2nd to Last Sunday of the Church Year

 

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +

    Ah, we continue our November sweep through topics that are weighty and heavy and can sound really scary. Last week we had “The End of the World” and this week we get “Judgment Day”. Oh, there's a term that still gets bandied about in society to ratchet up the tension and nerves. There's apprehension and fear... and in our text in Matthew Jesus describes Judgment Day... except there's not a lot of tension or drama in the text. There's no peels of thunder described, no keeping anyone in suspense. There's confusion, and there's some surprise – but it reminds you, O Baptized child of God, that for you, Judgment Day is a good thing. Let's just dive on into the text.

    When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Now, this is why we call this judgment day – this is date of royal decision making. The scene parallels what we have even today in a court room. Everyone rises, the judge enters in... and when the judge sits down, that's when things will get down to business. And who is before the heavenly court here in Matthew – Before Him will be gathered all the nations. Everyone is there – the whole throng of humanity that has ever existed, from all times and from all places. But then something happens that we might not have expected. See, we think of a judgment, a court case, and we expect there to be a trial. That's the image the world has, right? That God or St. Peter's going to go over all the things you've done, then look you over, and then you get a thumbs up or a thumbs down? Nope. Not what Jesus says. Not at all. Listen.

    [And] He will separate people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He will place the sheep on His right, but the goats on His left. No trial. No examination. No lawyers making anyone sweat on the witness stand. Just – oh, you're one of My sheep. You're my baptized, redeemed brother or sister – over here on My right please. Oh, I know you, you've been in My house plenty of times, over here please. No trial, no drama, no surprise witnesses. Just Jesus the Good Shepherd knows His sheep and His sheep know Him. As easy peasy as the 23^rd Psalm – the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want – He makes me lie down on these green pastures right over here at His right.

    And then, in fact, it's the opposite of a trial. It's a gift giving session – Then the King will say to those on His right, “Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Here you go. Great things for you – an everlasting and eternal kingdom is yours. And you simply inherit it – you receive it as a gift. No probate court ever ran so smoothly with so rich an inheritance! Do you see how smoothly this is running? This is all the stuff that we know we're going to get because Christ Jesus is our Savior and He has won us salvation. This is what Jesus' Cross wins for you – simple as pie.

    But here's where the confusion sets in, and here's where people, even Christians, can get tripped up. In addition to just giving the gift of eternal life – Jesus starts heaping on praise. For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me. Jesus just starts gushing. There's not a trial, not a harsh cross examination – instead, the King starts praising the sheep to high heaven – quite literally. And the response from the sheep, as is appropriate, is confusion: Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? And when did we see You a stranger and welcome You, or naked and clothe You? And when did we see You sick or in prison and visit You? What are you talking about Jesus? You're praising me for a bunch of stuff and I don't have a clue. Then we get the famous phrase: And the King will answer them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.”

    Alright – there's a lot to talk about here. We're going to talk about Good Works. Good works are things that you do that God delights in, rejoices in, is utterly pleased with. And Good works confuse us. See, if we hear the phrase “good work” we tend to think that they are bonus works, extra credit, things that we do that get us more stuff. We think in terms of exchange, in terms of reward – except that's not the point. We can hear that “For” in the text - “for I was hungry and you gave Me drink” and think that our works CAUSE God to bless us or give us the kingdom – that we're suppose to earn it somehow. Nope, that's not the image here. That “for” isn't a “because”. It's not “you're getting the kingdom because you did x, y, and z. No, it's an exclamation and an explanation of what God's blessings and what His Kingdom looks like.

    Consider – you are blessed by God. You're part of His Kingdom, His rule. God's reign of love and mercy rules in your life. You are forgiven and a forgiver – and you've got that now even in the face of sin and death – God's love and mercy has spilled over into your life and through you in countless ways... and you're just going to get that more and more for all eternity but then untarnished by sin. It's fantastic now, and it's going to be even more fantastic. You've shown the love of God and His mercy to countless people in ways that you hadn't even noticed because that's how simply and wondrously God's love and His kingdom came through you, O forgiven child of God. And now, for eternity – you get that in full splendor and power. That's what Jesus is saying. And this confuses us – because we still live in the world, surrounded by sin, hounded by temptation, struggling against our own flesh. We don't notice, we don't understand the fullness of what God does for us and through us even now – we don't understand the joy and delight God has in us right now even over the smallest and simplest things. And that might be for the best, actually, because in my own sinfulness I'd get a massively big head if I heard or understood God's praise. But this is the reality. You are a baptized, forgiven child of God. God is well pleased with you. He looks at you and delights in you. Prouder of you than the proudest parent. You are accounted and made righteous in Christ – God doesn't see your sin when He looks at you – that's on the Cross. All He sees when He sees you is His child who does simple and awesome things that He rejoices in. It's fantastic. No tension, no drama, just heavenly joy.

    Do you see? Good works aren't something that get you closer to God. Good works aren't even something I need to stand up here and wag a finger at you to get to do more of them. No – you're forgiven, so you'll do good. God's love will work in you and through you in ways that you won't even notice. And I don't need to give you the ideas; you've got the Holy Spirit dwelling in you, and He'll move you and urge you to wondrous things that I'd never even think of. You and I, we simply struggle against sin, beat down our own sinfulness that would try to get in the way of who we are in Christ. We receive forgiveness and are thus strengthened in faith towards God and in love towards our neighbor – and God is tickled pink with this. In fact, when you love your neighbor, even in the most simplest, mundane ways, you are in fact showing love to Christ Jesus Himself. You always serve God by and through serving your neighbor – and you actually do this all the time in ways you don't even notice or are aware of. How cool is that!

    So, not very terrifying or scary, is it? Then why all the falderol around judgment day? Well, Jesus does continue – Then He will say to those on His left, “Depart from me, you cursed, 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 no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome Me, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me. You goats, you folks who want to live outside of Christ, outside of forgiveness and mercy – well, have it your way. You want to be grade A jerks, so go hang out with the grade A jerks forever in hell. Again, note – this isn't really a trial. Jesus isn't trying to discover anything – He is simply saying what is. You've rejected My love, you rejected My mercy – there's a place for you as that's how you want to be. And then there's protestations – Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty”... yaddy yaddy ya, excuse excuse excuse. And He will answer them saying, “Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.” And there you go. There are those for whom judgment day will be a terror, a bad day. The goats, those who live right now apart from Christ Jesus and His Word of forgiveness. And the thing is, apart from God's love and mercy, they're already stuck in a world of hurt and pain and anger and disdain – and they might not even notice. They might not care what gets dumped on the “little people”, not understanding who they are or the impact of sin. And come the day of judgment, that's where they're stuck. Fast bound in Satan's kingdom now – stuck with him for eternity. God grant that many of these goats hear the Gospel and be brought to faith – God grant that their hearts be turned and they become sheep! But some won't, and that's just how it is. And that's simply what Jesus points out here, without much drama or fuss. That's just the way it is.

    So then, what to make of all this. Well, there will be a judgment day – although it's not really a trial or an examination of whether we've done so much good or so much bad. The end will come, and Jesus will openly declare what He's said to you over and over in His Church. That you are forgiven on account of Christ, that you are His beloved child, that you are forgiven, that you are welcomed to the feast for all eternity, and it's all good. I mean, in many ways this service is practice and preparation for “judgment day”. Judgment Day will be no more scary than hearing the Absolution. It will be less scary than hearing a sermon, because I might preach a lousy one but Jesus certainly isn't going to. It's all good for you, for you are in Christ. May God bring more people to His house and kingdom before the Last Day! In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit +