Sunday Worship
Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish as we celebrate Christ the King. Our Church services this morning are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes' and 11 am at St Thomas'.
If you are unable to be with us in person, you will find today's Gospel reading, a wonderful reflection from our friend, Revd Dr Paul Monk, prayers and hymns below.
Our first hymn this morning is "From Heaven You Came (Servant King)"
Today's Gospel
Matthew 25: 31-46 The Sheep and the Goats
Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of 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, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Reflection
Today’s Gospel tells us about the great final judgment that every human on planet Earth will participate in, including you, and me. We find this parable in Matthew chapter 25, which shares three different parables all in connection to the return of Christ. The parable of the ten virgins, the parable of the talents, and the parable of the sheep and the goats, which we’ll be looking at today. Additionally, in Matthew 24, we see Jesus talking about the end times, so nestled immediately after his talk about the last days and the destruction of the temple, are these 3 parables.
The parable is very simple, yet it’s also quite complex. It’s also exceedingly practical. It’s a parable about sheep and goats. It’s interesting how Jesus taught the crowds who followed him. He taught spiritual truths by referring to normal parts of everyday life. Typically, ancient nations like Israel were designed in a particular way. There were various walled cities, to defend against invading armies. And these walled cities would be surrounded by farmlands and grazing pastures. There was no complicated supply chain to keep everyone supplied. If a city wanted food, it would have to be surrounded by farmlands and flocks and herds. It’s common. If you think about cities and large towns today it’s pretty similar, you have the innercity area, and surrounding the city you see various farmlands. So what would everyone see and be aware of? Flocks of sheep, goats, farming, planting, and so on. So Jesus taught by referencing such things. If Jesus was walking the Earth today, I imagine he would reference things like the internet, cars, colleges, industries, restaurants, and sports teams.
But, in any case, Jesus teaches here in Matthew 25, about when he returns to Earth. We know that this will happen at some point in the future, though we don’t know exactly when. So let’s just dive in. It says, ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 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. Sheep will typically follow their master, and tend to gather in flocks. Goats are different. They are more independent and more likely to be resistant and go their own way. Jesus uses a simple contrast to help us understand the judgment. And it continues, saying -
‘Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 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.’ If Jesus taught this parable today he would be accused of teaching a works based gospel. This kind of talk makes us wonder, what about grace through faith alone! Do we just have to believe! Well, here it is. Jesus puts a firm emphasis on what people do for others. But surely we couldn’t do any of these things properly without believing in Him first. So the fact that our deeds must bear fruit, it’s very important. It’s vital. It’s evidence of real faith. And if it’s not happening, something is very wrong. Surely we are all providing for others? We provide food to the hungry. Providing water to the thirsty. Offering advice and a cheery word for the homeless. We provide clothing to charities especially for children which fulfil that mandate to provide clothing. And we’re also called to visit and care for the sick, and to visit those in jail. Now you may be tempted to say well there are many charities doing this so I’m good I want to challenge us today, be out there meeting needs. Make it part of our life, make a plan, and get to work providing for the needs of others.
The Gospel continues, ‘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 sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ ‘The King will reply, ‘truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
The amazing thing is, whenever we do one of these things for someone in need, it’s just like we did it for Jesus himself. Did you give someone some food? You did it for Jesus. Did you visit someone in hospital? You did it for Jesus. Did you minister to a child? You did it for Jesus. And apparently part of our judgment as Christians will be, did we fulfil these mandates to help those in need? And in particular, did we help other Christians in need? That’s the most difficult part of this parable to understand though, is Jesus talking about “the least of these my brothers” is he talking about Christians only? Or is he talking about helping anyone? Honestly, I think the best way to resolve this, is to simply help whoever is in need. We could say, and particularly, be helping other Christian brothers and sisters, is that fair? Help anyone, but in particular, if a Christian brother or sister is in need in our faith community, prioritise that need.
Then we see Jesus addressing those on the left, the goats, ‘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 and 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?” and he will reply, ‘truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these; you did not do for me.’
Have you ever noticed someone in need, and the Lord was moving in our heart to go talk to them or help them or pray for them, and we’ve felt the Holy Spirit say go do it, and we didn’t? There have been times most of us have felt that. So if the Spirit is speaking to you, be sure to go quickly and do it. And honestly, if you did feel the Lord moving you to help someone or meet a need, and you didn’t do it, let us repent and ask God’s forgiveness. The Bible says that to know the good we’re supposed to do, and to not do it, that is sin, from James 4:17. In any case, we see Jesus saying depart from me, to the goats, who did not care for him. These are the lazy Christians who did not help those in need. They didn’t serve others. They served themselves. And if we live that way, we’ll be held accountable.
Jesus actually says to them, you are cursed, into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” Scary stuff. And sometimes we don’t like to talk about this part, about divine accountability. God is love. God is mercy. God is gracious. But God is also a just judge .So It matters how you live and the choices to make. We are all accountable to God. And there will be a day of judgment, when we give an account for how we lived. Make doing acts of kindness and love part of your daily life. God will give you opportunities to help people and meet needs. All you have to do is take those opportunities. What is our motivation for this lifestyle of service: God is really real. The Bible is really God’s word. Jesus Christ is really our Saviour. Which means every good deed we do in this life for someone, is just like we did it for Jesus our Lord himself. And we know we will be rewarded in heaven for each good deed we do. Finally I want us to picture in our mind a vision from God, in which they see Jesus in heaven, and Jesus will show these people their house in heaven, and how every time they do a good deed, or preach the gospel, or meet someone’s need, it adds on something new to the house. And Jesus is the carpenter, building the house in heaven, preparing it for them when they arrive in heaven. How beautiful is that? I think it’s amazing. And indeed God’s word says that we will be rewarded for what we do in this life for Christ. Great is our reward in heaven, when we serve Jesus here. Every loaf of bread, every gallon of water, every piece of clothing given to those in need are jewels in your crown in heaven.
I know these things are true. So Christians, be like the sheep that follow our great shepherd Jesus Christ. Don’t be like the goats, who pretend to care about the needy, but don’t really do anything to help people. They just serve themselves. Don’t just pretend. Really live it out. Rev. Dr. Paul Monk
