Where Can We Find Jesus?

Nov. 23rd 2008
Where Can We Find Jesus ? Matthew 25:31-46

31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will

sit on the throne of his glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and

he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the

goats, 33and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34

Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my

Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35for

I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,

I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was

sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37Then the

righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you

food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38And when was it that we saw you

a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39And when was it that

we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40And the king will answer

them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are

members of my family, you did it to me.’ 41Then he will say to those at his left

hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the

devil and his angels; 42for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and

you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked

and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44

Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or

a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45Then he

will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least

of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46And these will go away into eternal

punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”


One of my favourite movie scenes comes from Dustin Hoffman in the Rainman. He is a

developmentally disabled man who is fixated on seeing People’s Court at 4 oclock.

Tom Cruise, his brother and conservator, is flummoxed by this need to schedule their

road trip to ensure they can see Judge Wapner at 4. We have many images of our

legal system as part of our entertainment. For one generation it was Perry Mason.

I’ve sat through many episodes with my Dad. I grew up with the comedy, Night Court.

Now we have Allie Mcbeal, Boston Legal and Shark.

What is our fascination with court room dramas? It's right up there with

hospital dramas. Perhaps this stems from an inferiority complex that we never became

the lawyers and doctors that society pushes us to strive for. These are not callings

for everybody, but we have a sacred vocation nonetheless. I treasure Dr. King’s

reframe of our sense of vocation. He highlights the dignity of being a street

sweeper. God calls us to making meaning relationships where we are. God can use in

might ways in the various stations of life where we find ourselves. God can use our

mustard seeds of faith and transform our world into arboretums and orchards.

We often like to see Jesus as our friend, our comforter. I like to joke about

some of the praise songs we call Jesus is my boyfriend songs. There is this tension

between the intimacy of God and the mystery of God’s grandeur. On Christ the King

Sunday, we need to remember that Christ Jesus is the Sovereign judge , and one day

there will be a reckoning for how our world has unfolded. Yes, Jesus is our

comforter but he is also our eternal judge. One day we will have to present our

case, were we are our brother’s keeper? God is all knowing. God sees how our

brothers and sisters are being treated and mistreated. There will come a time when

the sheep and goats are separated. This will be in God’s times and the decision

rests with God.

In our pop psychology era, we need to be careful not to domesticate God and make

our Triune God merely our best friend. Our parents have understood that they could

not just be friends with their children. There were times when they strictly needed

to be our fathers and mothers. They had to practice tough love, regardless of

whether what their preference was. God is our truest parent, holding us in

unconditional love but also holding us accountable. God is the parent who loves us

all uniquely and equally. But God also loves us too much for us to stay stuck as

goats when we were meant to be sheep.

When we look at our world as a family system, we see that we are siblings

trying to vie for God’s approval and blessing. Do we measure our relationship with

God based on our material wealth? Is this the only way God blesses our brothers and

sisters? I know many of us like to think we live in a post colonial world. Do you

think God was blessing the American, British, French, Dutch and Spanish slave

traders who denied our African Brothers and Sisters of their freedom and dignity? I

know and trust that the God of the Exodus and Empty was more present with the least

among us in shackles than the masters above aboard who considered themselves

faithful Christians.

We need to humbly confess that sometimes as a society we have presumed that we

are God’s favorites and trampled on our brothers and sisters who truly are the least

among us. Some of our ancestors may have been wealthy but they grew distant with God

when they oppressed the least among us. Our bigotry, prejudice and mental jujitsu

enabled folks to live with this lie. We need this gospel passage to remind us just

where it is we will find Jesus.


Our Gospel lesson presses the point that we need to broaden our definitions of what

constitutes a blessing from God. The next time you hear a politician say, “God Bless

America”, I want us to remember this point. We need to pray that God blesses us with

the spiritual gifts we desperately need to live out our calling. We are not God’s

favourites just because we have an abundance of comforts in this life. As Jesus has

taught us, we need to keep our eyes on the treasures of heaven, where no thieves, no

rust or moths can diminish.

Having been in several countries in the developing world, I have heard a unique

understanding of what Gospel message is for us. As I mentioned a couple of weeks,

this realized eschatology stresses that the kingdom of God is breaking in here and

now. We understand that ultimately the New Jerusalem will not be complete until

Christ the King is seated on his throne to separate the sheep and goats. If we are

to be faithful sheep of Christ’s fold, we need to commune with the least among us.

I am grateful to see that this congregation has an ongoing ministry in Haiti.

This is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. They have 75 %

unemployment. The average yearly income is only $ 440. Imagine. . . many of us make

more than that in just one week, or even a couple of days. 50 % of Haitians have no

access to drinkable water.

Recently, I spent three hours driving around Port Au Prince trying to find St

Joe’s Home for Boys. I felt like I was back in Africa. The most profound encounter

came when I visited the mothers holding their babies suffering from Spinal Bifida

and Hydrocephila. When I placed my hand on their children’s feet and prayed with

them, I sensed Jesus presence in a powerful way. In spite of the language barriers,

I could tell the parents were receptive to prayers. Yes, Jesus is truly present with

the least of among us, especially parents struggling to care for their sick child.

The least among of us are also here on our doorstep. We need to remember that

the Eastside has a history of different immigrant communities coming to America to

pursue our common dream. Many of the Swedes, Italians and Poles have moved on and

now the Hmong, African Americans and Latinos carry this torch of the making the

American dream a reality. Jesus is present with our brothers and sisters and their

struggle to make ends meet. Parents are having to work two and three jobs to be to

send money home and to still be able to put something on the table for dinner.

We are remembering the least among us when we collect food for our local

pantries and collect the shoe boxes for the children ministered to by Samaritan’s

purse. We find Jesus present with them as they realize that they are not alone, nor

are they forgotten. We stretch ourselves to move beyond mere acts of charity, and to

walk humbly with our brothers and sisters struggling for their daily bread.

In these difficult economic times, we realize that many of our families or only

paycheck or mortage payment away from dire straits. No one needs to feel they are a

charity case, or that our acts of kindness come with strings attached. We are not

waiting to see if you say thank you or demonstrate adequate appreciation. It’s

enough for us to know that God has used us a means to answer prayers and commune

with the least among us.

We serve a God who has a preferential for the poor. This is one of truths that

liberation theologians throughout the world have taught us. God is all knowing, and

God hear their cries for deliverance. Our faithful response is more than just being

a good person or the warm fuzzies we receive. In God’s mysterious economy, we

receive at the very same time that we are giving. God is waiting for us to encounter

the Spirit that dwells in our brothers and sisters on the margins. We let our

hearts and minds be softened so we can hold the pain and sorrows so many of us

carry.

As the holidays approach, we know there will be a lot campaigns and photo ops. As

sheep of the Good Shepherd, we will stay the course long after the holiday season.

Christ will be communing with our brothers and sisters these other eleven months of

the year. We will do our best to find ways staying connected. This is

where the rubber meets in our faithful witness to Jesus Christ. Bearing the light

and salt of Christ requires genuine relationships with people. We are called to be

more than another local non-profit cutting a check now and then.

May people continue to catch glimpses of the New Jerusalem in our ministries.

This is what makes us who we are. Our mission is reach out with love and compassion

to the people Jesus has been waiting for us to join all along. We don’t bring Jesus

to them, God has been there waiting for the sheep of his fold to catch up with him.

On that glorious day when Christ holds court as our eternal judge and King, I pray

that each of us will be among the sheep, side by side, with our afros of wool

touching. Our sheep wool grows, every time we witness to the Kingdom of God, and

fellowship with the least among us. Here, we find Jesus drawing us into his fold.