Text: Matthew 25:31-46
In Protestant Churches across Slovakia and Europe today, they observe the Day of Eternity. It marks the last day of the Church year, and they commemorate the faithful who have departed this world and who inspire us to look for God’s eternity in the present and the future. This is quite different from the ELCA, the Lutheran church in the United States. They celebrate Christ the King, or the Reign of Christ today. I think this might be a better theme to explore this morning, especially considering recent news in Slovakia, where Secretary of State Stefan Kuffa declared he would seek to have Jesus Christ elected as King of Slovakia. This declaration has been met with mixed reactions, but it raises the question: what kind of king is Jesus EXACTLY?
To explore this question, I want to talk to you about goats.
Goats are independent, self-sufficient, and practical animals. They produce milk which can be used for food or making soap. Goats also eat just about anything, making them excellent for controlling weeds and clearing areas of land. Due to their stubborn nature, goats have also been known to stand their ground against predators, making them quite an effective way to defend other animals. Make no mistake, goats are quite useful animals. So, when I read in our gospel text today that Jesus declares the goats as the detestable ones, I feel as if Jesus is being unfair. One would think that being compared to a goat would be a good thing. It is a good thing to be considered independent and self-sufficient. It is a good thing to be educated, to work hard, to be disciplined in your life, and to not be a drain and burden on others. When Jesus compares the righteous to sheep – who are rather helpless, totally rely on others to care for them, and are in many ways quite useless, it seems like an insult. The gospel text today would seem to suggest that Jesus is not a very useful king for those of us who consider ourselves more like goats than sheep.
David Brooks is an American journalist and author. In his most recent work, “How to Know a Person,” Brooks observes that much of human life today is overly focused on being useful and adopting attitudes that serve our usefulness. Recognition, accumulating wealth, and pursuing our own interests are more important than compassion and taking time to genuinely understand others, especially those people different from us. Brooks believes this obsession with usefulness has left people feeling isolated, depressed, angry, and hostile towards others and themselves. What Brooks finds more troubling is this obsession with usefulness leaves people unseen. Showing vulnerability is considered a weakness that can be exploited. Those who are different from the majority are labeled as outcasts in society. It is better to be unseen than to be who you truly are.
“Truly I tell you, just as you did it to the least of these who are mine, you did it to me.”
As many of you know from Scripture, Jesus stands out because he values things that so often the world does not. Jesus repeatedly told all that his reign was not a piece of land or a new form of government. Jesus is a king of compassion, humility, and love. His reign is over the human heart. Scripture tells us time and time again that Jesus tends to exalt the poor, the lame, the sick; tax collectors, women, and sinners. Jesus is the king who sees those who are unseen, and in a world ruled by the notion that only the useful are worth seeing, Jesus transforms our hearts so that we might see all people, and even ourselves, as children of God.
This all may seem overwhelming to take in this morning. To reconcile our own personal battles with self-worth and to solve the injustices of human suffering in this world is a rather lengthy and difficult task. For this morning, perhaps it is enough to simply invite Christ, this rather impractical and seemingly unless king, to reign in our hearts. It is enough to invite Christ, the One who sees the unseen in his infinite grace, the One who sees us….and calls us to do the same. Amen.