Christ the King, Year A, Sun Nov 20, 2011

Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24; Psalm 100; Ephesians 1:15-23; Matthew 25:31-46

This past week the Bishop of Georgia, Scott Benhase, sent out one of his occasional email messages, and in this one he wrote about Steve Jobs, the recently deceased founder of Apple. Bishop Benhase noted the phenomenal success of Apple, and he observed a distinct difference in the way that Apple presents new products.

Most companies give us the “what” and the “how” of a new product. This is new software (what); it is used for word processing (how to use it); then eventually they get around to “why” we need this new product: you can use it to write letters more easily. Apple on the other hand, starts their advertisements with the “why”. The marketing for the I-Pad starts: “This product will change your life. You need one of these.” Then, they go on to explain what the I-Pad is and how to use it.

In our readings assigned for today, we hear the “who” and “how” of Jesus: he is both King and “the good shepherd”. First, in Psalm 100, we hear that we are God’s people, and the sheep of his pasture. In the reading from Ezekiel, we hear that God “will be the shepherd of [his] sheep”. This shepherd will seek out those who are lost and will gather up strays and heal the wounded. Then, we have the second image of Jesus, as the presider at the Last Judgment. He is compared to a king who will judge the peoples, especially by their service to those in need.

Jesus is both a shepherd (fully human) and heavenly king and judge (fully divine). As he was fully human, Jesus experienced the full range of human joy and sorrow, of temptation, of emotion. By being fully divine, Jesus makes possible our transformation in the Spirit to live most fully in the image of God, as God created us to be. By being fully human and fully divine, Christ can be the perfect judge: complete in justice and complete in mercy.

That’s the “who” and “how”. But, why does this matter? I don’t think the answer is to avoid becoming a goat, that is to say to avoid the eternal punishment, and the weeping and gnashing of teeth.

At the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC there is a sarcophagus with a frieze carved on the front. It’s from the early years of Christianity, and it shows Christ seated in glory in the center. On either side of him there are two lines of animals facing in towards him: sheep on one side and goats on the other. The sheep are leaning towards Jesus, with their little necks stretched out and one hoof raised, in expectation of his invitation.

On the other side, are the goats. They are leaning back, with their hooves firmly planted in the ground, resisting the call to come to Jesus. We can presume that the person who commissioned this sarcophagus was hoping to be among the sheep.

I think that most of us are really part sheep and part goat. Sometimes, we are leaning towards Jesus to receive his words and to follow him. Sometimes we are holding back, and resisting what God is calling us to do. God calls each one of us is to be perfect in love and service, and for most of us it’s impossible to do this fully and without fault.

The needs are so great, and our efforts are limited by what we can possibly do; sometimes it isn’t even clear what is the best and most helpful thing to do. There are hungry, homeless, sick, bereaved; there are many with overwhelming challenges in their lives. As individuals and as a parish we can’t serve everyone. Sometimes helping in the moment isn’t solving the larger problem. In our food pantry, it would be great if we could feed all the hungry in Beech Island. We can’t handle that, so we are starting with a specific group, of a size that we can handle.

Even Jesus didn’t cure everyone who was sick during his lifetime. He did address the needs that were right in front of him. He did ask, “What do you want?” He did have compassion for those who came to him. In today’s lesson, Jesus says, “If you do this to ONE, you did it to me.” In each way and at each time that we do express love and caring for another, we are also serving Christ, who knew human suffering from personal experience, and who also knows and is ready to bestow the divine grace on all who turn to him, all who follow him, all who do what they can to serve him and others in his Name.

Today we celebrate the last Sunday of the Church year, usually called Christ the King. This feast day celebration wraps up all that has happened in the Church year, to give us the “why”. Why does this matter for us here at All Saints Episcopal Church? Why might we want to grow? Why might we want our church to have a secure long term future?

In the coming weeks, we will be starting to develop a long-term plan for All Saints Church. We need to start with our mission statement, and all else will follow from that. It needs to be concise, memorable, and specific to our church. It needs to answer the probing and challenging “why” questions. As it happens, the “why” question was one of the central issues raised by Bishop Waldo at the recent diocesan convention.

Why is the future of All Saints Church important to us who are here today, and to the Church in Upper South Carolina, and to the people of Beech Island and neighboring areas? I think that the more clearly we can answer these “why” questions, the more faithfully and fully we will be able to discern and fulfill God’s call to us, and to thrive as a parish.

I’m not going to answer the “why” question for All Saints right now, although I have some ideas. That is for all of us to develop together in the coming weeks. What is important first of all is why grow in discipleship in Christ?

As we move into fuller and more mature discipleship, we will learn of Jesus in his full humanity: he knows our suffering, our joys, our struggles, our falling down and our successes. And we will learn of Christ’s full divinity: in addition to knowing us completely, he also forgives, loves, sustains, and redeems. Whatever heavy burdens we bear, we can give them up to God.

We are all called, every one of us, to know Jesus in his full humanity, as well as to know the divine mystery of his full being in God. We are called into relationship with him, as we pray and worship and study and practice our faith, and as we serve others. In so doing, we may see the love and grace of God reflected, even unexpectedly, in another human face.

And this will change our lives.