Ephesians 1:15-23; Matthew 25:31-46
Today is the last Sunday of the liturgical year, the Church's
new year’s eve. Since it’s the end of the year, it makes sense to reflect on
the past year. You’ll notice that the hymns today follow the church year. These
hymns reveal who Jesus is and who we are as we seek to follow him.
We wait in Advent for a savior to make our lives better:
we celebrate the incarnation of God as an infant at Christmas,
and the promise he brings for the future:
we look for the light of the star guiding the magi, and the holy
light of the transfiguration of Jesus during Epiphany;
we prepare for Jesus’ death in Lent and ponder how we can
follow him, since we are reluctant to go all the way to the cross with him;
we rejoice in the resurrection at Easter because we need to
be reminded that the tomb is empty;
and we embrace the
coming of God’s Holy Spirit at Pentecost, filling people then and now with
God’s love and energy.
The Gospel reading expresses how we spend the summer each
year sitting at Jesus’ feet, learning from him just as the first followers did.
… Today has traditionally
been called Christ the King Sunday, but Jesus never wanted to be a typical king.
He never wanted to sit on a throne and wear fancy clothing and order people to obey
him. He never wanted to be separate from the people, his people. And he definitely
had no plans to gather an army to evict the Romans from Judea.
So, I follow a newer pattern of calling this Sunday the Reign
of Christ. Repeatedly, Jesus promises that the kingdom / Reign of God has come
near and invites us all to find new life there. When we reflect on what Matthew
teaches us about Jesus, it’s clear that he is showing us how to care for each
other with God’s help. From the Beatitudes to the resurrection and final sending
out of the disciples, Jesus calls us to see ourselves and each other as equals.
… The Gospel reading is about sorting the sheep from the goats,
sorting the people who actively care for others from those who ignore or abuse
others. This is in essence Jesus’ whole message: When we care for those in
need, we are also caring for Jesus.
This weekend, I can’t help thinking about the conflict
between Israel and Hamas. It’s tempting to judge the various actors in this conflict
and assign one group or another to the sheep or the goats. We want to label
them as righteous or unrighteous. But the truth is somewhere very much in
between.
I believe Jesus is weeping for every single person in the
region, for the weakest hostage, for the Gaza resident who has lost what little
they had, and for the meanest Hamas soldier. Jesus weeps for the frustration of
the Palestinians as they seek recognition from Israel that they have a right to
exist. Jesus weeps for the Israelis who want to live without fear of attacks by
Palestinians. Jesus weeps for the soul-deep pain that has caused some
Palestinians to become violent and join extremist organizations.
Jesus’ vision of his realm is that each person has value in God’s
eyes and that we would all respect each other as God’s beloved children. In Jesus’
realm, all concerned in this current matter would join him at a table, break
bread together, and work out solutions to their differences that give to each
person the feeling that they have been heard.
… In Jesus’ realm, we are all partners with him in sharing
the good news that God loves all people regardless of social status, ethnicity,
faith, etc. In our own lives, in our own circumstances, we are Jesus’ hands and
voice seeking to bring his realm into being. We do this one by one, through our
relationships with others.
And we join with the author of the letter to the Ephesians in
prayers for wisdom and enlightenment in our relationships. We give glory to God,
and we ask that we may be guided by God’s Spirit in following our Divine
Shepherd, Jesus.
This week, I pray that all may know God’s peace, that all
may experience life in the Reign of God, and that we may each be an active partner
with Jesus in sharing the reign of God with others. Amen
