Watching for the Morning of November 26, 2017
Year A
Christ the King / Reign of Christ:
Proper 29 / Lectionary 34
So Atticus Finch turned out to be a racist – kind of a soft, benevolent racist, but a racist nevertheless. And Charlie Rose turned out to be I’m not quite sure what, but hardly the warm, intelligent, nobility he portrayed on television. Power does some ugly things. It gives rein to the perversities of the human heart. We begin to think we will not be accountable for our actions.
“You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your countenance.”
This is not our psalm for this coming Sunday; it was the psalm last week. But its voice lingers. And we have heard the words of Jesus when he says “For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light.” I don’t know for sure what Jesus’ meant. I think it had more to do with the reign of God that is now hidden ultimately shining forth, but Jesus repeats the idea in Luke 12:2 when he is talking about hypocrisy. Where the light shines, what lurks in the shadows is revealed.
So Sunday brings us to the final Sunday of the church year and the great assize – though there is no inquest here, no examination, no discovery, just a passing of sentence: the great judgment. All the nations are gathered before the Son of Man in his glory. The jig is up. Some are sheep. Some are goats. And it’s time to divide the flock. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it.
It is a great story about the importance of simple kindness – as Tolstoy expressed so wonderfully in the story of Martin the cobbler. It declares what is valuable in the eyes of God. In it’s simple form it reprises the Sermon on the Mount and embodies the character of God’s reign: justice and mercy. Fidelity to one another is fidelity to God.
So Sunday we will hear God speak through Ezekiel about judging between the fat sheep and the lean sheep and the promise to appoint a new shepherd. And we will sing with the psalmist that God is “a great King above all gods.” We will hear the author of Ephesians write of Christ risen from the dead and seated at the right hand of God “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come.” Together they will bear witness that Christ is the final measure of our lives and the final goal of all creation. It will stand against the claim of all earthly rulers to our faith and allegiance. It will also stand against all human pretension.
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment. (Romans 12:3)
The Prayer for November 26, 2017
Eternal God, Lord of all,
before you every human community and every human life must stand,
and by the example of your Son, Jesus, be measured.
Grant us an abundance of his Spirit,
that as he brought your grace to the fallen and your healing to the broken,
we too may be agents of your compassion;
through your son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
The Texts for November 26, 2017
First Reading: Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
“I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.” – God speaks a word of judgment upon the shepherds of Israel (the leaders of the nation) who take care of themselves rather than the people in their care. God will be their shepherd and gather his scattered flock. He will judge between the fat and the lean sheep and appoint a new David to govern them.
Psalmody: Psalm 95:1-7a
“O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.” – In these opening verses of Psalm 95, the poet calls the community to acclaim God, the creator of all, as their king.
Second Reading: Ephesians 1:15-23
“He has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things.” – With soaring poetry, the author of Ephesians offers his prayer for the community – prayer that rises into praise of God who raised Christ Jesus “above all rule and authority” and placed all things under his feet.
Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory… All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” – The final parable of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel is this vivid declaration that the nations will be judged by their treatment of “the least of these” with whom the Son of Man identifies himself: “as you did it to one of the least of these…you did it to me.”
Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AFra_Angelico_009.jpg Fra Angelico [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons