Only moments after prying open a window and stepping into a dark bedroom a burglar came face to face with a vicious looking Doberman Pincher. The burglar froze in his tracks. Once his eyes adjusted to the dark he noticed a parrot on the back of the dog which squawked "You're gonna get caught!" The burglar hesitated, then ever so carefully lifted an item off a dresser and put it in his sack. The dog watched every move. The parrot said, "You're gonna get caught!" Without any sudden or jerky movements the burglar then cleaned off the valuable items from the top of the dresser. The dog glared. The parrot said, "You're gonna get caught!"
The burglar quietly left the room, walked down the hallway, entered another room. The dog followed his every movement in the hall and the next room. The parrot squawked, "You're gonna get caught!" From room to room the dog paced right behind the burglar while the parrot annoyingly shouted, "You're gonna get caught!" You're gonna get caught!" At last the burglar finished stealing the jewelry and cash he found in the master bedroom closet. Every move by every muscle was scrutinized by the Doberman. The parrot said, "You're gonna get caught!"
Exasperated, the burglar finally bent down and picked up a shoe. He threw it at the bird and screamed, "You dumb parrot! Can't you say anything else?" The parrot fluttered away to avoid the shoe, then said, "Sic em." (1)
That burglar's day of judgment was at hand.
Our Gospel lesson looks to another day of judgment, "when the Son of Man comes in his glory." All eyes are drawn to a great light at the center of the royal throne where Christ sits with angels at his side in his heavenly kingdom. Surrounding the throne is an enormous crowd of people.
Christ is separating the great crowd into two groups. On his right side are the sheep; on his left, the goats. To the sheep Jesus says, "Come you that are blessed by my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." They will then enter the heavenly kingdom. The goats are not as fortunate. "You that are accursed," say Christ, "depart from me into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."
NOTICE, FIRST OF ALL, HOW SURPRISED EVERYONE IS. The sheep are surprised and the goats are surprised.
Van Hurst, a pastor in Killeen, Texas tells about being seated on the living room floor reading when his little four-year-old daughter came running up wanting his attention. Holding a tube of flavored chap stick in her hand she asked, "Do you want some?"
"Of course," he replied. Promptly he carefully spread the soft lip balm on his lips while reading his book. It was an extremely sour chap stick, but it felt good, so he put another generous layer on his lips just as the girl's mother came calling through the house, "Kortney, what did you do with my glue stick?"
Surprise! That's the sort of picture of the last day that Jesus gives us ” people are surprised. The sheep don't understand what they've done to experience such an honor. The goats don't understand why they're being guided toward the eternal fire. I can almost hear the complaints now, can't you? "Jesus, there must be some mistake! I'm in the wrong place. I should be on the right side with the sheep."
To this complaint Jesus replies, "I was hungry and you gave me no food. I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was naked and you gave me no clothing, I was sick and in prison and you ignored me." And the goats ask, "When? When did we see you hungry, when did we see you thirsty, when did we see you naked or sick or in prison?" And Christ replies, "When you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me." Surprise.
It reminds me of an old story about a man who dies and finds himself standing in front of heaven's gates. St. Peter apologetically explains that the computer system has broken down and that he must personally interview each candidate to see if they are fit for entrance into heaven. So St. Peter begins the questioning, "What kind deeds have you done that would make you worthy of heaven?"
The man scratches his head, shrugs and answers, "I don't know!"
St. Peter continues, "Well, for example, were you ever in Boy Scouts and involved in community projects that helped people?"
The man replies, "No, I never did that."
"Did you ever help an elderly person cross the street?"
"No, I didn't even do that."
"Did you ever contribute food to the local food pantry?" asks St. Peter.
"No, I never did that," the man answers.
"Well, tell me, did you ever do anything good for anyone in your entire life?" St. Peter asks.
The man thinks and finally says, "Well, you know, years and years ago I did go to church once and put a nickel in the offering plate. Does that count?"
St. Peter is stumped. He does not feel that he should allow this man to enter heaven without discussing it first with Jesus. So St. Peter leaves the man and goes to explain the whole story to Jesus, and asks what to do.
Jesus says, "It is simple. You give him back his nickel and tell him to go to [the devil]!" (2) Pardon my crudeness, but we need to face the reality of this text. Jesus says that caring for the needy is serious business! Surprise.
This brings us to the second thing we need to see. THIS PARABLE IS ABOUT FAITH IN ACTION. There are some who will dismiss this parable by saying, "This sounds like salvation by works. I believe in salvation by faith so I don't need to worry." It is true we are saved by faith, but what is faith? Is it a mere intellectual assent or is it a participation in God's work in His world?
