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| Share Agape for the week of July 21, 2003 |
| Where Is God Today? Matthew 25:32-46 "All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance�For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me. Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sic or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Then he will say to those on his left. 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger ad you did not invite me in. I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' He will reply, 'I tell you the truth whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." The parable of the sheep and the goats is one of the most biting that Jesus ever told. Here, he lays our future out for all to observe. It's unflinching in the "facts of life." It's firm. It's even a little chilling. There's no doubt that at the heart of the parable is this fact: The sheep (those who have relationships with Christ) will have eternal life with God, and the goats (those who don't) will spend eternity in punishment, separated from God. But when you examine the parable in the context of what surrounds it, I believe it takes on additional significance. In Mat. 24: 42-50, Jesus tells us that the day and hour of his return to earth is unknown to mankind, but that we should always be prepared. He compares himself to the owner of a house, who goes away for a time. We're like his servants, he says, and better for the owner to come home and find his servants being watchful and obedient than to discover them "playing while the cat is away," as the old saying goes. Then, in Mat. 25:1-13, Jesus tells the parable of the ten virgins. In this story, he compares himself to a bridegroom who arrives at a very late hour--so late that the wedding party (the virgins, or us) fall asleep waiting for him. Next, in Mat.25:14-28, in the parable of the talents, Jesus compares himself to the master that goes away on a journey, leaving his servants (us) with portions of his property. When he returns from his long journey, he finds that some of them handled his property well, and others did not. Only then does Jesus tell the parable of the sheep and goats. Each of these parables deals with Christ's departure and, after what appears to be a long time, his return. And it seems to me these parables directly answer those who ask: "Where is God today? Has he left us?" The parable of the sheep and goats answers these questions directly: "No, I'm right here and have been here all along. You just didn't recognize me." That's where I get the chills. It may be difficult for us to look at a frazzled, strung-out street wanderer and not recoil. Yet Jesus tells us not to; instead, he says, we should reach out and help. Why? Because, in some way--mostly mysterious to us--that homeless drug addict is him. As Mother Teresa once said, "First we meditate on Jesus, and then we go out and look for him in disguise." NEXT ~~~> |
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