Sheep, Goats and Caring for Others
/““When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 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.’“ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you 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 will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘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.’ “They also will 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.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.””
My favourite verses in the Bible are the words of Jesus from near the end of the Gospel of Matthew about the way our response to people around us, especially in tough times, is our response to God.
I am a word nerd. I like ideas and concepts. I discuss philosophy and politics for fun rather than play hockey or do jigsaw puzzles. I think it's important to know what I believe and be able to describe and explain those beliefs, especially when it comes to faith. It's not just a game or puzzle - it's important. I am curious about what other people believe and what I might be able to learn, in turn. So it would make sense if my favourite scripture passage was from John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” Or maybe from Romans 10:9, “... if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
But as a word nerd, I also know how to play word games so that I can win and others lose. I know that I cut people down with words and put people or ideas up on a pedestal with words. I know that sometimes I say stuff with my mouth but do not follow through with my actions. I realize that I may say something one day and then explain it away and say something else the next. There are things that I believe in my heart but that I am too afraid to act on.
If I had written the Bible (good thing I did not) John 1:2 would say, “And after The Word came more words and then even more words one after the other.” And left to my own devices the Bible might end with Romans 10:9 so there would be no need for working out details other than saying some words and believing them.
My favourite verses in Scripture are from a story that makes me uncomfortable. They are from Jesus’ last teachings to his disciples before the Last Supper as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus says at the end of Matthew 25 that when God sorts out who is welcome to stay in His presence and who is not that decision will be made based on how those people treated each other, especially when things are tough – when people are hungry, thirsty, sick, without clothes, or in jail. Those who acted in caring and compassionate ways towards the people they met get to stay with God. Those who did not act in caring and compassionate ways do not get to stay with God. It's simple and it makes me squirm. I can't duck out or explain it away.
Even more shocking, both the ones who get to stay with God and the ones who are forced out of God's presence are surprised. None of them thought that the care and compassion they showed to other people would be the deciding factor about God's reaction to them. But it is. God cares about how we treat each other. God cares about how we treat each other so much that the way we respond to people in times of need is our response to God.
Years ago when I first started thinking about these verses, I didn't like them because it led to a lot of kicking myself. The number of days per year when I am as brave, strong, kind, and generous as I feel called to be is very low. When I think about whether God would accept me based on how I acted that day or that week or through my life up to that point I'm pretty sure God would open the goat-gate for me on the left-hand side. Gradually I am learning to let the rear view mirror be taken care of by God's grace. Paul writing in Ephesians 2:8 uses the past tense for what God has already done, “by grace you have been saved ...” from, among other things, worrying whether what happened yesterday or last week or fourteen years ago should have been different than it was. Maybe it should have been different but the past is now covered by the grace of God and is not undone or redone.
Rather, Jesus' words from the end of Matthew 25 have become my favourite as a way to look forward. There is not a magic spell to recite as a way to get in with the sheep rather than the goats. Going back to Ephesians 2, the saving is already done and God has laid out an invitation to be involved in good things as the present and future unfold before us. Ephesians 2:10 says that a whole list of good things lies ready to be done by those who have experienced the graciousness of God and we see from Jesus directly what sort of things that might be. It's practical things that we know about – food, water, clothes, caring support, and healing for those who need it. These days they are known as essential services. Some words might be involved but talking it up isn't the important part. It's stuff that takes courage and strength and compassion and generosity available to us from God. As the life of Jesus forms us through grace we are pulled into new ways of acting and thinking. Instead of looking at the rear view mirror, we are busy getting food, water, clothes, healing, and support out to those we meet in the present. Perhaps we are also sometimes receiving those things as gifts of God from others... We don't have to do this stuff so that God will love us. We get to do it because God already loves us.
I like it that God has a soft spot for people who treat others well without talking about it. I like it that God knows how to call my bluff when my words are empty. I like it that God refuses to be played like a game or a magic trick. I like it that people might be so immersed in the things prepared for them to do that even God's own voice takes them by surprise the way a musician or athlete or cook sometimes loses track of everything else and can be taken by surprise. I like it that these words of Jesus make Christian people squirm a little bit, including me. I like it that even after reading this passage regularly for many years it still surprises me each time and I read it again.
