Matthew 25d

 Last week we read this prophecy with a parable only far enough to see what happened to the sheep. The sheep got a good report. How about the goats? Are the goats the greatest of all time? Or will they get a bad report? The goats are on the left hand and so, according to cultural tradition, they are not well positioned to receive a reward.   

25: 41-43.  Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You who are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels, for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 

 To the sheep, Jesus said, “Come, blessed.” To the goats, he said, “Accursed, depart.” According to Jesus’ parable, the blessed inherit the kingdom prepared for them since the beginning of time. The accursed are herded off to an eternal fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels, that is, the demons. Which was worse, being dismissed from the presence of God, or being sent to an eternal fire prepared for the devil?

 The Devil has had a two-pronged approach from the beginning: Tempt, then Accuse. Remember the way that the devil tried to tempt Jesus (Matthew 4: 1-17). What was the temptation? It was to suggest that Jesus could act in his own self-interest while carrying out the will of God. For example, Satan told Jesus: ‘If you are hungry, then command these stones to be turned to bread because Scripture says that God will do that for you’ (paraphrase). 

 As far back as Adam and Eve, this has been the story of the tempter/accuser. He said to Eve and Adam: ‘Go ahead, eat the forbidden fruit, it will make you wise and you will be like God’. The two humans fell for the scam. When the humans ‘became wise’, as the devil slyly promised, they realized that they were naked. Of course they were, because now they had lost the protection of the presence of God. 

 The devil then made the accusation that they had disobeyed God, and they were ashamed. Then it got worse; they learned to shift the blame by accusing others. “It wasn’t my idea; the woman gave me the fruit and I ate it.”

 In Jesus’ parable here, the goats heard this enticement: “It’s your money, do what you want with it.” Thus, the goats thought it was wise to refuse to give free food to ‘worthless people’. They thought it would be foolish to pass out bottles of water to people who just came for the freebie. Some of them thought it would be better to shoot first when someone knocked on the door rather than to ask if they could be of any help. 

 Naked? ‘It’s just an act; they have clothes at home’. Sick? ‘Not me, I’m not going to visit; I might get sick myself’. Disabled? They don’t need supplemental income; cut it and there will be more tax cuts for millionaires. In prison? ‘Oh, I’d be scared to death to go to a place like that with all those murderers around’. 

25: 44.  Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not take care of you?’

 The sheep were also unaware that they had seen Jesus, but they helped anyway when they saw people in need. The goats were unaware of ever having seen Jesus in need. That’s the scary part. My mind roams back through the decades wondering if there were times that I did not recognize Jesus when he appeared in the guise of the poor and needy. 

 The goats pretend to be offended at the suggestion because they think that if they had really seen Jesus, they would have acted. They are fooling themselves. This is like the Pharisees who claimed that they would have treated the prophets well if they had lived in those earlier times, only to be told by Jesus that they were descended from the people who did kill the prophets (Matthew 23: 29-32). Their ancestors did not see God in the words and acts of the prophets that God sent. Likewise, most Pharisees did not see God in Jesus’ words and deeds. 

25: 45-46.  Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life.”

 This prophecy of the end may seem abrupt and shocking but think back over the Gospel according to Matthew. What has Jesus been talking about and what has Jesus been doing? It seems that there have been at least two emphases: He called sinners to repent because the kingdom of heaven is near and he responded with compassion to those who were in need. Jesus has led the penitent who were willing to follow on a journey of discipleship. Discipleship has come through Jesus’ teaching and through Jesus’ example. 

 Jesus responded to people in need, whether people of rank, like the centurion and the leader of a synagogue, or people at the bottom edge of society, like the demoniac and the woman with a hemorrhage. So, why is it a surprise that Jesus expected his faithful followers to do the same thing? 

 Another perspective on the final judgment is found in John’s visions. 

“Then I saw a great white throne and the one who sat on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works, as recorded in the books. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and all were judged according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire, and anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20: 11-15).

  The vision that John received has the same worrying phrase: “the dead were judged according to their works.” I repeat, the way to resolve the tension between faith and works is to consider that this phrase is used at the end of time. After a faithful life, by then, “by their works, you shall know them.” That is, if a person has been serious about what they believe, if they listened when the Holy Spirit was teaching them God-like behavior, and if they acted with mercy and justice when given the chance, then their works match their faith. On their life-long discipleship journey, they have practiced the presence of God in every aspect of their lives.

 “The Practice of the Presence of God” is the name of a book, readily available today though it came from letters and conversations of a 17th century monk. Brother Lawrence joined the Discalced (shoeless) Carmelites in a monastery in Paris and spent his life there in the kitchen preparing food, washing pots and pans, and mopping the floor. He practiced the discipline of seeking God in everything he saw and did. Brother Lawrence looked for God’s presence in even the smallest tasks and never cultivated an attitude of reward or a quid pro quo either from a stranger or from God. God’s presence was enough.

 We come to the end of the teachings of Jesus, whether direct or in parables. In this last case, we never do learn the timing of the final events. Nor do we learn other things we might want to know about God and God’s activities. What we do learn is what Jesus wants us to do. 

 What does Jesus want? Be patient and don’t be distracted by claims about the ‘end times’. While you wait, be faithful to the teachings, practices, and stories Jesus told; take them seriously. Look for the presence of God in every person and every event. Show compassion, act with mercy, seek justice; seek justice not for yourself or for your group but for others who suffer, are hungry, homeless, or oppressed. Let your actions be guided by the Holy Spirit, not by reward and not by the possibility of personal gain. Freely you have received, freely give. Be like Jesus.