“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. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.
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; for 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, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’
Then 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? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’
And 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.’
Then 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; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I 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.’
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?’
Then 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.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”- (Matthew 25:31-46)
Before starting seminary, I spent a year with the ELCA’s Young Adults in Global Mission program in Slovakia. During the year, I worked with Roma, or gypsies, and non-Roma, or gadje, in after school programs, youth group, and church.
During orientation for my year, we were told that as we went to our countries of service, we were not going to bring God to the people there. Instead, we were going to find that God is already at work in and with the people we were going to serve.
It wasn’t about trying to be Christ’s presence for others, trying to be, as Martin Luther said “little Christs.” It was about recognizing Christ in those we were to encounter. In the family I lived with, the youth I worked with, in the Roma, discriminated against because of things they could not change, in the “gadje,” trapped in the role of oppressor, discriminating because they knew no other way.
How hard it was for me to see Christ in those I disagreed with.
Salvation meant something completely different to my host parents than it did to me. The gadje youth who distrusted and joked about the Roma youth I connected with so deeply. The Roma youth who spoke bitterly of the gadje youth I also connected with so deeply. I struggled to see Christ in each person I encountered while I was in Slovakia.
Even harder, though, has been coming back. I have been back for just over a year now and each day I struggle, much of the time forgetting, to recognize Christ in those I encounter on a day-to-day basis. Sometimes I wish God could give me one of those big orange highway signs, but instead of “men working” it would say “Christ working.” But that’s what this reading is. This reading is our “Christ working” sign, making sure we know that God is working and Christ is in, and indeed is, all those around us.
Although this reading has oftentimes been used to encourage people to acts of charity, its radical nature lies not in what people do, but precisely in where Jesus is found. Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, just as you did (or did not) do it to one of the least of these, you did (or did not) do it to me.” Here, Jesus fully identifies as the “least of these.”
Jesus!
the Son of Man
king
Lord
the Christ
fully identifies in humanity.
He doesn’t just say that we should treat each other nicely, he says that as we treat others so we treat him. Our interactions as humans with other humans are no longer simply person-to-person, they are interactions with Christ.
Neither the group on the right nor the one on the left really gets what Jesus is talking about. They respond to Jesus’ declaration of what they have or have not done by asking when exactly this took place, because they don’t seem to quite recall it. The two groups are simply living their lives, yet Jesus surprises them as he reveals that their actions were not ordinary actions, but were actions done to Christ.
“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,” the king answers the group on the right.
“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,” he tells the group on the left. Christ is in those that each group encountered daily.
Now I can use my resources to buy fair trade, but if I am motivated more by pity or guilt than by love and recognition of Christ in those who grow the coffee beans I buy, then what does it mean? In the reading for today, we find the climax of Matthew’s identification of who exactly this Christ is. We find that Christ is “the least of these.” Christ is not there to encourage “good behavior,” but to be the “other.”
Like the people in today’s reading, Christ surprises us when Christ is present in the “other” we encounter each day. Christ surprises us and frees us to encounter Christ in the Starbucks barista. Christ frees us to encounter Christ in the blue line train operator taking us to work or school each day.
Christ frees us to encounter Christ in the person who cuts us off in rush hour traffic... and in the person we cut off in rush hour traffic. Christ frees us to encounter Christ in the annoying person on their phone on the bus. Christ frees us to encounter Christ in the gossiper, the snitch, the teacher’s pet, the reject, the goth, the popular one, and the athlete.
Christ frees us to encounter Christ in the person asking for money or food at the Kennedy Expressway exit. Christ frees us to encounter Christ in the person unwilling to give even spare change or a sandwich to alleviate our hunger.
Christ frees us to encounter Christ in the classmate who is harassed and bullied each day ………and in the bully who knows no other way to feel good than to bully. Christ frees us to encounter Christ in the neglected. the abused. the addicted.
Christ frees us to encounter Christ in the 99% and in the 1%. Christ frees us to encounter Christ in the Republican, the Democrat, the Independent, the Tea Party-er, the Occupy-er.
Christ frees us to encounter Christ in the lesbian woman, the straight man, the gay man, the transgender woman, and the precious child of God still questioning and exploring who they are and whom they might love.
Christ frees us to encounter Christ in the homeless, the home-blessed, and the homebound. Christ frees us to encounter Christ in the hospitalized, the disabled, the temporarily abled, the differently abled.
Christ frees us to encounter Christ in the one behind bars, the one keeping others behind bars, the one who should be behind bars, and the one who is free............. But what about Penn State? How can we possibly encounter Christ in Jerry Sandusky, Coach Joe Paterno, President Stanier, the survivors, the students rioting and those holding vigils?
Christ frees us to encounter Christ in the Christian, the Jewish, the Muslim, the Buddhist, the Atheist neighbor. Christ frees us to encounter Christ in the Native American, the Caucasian, the African American, the Latina/o. Christ frees us to encounter Christ in the recent immigrant, who shares a room with five to ten other immigrants some with papers and some without all scrimping and saving money to send back home to put food on the table.
Christ frees us to encounter Christ in those who have power over us and in those over whom we have power. Christ frees us to encounter Christ in our children, our siblings, our parents, our grandparents, and cousins. Even when we are stressed by all of those gathered around our tables and TVs with food to be shared. As we look ahead to Thanksgiving and Christmas, it is easy to be overwhelmed with the prospect of so many people in one space at one time, and yet Christ is there and frees us to encounter Christ among all the chaos!
Christ frees us to encounter Christ in the parking lot, in the playground, in the Three Brothers’ Garden, the hospital, the nursing home, the office building, the grocery store. Christ frees us to encounter Christ as we come together today to be fed. Christ welcomes all to a common table to share in the feast—the body and blood of our Savior, uniting us in one body—to receive God’s grace in the midst of this community.
Christ frees us to encounter Christ in each other and Christ frees us to encounter Christ in ourselves. Christ frees us to encounter Christ everywhere because Christ our King’s reign is just. that. big!
Amen!
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