Sunday 11/22/20 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “When The Son Of Man Comes”
Old Testament Scripture: Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24
New Testament Scripture: Ephesians 1:15-23
Gospel Lesson: Matthew 25:31-46
Welcome again, friends, brothers, and sisters, on this our Christ the
King Sunday, and this our Consecration Sunday. It is Consecration Sunday
because this is the official Sunday that we as a Sidney United Methodist Church
gather our giving slips for the coming year. As I did just a little bit ago, we
prayed over these slips, and we asked God to guide us, and to move in us, to help
us to discern our church giving for the coming year. We can give in a variety
of ways, such as time, service, etc., but Consecration Sunday is in part about
blessing the financial commitments that folks have made to God through the
church for the coming year. So, thank you all again for your commitment to
Christ and the church.
As I said, this Sunday is also Christ the
King, or Reign of Christ Sunday. Therefore, our paraments, or the rugs on the
altar table, the pulpit, and the lectern have been changed to white. This is a
special and a holy Sunday in the life of the church. Let me read to you a
little explanation of What Christ the King Sunday is. This is what it says:
“The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, commonly referred to as the Feast of Christ the King or Christ the King Sunday, is a relatively recent addition to the Western liturgical calendar, having been instituted in 1925 by Pope Pius XI for the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. In 1970 its Roman Rite observance was moved to the final Sunday of Ordinary Time. Therefore, the earliest date on which it can occur is 20 November and the latest is 26 November. The Anglican, Lutheran, and many other Protestant churches also celebrate the Feast of Christ the King, which is contained in the Revised Common Lectionary. Roman Catholics adhering to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite use the General Roman Calendar of 1960, and as such continue to observe the Solemnity on its original date of the final Sunday of October. It is also observed on the same computed date as the final Sunday of the ecclesiastical year, the Sunday before the First Sunday of Advent, by Western rite parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_Christ_the_King).
With
all that fancy talk said, this is the official Sunday that we specially celebrate
Christ, as the Lord of our lives, and the King of all Kings. This is a special Sunday,
to celebrate the holiness, the righteousness, and the love of Jesus Christ.
Further, this is the last Sunday of the Christian year, and the Christian year begins
a new next Sunday, on the First Sunday of Advent, leading to Christmas.
With all of this said, my sermon title for this morning,
taken from Jesus’ own words in our gospel of Matthew reading, is called, “When The
Son Of Man Comes”.
Jesus is telling us in this gospel of Matthew reading, what
things will be like when he returns to earth. He is telling us about what expects
from us, and how one day he will ask us what did and why we did it? In this
gospel of Matthew of reading, Jesus talks about separating the sheep from the goats
(Mt. 25:31-46, NRSV). The sheep are the righteous, and the goats are the
unrighteous.
Jesus is the Good Shephard, and we are his flock. Pastor’s
of churches are called to shepherd their flocks. In fact, the concept of sheep
as a good thing, is mentioned throughout the Bible.
For example, our reading from the Book of Ezekiel from this
morning says once again:
“11 For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. 12 As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness” (Ezek. 34:11-12, NRSV).
This morning’s Jesus
says that one day when he returns, he will separate the sheep from the goats.
Speaking of this similarly, the Apostle Paul tells us once
again through is prayer this morning in our Book of Ephesians reading that:
“15 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers” (Eph. 1:15-16, NRSV).
In this prayer, the Apostle Paul is thanking the church
member in Ephesus, or the Ephesians for their faith in Christ, and for loving
each other. As a result of this, the Apostle Paul is immeasurably grateful for the
church in Ephesus, and he prays for them often.
The key question for us to consider then, on this our
Christ the King Sunday, and this our Consecration Sunday, is this, if the
righteous are the sheep, and the unrighteous are the goats, then how do we become
the sheep?
First, when we acknowledge our own human brokenness and our
own sin, and when repent of this to God, we begin to be changed. When we acknowledge
that God is bigger than us, that we are broken, when we ask God to forgive us,
and we accept God Son Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are changed through the
power of the Holy Spirit.
If we now know Christ, and if we are changed, if we are reborn,
and if we are a new creation, then we are different. If we are different, then
how do we live now? If we are Christians, followers of the Lord Jesus Christ,
Christ the King, then how do we live day to day? How do we love each other day
to day? Further, if we are Christians, how would anybody even know this, if did
not tell them?
I was on a Walk to Emmaus Christian men’s retreat one
weekend, and on that weekend a man gave a talk about being a Christian, a
follower of Christ. He said, we can claim to be a Christian, we can tell others
that we are a Christian, but then he asked one of the best questions that I
have ever heard.
My friend Dave asked us all, “If you were on trial for being
a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” Once again, my
friend Dave said, “if you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be
enough evidence to convict you?”
Now do not get me wrong, I believe that eternity with
Christ in heaven is gained through faith, and faith alone. There is not a
certain number of good deeds that we need to perform to be found worthy of
eternity with God. If we repent of our sins, and if we know Christ as our savior,
we will be with him for eternity. It is not a competition, and faith is indeed
enough.
Given this though, while faith is enough, do we live out
our faith in Christ? Do we follow the teachings and the examples of Christ? If
Christ has profoundly changed us spiritually, and if Christ has changed our
hearts, do we not then have a desire to love, serve, heal, and forgive?
