A, Last Sunday of the Church Year Proper 29 - Matthew 25:31-46 "To Be Confessional"

“Jesus is coming!  Look busy!”  These are far from the most theologically sound words to have come from someone’s lips or be written down!

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.

A, Post-Pentecost 11 Proper 14 - Matthew 14:22-33 Romans 10:5-15 "Faith Boat Afloat"

Romans 10: 6–10, 11, 13 (ESV)  “But the righteousness based on faith says, ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);  because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.  For the Scripture says, ‘Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.’  For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Getting in and out of boats is difficult.  Anyone who has ever climbed into a canoe or kayak for the first time becomes aware of the instability immediately!   If sitting in boats is not easy, standing in them is even more difficult.  Standing in a kayak is a sure sign that one is about to get very wet.  Standing in a canoe is not much better!  Even standing in a regular small boat is problematic, not to mention moving around.  One loses their balance very easily in a boat. 

Hopping out of a boat is not much simpler, either at a jetty or at the water’s edge.  Going from the instability of a boat to the unknown of what’s under the surface of the shallows can bring a person unstuck.

Once I experienced getting out of an inflatable rubber dinghy thinking the water was ankle deep.  Awkwardly stepping over the round inflatable edge of the boat one foot descended into the water while the other stayed higher on the floor of the vessel.  At the point of no return one must throw their weight from one foot to the other.  The other foot in the salt water had not touched anything solid. The waves rocked the boat from side to side.  Straddling the inflatable side of the rubber craft meant a moment of uncertainty and lack of control as I couldn’t see what was under my foot.  So, knowing I could see sand nearby, I presumptuously threw my weight and went to stand up on the leg in the water.

I can only imagine what this looked like from the beach.  A man in a trendy blue chambray shirt, cargo trousers rolled up a bit, with sunglasses on and mobile phone on the belt clip, going topsy-turvy head-over-heels into the shallows of the surf.  Apparently, I didn’t see that hole in the sand!  

Total immersed, I stood up quickly, as you do, to see if anyone was looking.  Everyone was looking!  It was holiday time at Byron Bay, the beach was packed from frolicking families to topless tourists sunbaking, and all seemed to be watching the inflatable rubber boat come in to make land fall.  Everyone saw me fall, ego first into the drink!  Embarrassed, everyone watched me walk dripping wet, head down, away from the beach! 

The people of God, gathered to hear God’s word and receive his sacraments, are sometimes pictured as those gathered in a boat, just as were the disciples on the Sea of Galilee.  We call this gathering, church.  Church is the congregation not the building in which it gathers.  In fact, the centre section of the building where the people gather is called the nave, from the same Latin word from where we get navy!

The disciples were having a hard time of it in their nave as they struggled through the night to cross the lake.  They were in the vessel having been made to go without Jesus, while he dismissed the five thousand and went to pray. 

Jesus was alone praying while they were alone at sea.  It was the last watch of the night, the hours between three and six A.M.   This is restless time, the witching hours of the night, when one dreams or has nightmares, or just cannot go back to sleep!  Awake, or dreaming a nightmare, one has their aloneness impressed upon themselves.

So too the disciples as they fought exhausted by the turbulence all around them.  It appeared no one was around to help them!  Then someone does appear, walking towards them.  “Walking!  How can this be?”  Terrified they’re spooked by a phantom, an apparition of calm light walking through the nightmare towards them.

Jesus immediately calms them with his word, saying, “Take heart; it is I.  Do not be afraid.”  (Matthew 14:27 ESV) He tells them, “Have courage, be bold, dare not to be troubled, within themselves, with their situation, with the wind or the waves, and with him!”

Peter is invited with a single command by Jesus, “Come!”  But on entering the water and seeing the wind and waves he doesn’t trust Jesus’ word over what is within him, he sinks and sings out to Jesus, “Lord save me” (Matthew 14:30 ESV) Jesus rescues him from the two-timing faith within himself, saying, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31 ESV)

This is the second time Matthew records the disciple’s faithlessness on the Sea of Galilee.  In chapter eight Jesus was amongst his disciples in the nave of the boat.  While the disciples were nauseated by the thoughts of perishing, Jesus slept.  The fishermen woke Jesus calling him to fish them out and save them from this stormy situation.

Little did they understand these were previews of the greater seismic event of the cross when they would all be faithlessly scattered in fear.  But even before going to the cross Jesus tells of troubled waters ahead where the church will be shaken.

Jesus tells his disciples, “See that no one leads you astray.  For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.  And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.  All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.  “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.  And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.  And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.  And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.  But the one who endures to the end will be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”  (Matthew 24:4–14 ESV)

So, we continue to gather in Christ, knowing trouble is coming, but so too is the end.  If it wasn’t for the Holy Spirit, we would soon forget that Jesus Christ is the ballast in the boat.  We like Peter would quickly revert and return to trust our own spirit, what we see, hear, and feel!  If it wasn’t for the Holy Spirit, we would not know Jesus Christ is Emmanuel, God with us! 

God the Father’s church is one of Law and Gospel!   We are in a community of commandments and faith.  One in Christ, believers gathered as one by the Holy Spirit!

Jesus is the ballast in the boat, having fulfilled the commandments.  The Holy Spirit gives us our balance in the boat, having made us righteous with the ballast we need to remain upright in the Father’s eyes.

Saint Paul paints a picture of those gathered in the nave of Christ’s presence.   Those gathered as church by the Holy Spirit in faith do not ponder in their hearts, “who is going to heaven and who is not going to be saved.”  When one does this, they expose their double-timing faith, falling out in fear, and temp finding out just how deep the hole is they’re presumptuously stepping into!

Wondering who has faith and who hasn’t, immediately excludes you from faith as well!  Why?  Because the only way anyone has faith, is through hearing the word of faith.  While one wonders and ponders, the ears fail to hear, and the mouth is mute and unmoving!

So, what do you hear?  And from it, what do you believe and confess?

We hear that Jesus is in the boat!  Not only that, but we hear he’s the ballast having borne the burden of fulfilling the commandments and our failure to fulfil them. 

Those in church who appear as “good people”, we no longer believe are going to heaven because of their goodness.  That dethrones Jesus from heaven!

Those in church who appear as “not very good people”, we no longer believe are condemned by their deeds.  That brings Jesus up from the dead as if he was never raised in victory over sin and death.  Your sin and death or any other “not very good people’s sin and death”!

No!  Those very people with which you and I are called together, by the Holy Spirit, are called to confess with our mouths that, Jesus is Lord, believing he is in the boat, and we are with him in it.  The Holy Spirit gives us balance in the boat.  That balance is faith, trust in Christ our ballast!

That faith fills our hearts and our mouths so the faithful confession of those gathered to be forgiven and fed the Word of God, as it’s preached, prayed, sung, confessed and consumed, will fulfil the full cycle of faith.

Let us persevere in this holy faith feeding faith, even when we experience trouble and restlessness in the last watch of the night, seemingly falling out of the boat topsy-turvy head-over-heels.  Let us not walk away from the boat ashamed of the Gospel.  But rather let faith empower faith.  Let the Holy Spirit balance the boat and keep you afloat! 

As the Holy Spirit inspires the Romans through Pauls words of faith at the beginning of his letter to them, let it empower you as you hear his confession of faith, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”  (Romans 1:16–17 ESV)

It is the last watch of the night!  Faith reveals Jesus in the boat.  Faith waits for Jesus’ return.  Faith hears Jesus say, “Surely I am coming soon.” Faith says, “Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus!”  The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.  Amen”.  (Revelation 22:20–21 ESV)

Those who have ears, let them hear!  Amen.