy to them and show them a lot of respect. Kings used to be very powerful, but there are not many kings like that anymore. The King of Saudi Arabia has a lot of power. The Queen of England doesn’t have much political power, but she is very wealthy.
There are different kinds of kings. What kind of king is Jesus? What does it mean to serve him? Well Jesus talked about the kingdom of God. What is that kingdom like? Well, it is God’s kingship. If people follow God, they live under God’s kingship. It’s a kingdom without borders, and without a common language. It’s a kingdom of the heart, a kingdom of conscience. It’s an invisible kingdom.
Last week Jesus said the kingdom of God is like a master who entrusts valuable talents with his servants and expects them to do something with what he gives them.
So, God expects something from us. He wants us to be saved and put our faith in Him. But that’s not all. There’s this kingdom thing, the kingdom of God, that goes along with a relationship with God.
So, in today’s reading from Matthew, Jesus is the King who comes on the clouds with his angels and sits on a glorious throne to judge people at the end. He seems like a king; he makes a great entrance. He separates the nations into the sheep and the goats. The sheep are the ones who got it right. The goats God is not so happy with. I apologize to the goat lovers.
The King says to the sheep, Come, inherit the kingdom. Matthew 25: v. 35-36 Jesus says, “For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me.”
The sheep, the righteous people, were surprised! They said in v. 37-39 “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?”
The King says, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
If you were one of Jesus’ followers, this story sounded odd and really different from the world you knew! People knew how kings lived, and kings were never hungry or in need of clothes. Whenever they needed something, they could just take it from any of their subjects. They had power, they had all they needed. But Jesus is saying: God identifies with and really cares about the least of all people. God is especially pleased: not when you kneel or bow to Him and treat Him as a king. God is pleased with you when you make good things happen for the least of all people.
This is turned upside down. The Son of Man in the gospel today, starts off coming in his glory and sitting on a glorious throne, like a typical king. But he turns out to be closest to you, at the very moment that you get close to the lowest of all people. God is never far, when you’re helping people in need.
This story turns the way we think of life upside down. We would like to make it in life. I would like to live like a king, never be in need, and always have plenty. We would like to live a very comfortable life. God says the kingdom of God is not about you taking the throne. It’s about you descending to the bottom and helping people there. When you’re there, you’re never far from God.
Back to the sheep and the goats, the king has some harsh words for the goats, the unrighteous people: he says in vs. 41-43 “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger, and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.” Ouch, that stings!
In vs. 44-45 “They also answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’”
Jesus was teaching a radical new way of viewing the world. Jesus, our King, would not get a palace and live a lavish lifestyle. Instead he would give his life, he would die, for his subjects. God’s kingdom is upside down to this world. God is never far, when you’re helping people in need.
We represent the kingdom of God on earth if we are Christians. And it means we Christians are renegades living in a different way. It’s not necessarily easy to do this. For instance, I went to work at homeless shelter. The staff at the shelter said, don’t give money to homeless people on the street. It is too often used for alcohol. There are other ways to be helpful. Helping people is complicated, but that’s no excuse for giving up. It’s important to work on finding the best way to be helpful, which means you develop a relationship with people and get involved. Homeless people need money, but they also need a lot more than money. They need you.
Jesus calls us to a “kingdom of God” worldview. Not a Republican or Democrat, or capitalist or socialist worldview. It’s a kingdom of God worldview that asks, “What would Jesus do?” And then commits to do it.
It’s hard to help people, but it brings so much joy. At the end of your life, will you be saying, “I just need a few moments alone with my vehicle, to tell it how much it means to me.” Will you say, “I need to have a one on one with my house, I love how much you are appraised for.” No! Your lifestyle and comfort are not what you will be thinking of. People are what’s important: your family and friends. And you will feel blessed to know you made this world better. That will give you joy. You’ll be happy to look back, and say, “Man, I am glad I was able to give a Christmas gift to a child who never got one,” or “I am so blessed I led a Bible study in prison: it meant the world to those prisoners.” God is never far, when you’re helping people in need.
I was decluttering at home recently. I’m a bit of a keeper, but I try not to keep too much. I can’t throw out the thank you cards from Bethany Children’s Home. Most years we go with the confirmation class and bring pizza and Christmas presents to a cottage of youth at Christmas time. That gives me so much joy. I wouldn’t have missed that for the world!
Jesus tells the story of the sheep and goats as a judgement story: you help the least, and you go to eternal life. You don’t help the least, and you go to punishment.
But he also offers this story as great wisdom. If your life is just about you and all the things of this world, you are missing out. There is so much joy, when you invest in making other’s lives better. You experience that God is with you when you serve.
My challenge for you this week is to think about a time you helped someone, and it brought you joy. Keep on doing it and experiencing that kingdom of God joy!
Jesus was a very different kind of king, who teaches us to enter an invisible kingdom: the kingdom of God. When we reach out and help the least of these, we can experience so much joy. We live a life of meaning. We experience some of heaven here on earth, and the promise of life eternal. When you help people in need, God is never far. Amen.
November 22, 2020
Maureen Duffy-Guy's blog 