This gospel of Matthew reading for this morning really gets
to the heart of this reality. Faith is indeed enough, but do we live our faith,
or is Jesus just our free pass to eternity? Or to put in another, while you are
here present on earth, “If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there
be enough evidence to convict you?”
This gospel of Matthew lesson for this morning was also inscribed
in Spanish on the Christian mission building that I did service work through on
my mission trip to Nicaragua 3-years ago. This once again, is what our gospel
of Matthew reading says for this morning:
“31 “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. 32 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, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left” (Mt. 25:31-33, NRSV).
The imagery of this could not be more powerful for me.
Christ has returned to earth, and all people are assembled before him. Every
country, every nation, all people, before the Lord Jesus, or Christ our King.
Jesus will separate with the sheep or the righteous at his right hand. The goats
or the unrighteous will be at Jesus’ left hand. So, the righteous on the right,
and the unrighteous on the left.
Jesus continues saying:
“34 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; 35 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, 36 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.’ 37 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? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 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’ (Mt. 25:34-40, NRSV).
Jesus says beyond just belief in him, the sheep, the righteous,
live there faith out. The King, Christ the King, tells the sheep that they feed,
clothed, gave water, cared for and visit him in prison. Then the righteous say
to Christ the King, but we never did any of these things for you. Christ the
King then says, but you did all these things for all those around who were hurting
and who were suffering. Jesus says when we serve, love and care for others, we
are serving Him.
When we live our faith grows, people
our changed, our church I changed, Sidney is changed, and the world is changed.
I honestly believe that one of the reasons that churches are largely shrinking
and closing in America and in Western Europe is because faith for many is a private
thing and going to church is total expression of our Christian faith. When
Christ and his gospel, is the very lens through which we see the world though,
we are our changed and the world is changed.
On this Christ the King Sunday, and on this Consecration
Sunday, it is utterly amazing to me that the Christian Church, all over the
world, in all different denominations, has collectively survived for almost
2,000 years. For almost 2,000 years, followers of Christ all over the world
have not just believed in Christ, they have strived to live like sheep. Since
there faith was so central to their lives, they served, they loved, they gave,
and they showed the world their faith. Friends this is how the church grows and
thrives. It is more than just having a good pastor.
On this Consecration Sunday, we have all not doubt heard
the Bible Scriptures about Tithing, about giving 10% of our income to God,
through the church. In fact, some of us have been brow beaten before about
tithing to the church. I read an interesting statistic in preparing for this sermon.
This statistic is this, in America:
- Only 5% tithe, and 80% of Americans only give 2% of their income, to the church. (https://nonprofitssource.com/online-giving-statistics/church-giving/#:~:text=Only%203%2D5%25%20of%20Americans,make%20donations%20to%20nonprofit%20organizations).
So, this makes me think one of two things,
one people just do not have the extra income to give, or two they do not really
believe in the mission of the church. By this I mean, are they are not so persuaded
that the church is truly reaching others, and truly making a difference in the world.
Through priest
scandals, clergy scandals, tv preachers asking you for your hard-earned money in
exchange for a prayer rug, some magic water, or to buy them a private Jet. A
pastor that did not really seem to be concerned about you, the church, or the
community. Yes, indeed, believe me, I can understand why so many give so
little, and why so many have lost faith in the church. Many have given up on
the church and stopped going altogether. Can you blame them though?
Imagine for a minute
though, a church were the people love and care for each other? Imagine a church
that is unified and that wants to serve each other like Jesus tells us to serve
this morning? Imagine a church where the clergy are working hard, are devoted
to Christ, to you, to your family, and our communities. Imagine a church that
does its best to do what it says, and to say what it does.
Friends on this Christ
the King Sunday, and on this Consecration Sunday, what I am telling you is that
the Christian Church in America and Western Europe can still grow and can still
be strong. If people truly knew that were churches out there like the ones that
I just described, would we not be shocked if these churches grew quickly? Would
you not be shocked if these churches had new life, new hope, new members, and
was revitalized? Therefore, Melissa and I tithe, and friends therefore we give.
We give because we believe in that kind of church, the church of the sheep. I
am asking you to continue to travel with God and me in that direction, and if
we do, I believe that God will continue to bless this church through Christ our
King.
Jesus,
Christ our King, then tells us this morning the fate of the goats at his left
hand. Once again, Christ concludes our gospel lesson saying:
“41 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; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 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.’ 44 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?’ 45 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.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Mt. 25:41-46, NRSV).
On this Christ the King Sunday, and on this our
Consecration Sunday, I believe that many churches in the United States and
Western Europe stand on a cliffs edge. I believe that many churches that have
operated for decades and even centuries are teetering. Will we, the followers
of Christ, the sheep of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit and God’s
grace, live our faith and serve others, thereby watching the church continue to
grow in faith, number, ministries, impact, and yes giving. Not so that the
pastor can buy a sports car or a private jet, but so that this church might continue
to become stronger, serve others, be revitalized, and once again be force in
Sidney to be reckoned with.
I do not know about you friends, but Jesus, when Christ the
King returns, I want to be one of the sheep. I want to know that beyond just
faith in my heart that I lived faith. I want to know that as a person and as a
pastor I was part of something that changed hearts, changed lives, and changed
Sidney and the world forever. I will definitely give generously to that. For
this is what I hope for “When The Son Of Man Comes”. Amen.
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