Matthew 25:31-46 · The Sheep and the Goats
Gracious
Matthew 25:31-46
Sermon
by Lori Wagner
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The Starbucks car line is famous for its habit of “gifting.” Someone arrives at the window to pay only to find that the person in front of them has already paid the bill, even without knowing the total. When it happens, it gives you that warm, fuzzy feeling of companionship with other human beings. It gives you hope for the world and gives your trust in humanity a little boost. It makes you want to do it in return, to give that warm, fuzzy feeling to someone else too.

Gratitude fosters graciousness.

When you feel thankful and gifted, you feel inspired to do the same for others.

That’s why Christianity is not meant to be a rules-based, finger-wagging, “you should do this or that” kind of religion but a relational, gratitude-based, covenant-style faith. Christians don’t bestow love, forgiveness, and grace because a rule book says, “they should.” They do it, because they feel a deep sense of gratitude, humility, warmth, and love from the realization of Jesus’ gift of grace, his sacrificial gift of love, his forgiveness, and the overwhelming magnitude of his saving inheritance.

When Christians realize the depth and breadth of what they have received, their hearts become, as John Wesley put it, “strangely warmed.” Ever wonder where Theodor Seuss Geisel, otherwise known as Dr. Seuss, got his idea for the Grinch?

Just as at the day of Pentecost, the disciples, whose souls had been touched and energized by the Holy Spirit’s power, felt a sudden infusion of desire for service and mission, all those who gives their hearts and lives to God also feel that same impulse to give and serve. God’s love and grace is a powerful force, a combustible motivator.

Jesus spent his ministry cultivating relationships with everyone he could. He taught by example. That’s what discipleship is. He healed, he forgave, he showed grace, he loved–asking nothing in return. That’s the nature of gifts. They are free with no requirement. Jesus had no expectations, only an invitation–to be in relationship with the gracious giver and to point to the God who gives all gifts.

Jesus also knew who was truly in a relationship with God, and who wasn’t. Who was a true disciple, covenant carrier, and honorable servant of God, and who wasn’t. Because Jesus knew that faith based in gratitude never lies dormant in the heart. It always breaks forth in graciousness, love, and in acts of service.

In our scripture for today, we see Jesus telling his listeners another story (the third in Matthew 25) about what it means to be in true relationship with God. In the parable of the oil lamps, he emphasized faith in God, in the parable of the talents, he emphasized commitment to God. Now in this third parable, speaking about the way we treat strangers, Jesus speaks of how he knows a true disciple–by the state of the heart, and he notes that the state of the heart is revealed in the acts of the hands.

Think about it for a moment.

How many people do you know who go to church weekly, who get on committees, and even lead initiatives, but who argue, fight, and treat their brothers and sisters inside and outside of the church with annoyance or disdain? They may appear as Christians. But they haven’t cultivated a true relationship with God. How can you know? Because when you have true gratitude for Jesus’ sacrificial gift of life and love, you can’t help but love, respect, and cherish others and want to show that love hugely and actively.

How many people do you know who may not flaunt their Christianity, but who sport hearts of pure gold, pray daily, cultivate a close relationship with God, and though they may have little means, give all they can to help others?

It’s not hard to tell, as Jesus puts it, the “sheep” from the “goats.” Even lost sheep still beat and bleat like sheep!

A living faith means that your faith lives actively in the world in the form of care, humility, love, and authenticity. A living faith means you walk with God humbly, act justly in all you do, and bestow acts of mercy upon all you meet.

Your relationship with God resides within your heart, and your hands take their orders from your heart. Walking in the “Way” means that you know that what you “do” (or don’t) matters, not just to others but to God. The stronger your relationship with God, the more fervent your energy and desire to show grace to others.

In our current world of dissension, arguments, polarization, and criticism, it’s all the more important that Christians cultivate a close and intimate relationship with God, that they feel a sense of gratitude and love in their hearts as a result of that relationship. For only in this way can they begin to build the kind of alternative communities that Jesus envisioned.

This past week, families all over the United States gathered for the holiday we call “Thanksgiving.” It’s a holiday that is meant to be about gratitude, care, and the vision of a common humanity.

We all know the story about a meal cobbled together and shared between Native Americans and the new settlers called Pilgrims. In a land they had no idea how to cultivate, they relied on their native neighbors who showed them how to farm and shared their meals, their culture, and their wisdom. Thankful not only for the gifts of food they shared, but the friendship they cultivated, the holiday would endure, reminding us of what it means to be truly grateful and to share that gratitude together with acts of sharing, good will, non-judgmentalism, and respect for differences.

Today, the meaning of Thanksgiving has perhaps gotten lost. We stress over turkeys and which cranberry sauce is the best. We travel. We talk. We see family. Sometimes others. But rarely does the true story of Thanksgiving get told at our tables.

Perhaps this year should be different. For Christians have much to be thankful for.

In a culture of division, we still have those who reach out to others and share their wisdom, love, and means. We still have those who do not judge but invite all to the table equally. We still have those who give of their lives in a multitude of ways. We still have those who feel the immense gratitude that comes with knowing the true gifts of Jesus and what he has done in their lives.

Let us be thankful. Enormously thankful. And in doing so, I wish to you all that you feel the “warming of the heart” that may infuse you with love, joy, thankfulness, and the impetus for change. May you be a blessing to your family, to your neighbors, to your community, and to God. And may you reap the abundant rewards that Jesus has to offer you.

In this last Sunday before the beginning of Advent, may we humbly pray that Jesus become active in the world through every person. For as Jesus knew then, and we still know now, the world changes one heart at a time.

May yours be the first to bleed.

And may your approach to Advent be one of soul-searching, prayer, and true commitment to the One who loves, forgives, bestows, and saves.

ChristianGlobe Network, Inc., by Lori Wagner