An Audience with The King

Text:  Matthew 25:31-46

Theme:  “An Audience with The King”

Christ the King Sunday

November 23, 2014

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Denton, Texas

Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

+In the Name of Jesus+

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 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. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 “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. 35 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, 36 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.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “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.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 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.’

44 “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?’

45 “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.’

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

It’s not pope, president, prime minister, speaker of the house, senate majority leader, or Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, etc., and so forth.  We can be glad of that!  The text begins with “Son of Man”  -- a rather ordinary title, actually.  And then it no longer shows up in the reading.  We do get word of the “King”, though – two times!  The King has a word with both the sheep and the goats.

“Son of man.”  Jesus used that of Himself – and King too.  In addition, Jesus is referenced and confessed as “the Christ” (which means “anointed one” or “Messiah”).  Mix it all up, throw it in the air, and it gently and safely lands on this Sunday:  Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday in the church year.  Johann Sebastian Bach wrote “Wachet Auf” for just this day!  Even “Joy to the World”, that traditional Christmas carol, was not written for Christmas; it was written for today (but that’s another story)!  The chances are slim that you’ll find these musical items on an iTunes “Hip Hop” list!  Hyun-Kyung Lee, our organist, got us focused with today’s prelude, “Praise My Soul, the King of Heaven” (which fits perfectly on Christ the King Sunday)!  And we’ve just had the gift of hearing Christ confessed as “Lamb of God” (another great title for our Lord) in the choir anthem with its echoes of language from the book of Revelation.  There’s nothing in there about executive orders, comprehensive immigration legislation, or civil strife in Ferguson, Missouri.  Instead, it’s “Worthy the Lamb that died to be exalted thus!”

Our souls do not need advice.  They need food.  And what blessed nutrients, what rich fare is ours to enjoy in the liturgy – Lord’s Day worship -- as it works its way through the church year. 

So here we are on the last Sunday in that church year.  It’s always important to get one’s bearings straight.  You can get your bearings straight in the Apostles’ Creed too! 

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.  We’re not in heaven; we’re on earth – the earth that God the Father made.  So, we’ve spotted/located ourselves in the first article of the Creed!

I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord – who was conceived by the Holy Ghost; born of the virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead, and buried.  He descended into hell.  On the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.  There we are – right between the ascension into heaven and the return to judge!  I thought we were lost for a moment, but no!  We spot ourselves in the second article.

I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting.  Bingo!  There we are again – between the forgiveness of sins (which we already have – thanks be to God!) and the resurrection of the body (which we do not yet have – with Brother Jesus being the only exception)!  Whew!  I feel relief.  We’ve spotted ourselves in all three paragraphs of the Creed.  We’re not lost after all!

The question, though, based on today’s Gospel reading from Matthew, is this:  Are we among the sheep or the goats?  As we think of this, let me introduce the thoughts of a South African Bishop by the name of Peter Storey:  “You cannot ask Jesus into your heart alone. He will ask, ‘Can I bring my friends?’ You will look at his friends--the poor, the marginalized, the oppressed--and you will hesitate. But Jesus is clear, "Only if I can bring my friends."

One estimate is that roughly 2.1 trillion dollars of accumulated wealth is held in overseas tax havens.   Is that legal?  Yes.  Moral?  That’s a little more difficult to answer, isn’t it?   Well, someone crunched the numbers and discovered that just 1% of that could provide every homeless child with housing.

Although Snopes.com will not confirm or deny the story (they call it a “mixture”), the account of Rev. Jeremiah Steepek is fascinating.  Called to be pastor of a ten thousand member-plus congregation, he introduced himself in a strange way:  as a homeless beggar.  Beaten down and bedraggled looking, he wandered aimlessly through the cavernous sanctuary for thirty minutes before the service.  Thousands of people were there, only three people said hello.  He asked for change for food.  None was given.  Immediately before the service began, ushers asked him to sit in the back.  Time came to introduce the new senior pastor of the mega-church.  The congregation rose.  The beaten, bedraggled beggar walked down the aisle and took to the pulpit.  And he quoted our text; he said what Jesus said: 

34 “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. 35 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, 36 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.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “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 difference between the sheep and the goats, when you get right down to it, is this:  the sheep have no idea that they were serving their King.  “When did we (do this)?” they ask.  The goats, on the other hand, blurt out the following:   “When did we see you (in need) and NOT help you?”

As days stretch into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years, I notice something more and more:  there’s a yearning for something out there.  I believe it’s a yearning for someONE!  It’s hard to put into words, but I think what folks are looking for is this:  an audience with the King.  They want to truly connect with God and with others.  They may never say it, but they’re desperate for it. 

As the church year draws to a close, we can always have an audience with the King; we can  be connected to God right now.  We just need to know where to look.  “Whatever you have done to the least of these my brothers and sisters, you have done to me.”

Amen.