22November2020 Sermon Sheep, Goats, and Littles Ones

Sermon from November 22, 2020 - Reign of Christ and Thanksgiving Sunday. Our topic, "Sheep, Goats, and Little Ones" is an exploration of the parable in Matthew 25: 31-46.  We consider all the readings as well, including Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 with Psalms 100.

Ezekiel speaks of the shepherd who searches for lost sheep, rescues them from danger, and feeds them from rich pastures. Matthew makes the metaphor personal, as Jesus blesses the “sheep” who feed the hungry and clothe the naked. Truly, this manner of shepherding is an occasion to join the psalmist in making “a joyful noise to the LORD,” for we are indeed God’s people, the sheep of God’s pasture. Thus it is that we are both broken and whole, at once healer and healed, at the same time shepherd and sheep.

Check this out for an additional insight into the parable....here is a snippet from the sermon:

All of this suggests to me that what we have in the parable of the sheep and the goats is not so much a story that urges Jesus’s disciples to be more merciful toward those who are “the least of these.” This story is Jesus’s reassurance to his disciples who are the “least of these:” vulnerable as they carry out his mission to the Gentiles. He reassures them that he is with them and will suitably reward even the Gentiles who unknowingly and unwittingly show mercy to his “brothers and sisters,” the “least of these” whom he is sending out into an often hostile world.

Jesus tells those followers—who have been sent out to him into an often hostile world to tell and show the good news—"I bless even those who don’t know me who treat you well. I will graciously receive those who receive you. I will recognize those who not recognizing me receive you. When the Gentiles, the peoples of the world, receive you little ones, my family, I recognize and receive them.”