Leaving Judgement at the Door

Revelation 21:1-6a 

This picture of the 'sheep and the goats' at our end always seems to come across as an angry God finally getting his payback on people. 

This is no mere piece of art imagined by a mere human being pondering great mysteries unsure of who God actually is. This is God giving the vision of how it actually is and how it will be. 

Even more, this is a vision of the final point in human history told by a real person; a person who claims to be God himself in his own human history and place. He is the baby in the box born for the cross.

Only the skilled Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep in love knows who is who. Only he can draft these animals accurately. Only he really knows them and sees them inside and out.

Transcript

Homily

New Year's Eve 2019

 LEAVING JUDGEMENT AT THE DOOR

Revelation 21:1-6a 

Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’[a] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling-place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death”[b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’

5 He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’

6 He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.

Matthew 25:31-46 

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 ill 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 ill 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 ill 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 ill 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.’ 

This picture of our end always seems to come across as an angry God finally getting his payback on people. People seem to hear this final scene of planet earth as the actions of a vindictive, harsh, brutal God paying people back for their many sins. It seems to be received as confirmation that if there is God, he is distant, uncaring, harsh and in the end, always judgemental of us humans.  

If this was merely an imagination, a picture, a painting, a song, a piece of art or poetry conjured up by a mere human being, then I guess it would be fair to judge this picture of the final judgement as just that – harsh judgement for all wrongs.  

But this is no mere piece of art imagined by a mere human being pondering great mysteries unsure of who God actually is. This is God giving the vision of how it actually is and how it will be. Even more, this is a vision of the final point in human history told by a real person; a person who claims to be God himself in his own human history and place. He is the baby in the box born for the cross. 

This is a word from Jesus, the Sent One who is on his way to rescue his creation from the just end to their unjust behaviour. This picture is spoken by a man giving himself for all people to minimise any harsh judgement of God on anyone. He is the one who will give up everything he can at the most extreme cost to do all that is possible for the goats to be very few. He speaks this vision to make us aware of how things really are. Even that in itself is an act of love! 

And this man names himself the Good Shepherd. This is important here because as I am sure you have heard here and in other places many times over your journey with this ‘Sheep and Goats’ word, you have to be a very skilled shepherd to figure out who is a sheep and who is a goat. That is how it is in the Middle East to this day. They all look like goats to me! Their sheep don’t look like our woolly merinos. They really do look like goats to my Aussie eyes.  

So, here is the point of this vision of the end, I believe. Only the skilled Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep in love knows who is who. Only he can draft these animals accurately. Only he really knows them and sees them inside and out. Their actions are just an extension of their heart and he sees that and knows their heart like you and I cannot.  

This is evident: Even the sheep don’t know they are sheep and the goats don’t know they are goats! But Jesus does. And that is the point. I believe Jesus speaks this vision to tell us who know his love not to get ahead of ourselves, taking his place in deciding who is who; who is a sheep and who is a goat. This is a checking of any sense of condemning people on our part.  

You and I simply can’t make judgements about who the “good people” and “bad people” are then or now. Only God can draft them right. Only he knows the heart and the full truth of person. That means I can’t and don’t and nether do you.   

So, what it becomes is an encouragement to go ahead and keep doing what we are doing – loving people in their need as they are without judgement.  

I love the fact that we as a congregation do this on a daily basis wit so many people in or community, both here around St Petri and just about everywhere else in this town! We keep doing what we are doing for love and in Jesus’ name.  

I find this a calling to learn to be one of sheep more – loving more, judging less, trusting hi for his justice and his full awareness of who is doing hat and what it all means.  

I guess that is the other good news here. Justice will be complete in this world and in my life. The wrongs done to me are noticed as much as the wrong I do. Only by faith in the Good Shepherd’s care and his awareness and commitment to right all things fully in the end, do I live with freedom and clear purpose – to love, in his name.  

So we leave judgement about 'bad people' at the door in our congregation and simply get on in 2020 with all this caring, loving, sharing welcoming ways and we do this in the hope that the Spirit will work in our loving and more and more people will grasp this and be caught up God's vision of what we are becoming… where he, the Good Shepherd is finally leading us…. 

Revelation 21: 1-6 

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”[a] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’[b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 

5He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 

6He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 

We begin this year in him, and we will end it in him whether we see the year out or not. And we love…..