E. Stanley Jones once told of a Brahmin convert who began to live at theashram Stanley and others had founded in India. The Brahmins were drawn from the upper caste in India. Everyone in the ashram was expected to participate in the community chores, including the cleaning of latrines. At that task the former Brahmin stopped short, claiming the job was beneath him. When Jones insisted that in Christ there are no unsuitable tasks and that those converted to His lordship should have no trouble cleaning latrines, the Indian responded, "Brother Stanley, I'm converted, but not that far." That's our problem, isn't it? We're converted, but not that far.
Compare that man's attitude to that of one of Mother Teresa's nuns. One day Mother Teresa saw this nun smiling and full of joy. She asked the sister why she was so happy. The nun explained that she had found an old man who had fallen into a drain. The man had been stuck in the drain for some time. He was completely covered with dirt and maggots. The good sister cleaned the man up and took care of his open wounds. As she was doing this something beautiful happened. "I knew I was touching the body of Christ," she said. That's real conversion. That's the kind of conversion that counts.
One Sunday morning Dr. William Quick was in his study going over his sermon before worship at Metropolitan Church when a layperson knocked on the door. The gentleman apologized for the interruption and handed Dr. Quick an envelope saying, "Read this after church."
Following worship that morning Dr. Quick opened the envelope and found a note. This is how it read:
"In the midst of this terrible recession which has hit Detroit large numbers of people are discouraged, out of work, hungry and cold. Many are surely finding their way to our church. During our morning devotions today, Dorothy and I decided that no one in real need should be turned away.
"We don't want our pastor to be unable to help meet their needs whether it be food, medicine, or whatever. Take the proceeds from the enclosed and put it to work among the needy of Detroit.
"We wouldn't want to make it to the Pearly Gates and have St. Peter turn us away because we had plenty and enough to spare while others were starving or freezing to death," the note said. On the substantial gift enclosed were the words: "To the glory of God and for the work of Jesus Christ through the Church." It was signed, Stanley S. Kresge. (3) Perhaps you recognize the name of one of America's great retailers. Stanley S. Kresge knows that if Christ is to shine forth as the light of the world, his disciples must put their faith into action. No task is beneath us. Every person we serve is Christ himself.
This brings us to the last thing to be said, WE HAVE A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY. Have you ever noticed how few truly satisfying experiences there are in life? We sign up for 50 or so channels on our television set and we can't find anything to watch. We chase a little ball around on the golf course, but there is a nagging doubt whether we're really having that much fun. We buy a new car and at first it gives us a real feeling of pleasure, but soon it's just another piece of machinery. Let me suggest that you try something that never gets old or stale or unsatisfying. Do something for somebody truly in need.
Let me tell you about a man named Floyd. According to the standards of the world Floyd was nobody. Floyd traveled around the country looking for work at harvest time. Floyd had no home and no place to go. A couple invited him into their home and gave him a home-cooked dinner. Floyd said very little as they ate. The wife, Nancy, offered to wash his clothes for him but Floyd declined the offer. He picked cherries in the orchard next to their home that day and slept under the trees that gave him his livelihood.
Early the next morning Floyd returned to the couple who had shown him kindness. While he finished one last project in the orchard, Nancy, on an impulse, wrote him a letter telling of God's love. Then she tucked it with a little cash into a New Testament. She found his backpack in the yard, and stuck the packet inside. She imagined him traveling that day looking for work and at the end of the day bedding down somewhere under the stars, weary and all alone. She was warmed by the thought of Floyd's surprise when he discovered her note, the New Testament and the cash she had planted in his backpack.
This Christian couple never saw Floyd again. Four years later Floyd's sister wrote to the them, telling of his death. As Floyd's sister was going through his few belongings she found the New Testament and the letter Nancy wrote telling of God's love. "They must have been very dear to his heart," Floyd's sister concluded, "for he carried them with him until he died." (4)
It was such a simple gesture ” a note, a Bible and a little cash ” but little counts for a lot in the kingdom of God. I don't know about you, but I want to be surprised at finding myself among the sheep on that day of judgment. More importantly, want to possess a faith that's real. I want to take advantage of one of the most joyous opportunities Christ gives us ” to minister to him.
1. Gregory A. Brown, Boynton Beach, FL
2. Leon I. VanWie, Dexter, New York
3. SIGNS OF OUR TIMES. William K. Quick. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1989, pp. 43-44.
4. "Traveling Friend." Nancy Leman. THE UPPER ROOM, March/April, 1993, p. 66.