A, Last Sunday of the Church Year Proper 29 - Matthew 25:31-46 "To Be Confessional"
Apparently, these
are the words written on the buttocks of the phony conspirator, disguised as the
Archbishop of Canterbury, who’s a part of the plot to remove the British
monarchy and anoint an imposter to the royal throne.
Does this sound a
little farfetched and comical? That’s
because it’s the plot of the comical spoof movie, “Johnny English”. Rowan Atkinson plays Johnny English, a
bumbling idiotic English secret agent, seeking to save Great Britian and the
Commonwealth from the evil French megalomaniac, Pascal Sauvage. Johnny English is no James Bond!
“Jesus is
coming! Look busy!” As hilarious and as silly as it sounds that
an archbishop would have this inked on his backside, the idea of being busy
when Jesus returns, is buried and hidden deep within every person’s psyche.
From where does
this come? Every child, every employee,
in fact, every person knows, what this is about. “Quick, quick, mum is coming! Dad is coming! The boss is coming! Stop doing what you’re doing and look
busy!” We’ve all done it; we’ve all
caught someone else out, doing it!
This sense of
guilt and shame does not have to be taught to anyone! From the moment we become aware in infancy,
we seek to hide what we’re doing from those who are responsible for us and our
upbring. Be it parents or any other
authority!
In the Garden of
Eden, the same thing happened. We hear,
“And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the
cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of
the LORD God among the trees of the garden.” (Genesis 3:8 ESV) You can almost hear what
Adam and Eve were thinking when God came looking! “Quick, quick, God is coming, look busy!”
Busy doing
what? Every parent knows the sound of
silence, then scampering feet and excited expressions of children trying not to
get caught out! None of us seem to learn
that looking busy, makes you look guilty, and trying not to look guilty, just
makes you look even more guilty. I can
hear mum saying, “I wasn’t born yesterday!
I didn’t come down in the last shower!”
“Jesus is coming,
look busy!”
It’s actually
comical we think this way, when like our parents, Jesus already knows who you
are and what you’re doing!
However, the
silliness and the hilarity of who we are and what we do has a serious
consequence if we continue believing in these foolish and faithless ways! Jesus will judge the sheep from the goats. Neither the sheep nor the goats say to Jesus,
the King, “When were we busy?” Or “When were we not busy?” Rather the sheep and
the goats both say, “When did we see you?”
Jesus has been
here the whole time! What is it he sees?
What is Jesus
looking for in us? What is he seeing
buried in the depths of your being? A
sheep or a goat!
The picture of
sheep and goats Jesus wants us to see is a picture of passivity verses a
picture of roguish deviousness. Sheep by nature if left to their own devices
will spread out over a field to feed, but when led by a shepherd they flock
behind him.
Goats, like sheep
will follow a shepherd. However, unlike
sheep goats are opportunist. They don’t
need a shepherd. Unlike sheep, goats travel
together, they feed together, and they get into trouble together.
This opportunistic
herding instinct in goats, however, works in one’s advantage when yarding young
goats. They all want to be first! They all race to see what’s in the yard; to
beat everyone else to the unknown. Sheep
don’t herd as well, especially lambs!
They need a good dog to keep them together!
But regardless of
the passivity of a sheep or the devious desire of a goat, neither knows what
the shepherd knows, nor sees what the shepherd sees!
To the surprise of
this son of a goat farmer, these days a goat has embedded itself into the
modern vernacular in a new way. To most
people when you ask, “What is a goat?”, they will tell you, “It’s an animal
that bleats and eats!” Once, if a person
was referred to as being “a goat”, it was not a compliment! But to teens and young adults a G.O.A.T., is
an acronym meaning, “Greatest Of All Time”.
Nevertheless, this
new meaning for a two-legged goat, still fits nicely with the opportunistic
desire of the four-legged animal to which Jesus refers.
Goats don’t need a
shepherd. Those who strive to be the
greatest of all time, usually don’t flock behind a shepherd! No, rather, one usually sees them out in the
lead, herding the desires of those longing to be like the goat to whom they’ve
flocked.
But the goat who
thinks it is the greatest of all time, is seen by the God Of All
Time who “is” the greatest of all time.
He sees, and he will sort the sheep from the goats!
So, what is the
desirable quality Jesus seeks in the sheep?
The sheep know Jesus is coming, but there is neither the need to look
busy, nor the need to look bored. No! The sheep are not interested in looking
anywhere but to Jesus. They are not
interested in a knowledge of goodness, nor a knowledge of evil. They are concerned about gaining a knowledge
of Jesus Christ, the King coming to his kingdom, who has busied himself for
all, and won the battle.
His sheep know,
knowing him is greater than a knowledge of goodness. His sheep know he is so good, he bore all
evil knowledge, and its deeds on the cross.
When you think
“Jesus is coming”, and you act like a goat looking busy, you’ve already missed
the mark. When you think “Jesus is
coming”, and you think you have to act like a sheep, you are a goat disguised
as a sheep. You will end up being like a
fat sheep who acts like a goat!
When you think
“Jesus is coming”, confess to your heart, “I am Jesus’ little
lamb!”
Rather than think,
don’t do, but be! If you think, and you
do, then you’re dead! But you’re
already dead to sin, and now you’re alive in Christ, by the power of the Holy
Spirit! So don’t do! Be!
Let the Holy
Spirit, lead you, in the Word of God, to the Lamb of God, to be with the King
of creation! You are standing under the
cross with Jesus, like Jesus, being led like Jesus by the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is coming,
he is the greatest of all time.
Therefore be! Because you are!
See Jesus in your
enemies, the weak, criminals, the poor, the rejected, all those with whom you
do not want to associate! Then you will
see why Jesus has come to you!
Jesus is coming,
he is the greatest of all time, therefore be because you are!
Know you are a
redeemed sinner, a sinner being redeemed, and a sinner who will be
redeemed!
The Redeemer is
coming, be redeemed! Because you are
redeemed, and he is your Redeemer!
Be a confessor of
Christ, a seer of sin, within, without!
Therefore, be a faithful forgiver!
Be a servant of salvation! You
can! Because Jesus is your Saviour!
St James tells us,
“The prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will
raise him up. And if he has committed
sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore,
confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be
healed. The prayer of a righteous person
has great power as it is working.”(James 5:15–16 ESV)
On this last
Sunday of the Church year, it’s a reminder to us to “come out”, as
sinners. To be what God sees! But also, to see with the eyes of faith,
Jesus in those he wills you to serve!
Let the Holy Spirit lead you, to confess the reality of your full being,
as a forgiven sinner, forgiven of true tangible confessable sins, that have
lost their deadly power and received lifegiving power at the cross.
In your confession
of Christ forgiving you, and your confession of the deeds he has forgiven you,
you will stand under those in whom you see Jesus Christ. And therefore, you will be serving them with
Jesus Christ, under whom you stand!
Then, through your
being in Christ, the Holy Spirit can lift up, the poor, the lonely, the
destitute, and the undesirables to the Lord.
Therefore, confessing your “full” being in Christ! They will hear what you have received, what
you are receiving, and desire to share in what you will receive. Forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation!
This is the
fullness of Jesus Christ who fills all in all.
Amen.
