Feast of Christ the King, Cycle A

MATTHEW 25:31-46
IN A DISCUSSION IN ONE OF OUR DEACON CLASSES, ONE OF MY BROTHERS, WHO PASSED AWAY ONLY A FEW YEARS AFTER ORDINATION, TOLD US THIS STORY: HE WAS IN THE MALL UP IN HOLYOKE. AN AFRICAN AMERICAN MAN WHO WAS POORLY DRESSED AND POORLY GROOMED CAME UP TO HIM AND ASKED HIM TO BORROW ENOUGH MONEY TO TAKE THE BUS TO VERMONT, WHERE HE SAID HE LIVED. HE HAD BEEN RIDING THE BUS FROM ALABAMA, WHERE HE HAD GONE TO VISIT HIS AGING MOTHER. HE'D LOST HIS WALLET SOMEWHERE, AND NEEDED TO GET HOME. THE BUS FARE WAS ABOUT 40 DOLLARS. THE QUESTION MY BROTHER POSED WAS, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR RESPONSE? WE DEACON CANDIDATES GAVE A VARIETY OF RESPONSES. ON ONE EXTREME WAS THE FLAT REFUSAL TO HELP, ON THE GROUNDS THAT THIS SOUNDED FISHY. ANOTHER WAS TO OFFER THE MAN A MEAL, SINCE IF HE HAD NO MONEY, HE WAS PROBABLY HUNGRY; BUT NOT TO GIVE HIM MONEY. ANOTHER WAS THE OFFER TO DRIVE THE MAN TO THE BUS STATION AND BUY THE TICKET FOR HIM; IF HE REALLY WANTED TO GO TO VERMONT, HE'D GO ALONG WITH IT; BUT IF HE JUST WAS LOOKING FOR A HANDOUT, HE'D PROBABLY MOVE ON TO THE NEXT LIKELY VICTIM. AFTER WE'D ALL WEIGHED IN WITH OUR ANSWERS, MY BROTHER TOLD US HIS RESPONSE: HE'D GIVEN THE MAN THE BUS FARE PLUS A LITTLE EXTRA. THE MAN TOOK DOWN HIS ADDRESS AND PROMISED TO REPAY THE MONEY.
AT THAT POINT WE ALL FELT VERY SUPERIOR; WE WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SUCKERED INTO THAT, NO WAY. AND WE GAVE OUR ARGUMENTS, ALL OF WHICH IN RETROSPECT WERE RELATED TO THE FACT THAT THE MAN WAS AFRICAN AMERICAN, POORLY CLOTHED, OBVIOUSLY UNWASHED, AND HOW MANY AFRICAN AMERICANS LIVE IN VERMONT, ANYWAY? WE WANTED TO BE CHARITABLE, BUT ONLY UNDER OUR TERMS.
AND THEN MY BROTHER TOLD US THAT A FEW DAYS AFTER THIS EVENT, HE RECEIVED A REGISTERED LETTER CONTAINING THE AMOUNT HE HAD LOANED THE MAN, ALONG WITH A HEARTFELT THANK-YOU NOTE, POINTING OUT THAT HE HAD APPROACHED TWENTY OR THIRTY PEOPLE AND SPENT THE WHOLE DAY LOOKING FOR ENOUGH MONEY TO GET HOME; AND EVERYONE TURNED HIM DOWN; AND HE WAS SO GRATEFUL TO MY BROTHER FOR TRUSTING HIM.
TODAY WE HEAR ABOUT THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS, ABOUT JUDGMENT. AND WE LEARN THAT JESUS DOESN'T EVEN MENTION WHAT YOU BELIEVE OR HOW OFTEN YOU PRAY, OR FOR THAT MATTER, WHAT SORT OF SINS YOU ARE GUILTY OF. THE ONLY THING THAT SEPARATES THE SHEEP FROM THE GOATS IS WHETHER THEY HAVE REACHED OUT TO THE LEAST OF THEIR BROTHERS IN CHARITY. WHAT YOU DO OR DON'T DO FOR THEM, YOU DO OR DON'T DO FOR JESUS, IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT.
DON'T GET ME WRONG, BELIEF IS IMPORTANT, PRAYER IS IMPORTANT, BEING IN A STATE OF GRACE IS IMPORTANT. BUT THESE ARE IMPORTANT INSOFAR AS THEY HELP US TO BE MORE GENEROUS, TO GIVE OF OURSELVES TO OTHERS; BUT ALSO, TO MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICES WHEN WE DO SO. EVEN WHEN WE ARE CHARITABLE, WE CAN CAUSE MORE HARM THAN GOOD. THE BOY SCOUT WHO INSISTS ON HELPING THE OLD LADY ACROSS THE STREET, EVEN WHEN SHE ISN'T PLANNING TO CROSS THE STREET, IS THE CLASSIC EXAMPLE.
BUT THERE IS ANOTHER LESSON IN THIS GOSPEL STORY, AN INDIRECT ONE. THAT HAS TO DO WITH JUDGMENT, YOURS AND MINE. IN THE STORY I TOLD YOU, ALL OF US HAD MADE A JUDGMENT OF THE PERSON DESCRIBED BY MY BROTHER, AND THAT JUDGMENT SAT AT THE BASIS OF OUR RESPONSE TO HIS NEED. WE HAD JUDGED HIM AS DISHONEST, AS UNTRUSTWORTHY; MAYBE WE HAD JUDGED HIM AS TOO LAZY TO WORK. AND WHEN WE HAD FIGURED OUT WHAT WE THOUGHT OF HIM, WE MADE OUR CHARITABLE ACT OR LACK OF CHARITY BASED UPON THAT IMPRESSION. MY BROTHER, ON THE OTHER HAND, MADE NO SUCH JUDGMENT; PERHAPS THAT'S WHY GOD CALLED HIM HOME SO SOON AFTER HE WAS ORDAINED A DEACON.
IN THE GOSPEL STORY, JESUS TELLS US TWO THINGS ABOUT JUDGMENT; FIRST, THAT WE WON'T GO WRONG BY CHOOSING NOT TO JUDGE THOSE WE HELP. IF WE MEET SOMEONE WHO SEEMS TO BE IN NEED, THEN OUR RESPONSE AS CHRISTIANS IS TO ASSUME THAT THINGS ARE AS THEY APPEAR TO BE. A GREAT MAN ONCE GAVE A SIZABLE AMOUNT TO A BEGGAR ON THE STREET. HIS FRIEND OBSERVED THAT IN ALL LIKELIHOOD, THE MONEY WAS GOING TO BUY LIQUOR AND NOT FOOD. THE MAN REPLIED, “I DID NOT GIVE HIM MONEY TO BUY FOOD OR TO NOT BUY LIQUOR. I GAVE HIM MONEY BECAUSE I AM A CHRISTIAN.” THE SECOND POINT IS THAT WE HAVE NO BUSINESS JUDGING ANYWAY. THAT IS RESERVED FOR THE LAST DAYS, FOR THE RETURN OF THE KING. ONLY HE WILL HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION TO DECIDE WHO IS A SHEEP AND WHO IS A GOAT. EVERY TIME WE MAKE A JUDGMENT ABOUT A OTHER PERSON, EVEN WHEN IT SEEMS AS THOUGH THAT JUDGMENT IS GREATLY JUSTIFIED, WE ARE TAKING THE ROLE THAT BELONGS ONLY TO GOD.
THE STORY IS TOLD ABOUT MOTHER THERESA AND HER NUNS, WHO WERE INVITED TO ADDRESS A CONFERENCE ON POVERTY. DELEGATES FROM ALL OVER INDIA FILED INTO THE HALL IN CALCUTTA, AND WAITED TO HEAR FROM THIS FAMOUS ADVOCATE OF THE POOR. BUT THE TIME CAME AND WENT, AND EVENTUALLY IT WAS APPARENT THAT SHE WAS NOT GOING TO SHOW UP. AS THEY LEFT THE BUILDING, THEY NOTICED THAT THE NUNS WERE ATTENDING TO THE BEGGARS ON THE STREET OUTSIDE THE HALL, THE SAME ONES THAT THE DELEGATES HAD STEPPED OVER AND AROUND ON THEIR WAY TO THE CONFERENCE.
IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, YOU ARE CONSTANTLY MAKING JUDGMENTS ABOUT PEOPLE. I THINK IT'S NATURAL; IN THE 100,000 YEARS WE WERE LIVING IN TRIBES IN AFRICA, IT WAS A PROTECTIVE MECHANISM. BUT AS IN SO MANY THINGS, JESUS CALLS US TO EVOLVE A LITTLE FURTHER; IN HIS OWN TIME, HE TREATED EACH PERSON HE MET AS AN INDIVIDUAL, WHETHER A PROSTITUTE, A TAX COLLECTOR, OR A ROMAN SOLDIER. EVEN WHEN HE IS POINTING OUT SOMEONE'S FAULTS, HE IS CAREFUL TO RESPECT THE PERSON; AND HE NEVER SENDS ANYONE AWAY WHO COMES TO HIM. AND THE FACT THAT HE DID NOT JUDGE SET HIM APART IN A DAY WHEN MOST PEOPLE JUDGED THE WORTH OF A PERSON BY HIS RELIGION, HIS GENDER, EVEN THE CLOTHING HE WORE. AND A WORD OF WARNING: IF YOU CHOOSE TO LIVE THIS WAY, YOU DO RISK CRUCIFIXION.
WHEN MY BROTHER TOLD US THE STORY OF THE MAN WHO NEEDED TO BUY A BUS TICKET, I THINK ALL OF US HAD THE SAME REACTION: WE WERE A LITTLE ANGRY AT MY BROTHER – BECAUSE HE HAD SHOWN US THE CHRISTIAN RESPONSE TO SOMEONE'S NEED. AND MAYBE IF HE HAD KEPT DOING THAT OVER AND OVER AGAIN, WE MIGHT HAVE FELT LIKE CRUCIFYING HIM, ALTHOUGH IT WASN'T ALLOWED IN THE DEACON FORMATION PROGRAM.
WHEN WE JUDGE OTHER PEOPLE, WE NECESSARILY TAKE AWAY THEIR HUMANITY IN OUR EYES. THIS HAPPENS EVEN WHEN WE CATEGORIZE THEM AS RICH OR HOLY OR THE SALT OF THE EARTH. WHEN WE JUDGE, WE THROW UP A BARRIER SO THAT IT IS HARDER TO GET TO THE REAL PERSON WHO IS THERE; AND WHEN WE JUDGE SOMEONE WHO IS POOR, DISHEVELED, PERHAPS THE WRONG COLOR, OR SPEAKING THE WRONG LANGUAGE, OR GOING TO THE WRONG CHURCH, WHAT WE DO FOR THEM IS NOT CHARITY, BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T COME TO KNOW THEM.
SO THIS WEEK LET'S EXAMINE HOW INSTINCTIVELY WE JUDGE OTHERS; AND START TO ERADICATE THAT FROM OUR LIVES; LET US REMEMBER THAT JUDGMENT IS RESERVED FOR THE GREAT KING AT THE END OF TIME.