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The Last Sunday after Pentecost: Christ the King
Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in thy well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Proper 29)
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Scripture citation(s): Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24; Matthew 25:31-46
A Sermon by
The Rev. Canon Carl Turner
on
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24; Matthew 25:31-46
✛
“The good we do lives on in others, and it is one of the most important things that does.”
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Words of the late Rabbi Lord Johnathan Sacks who died a couple of weeks ago. He had been Chief Rabbi in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations for 22 years and a source of inspiration for many.
“The good we do lives on in others, and it is one of the most important things that does.”
On Thursday we shall celebrate Thanksgiving Day. For many if us, it will be a strange affair, affected by the restrictions imposed because of the pandemic. John Sheehan, our ecumenical social worker, recently said this, “As Thanksgiving approaches, even during these difficult days, many of us will enjoy the warmth of friendship in our homes while others will be feeling the cold in many different ways.” In the last couple of weeks, the weather has become cold and he has run out of gloves and hats to give away to the homeless he serves around our church and our partner churches of Fifth Avenue Presbyterian and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. So, he is asking for 100 sets of gloves, hats, and scarves.
“The good we do lives on in others, and it is one of the most important things that does.”
Today is the Feast of Christ the King – the last Sunday of the Church’s year. Next Sunday is Advent Sunday and we begin again the re-telling of the story of our faith for another liturgical year. When Jesus was brought before the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, in John’s Gospel, Pilate questioned Jesus about kingship. “Are you the King of the Jews?” But Jesus was not interested in titles. He was interested in the truth. “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” It is clear from the ministry of Jesus that proclaiming the Kingdom of God was central to his teaching. But that Kingdom was to be unlike any human kingdom. The examples that Jesus constantly gave challenged the established order of things and accepted conventions – he set a child in the midst of the disciples and told them that this was the best example of being a disciple of the kingdom – he ate and drank with sinners and outcasts – he touched the lepers – he looked with compassion on the sick and the weak – he told his followers that to become great one had to become the least. He took off his outer garment and washed the feet of his own disciples, saying “I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.” (John 13:15)
“The good we do lives on in others, and it is one of the most important things that does.”
Jesus set us an example and challenges us, today, to do the same.
Pilate asked Jesus, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate asked him, “What is truth?” (see John 18:28-40)
Rabbi Lord Sacks was deeply aware of the history of his own people, dispersed throughout the world for centuries. He was also keenly aware how people of power throughout history have distorted the truth. He knew the story of attempted genocide found not only in the scriptures but in the twisted minds of powerful leaders. He knew the story of being a Jew because he lived that story in his life and allowed the truth of the Torah to illuminate his dealings with the modern world, and especially those who were different from him. He once said this: “The test of faith is whether I can make space for difference. Can I recognize God’s image in someone who is not in my image, whose language, faith, and ideals are different from mine? If I cannot, then I have made God in my image instead of allowing Him to remake me in His.”
‘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 the King 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.’
Today’s parable, like the parable we heard last week, is all about making a difference but not just to those less fortunate than us, or with the treasure entrusted to us, it is a parable about identity. Who am I and in whose image am I made? And more importantly, in an age when fame, celebrity, and power are craved by so many, the question is even more keenly heard – in whose image do you want to be made? Our parable today is less about doing good to others as it is about finding God in others and, therefore, ultimately in ourselves – making sure that our lives are Christlike in all that we say and do. Finding Jesus in those who have nothing or who have nobody to care for them – the hungry, the sick, the prisoner, the stranger is as much about letting go of self and seeing the world through the eyes of Jesus.
As Mother Teresa of Calcutta used to say, it is ‘the gospel on five fingers’ – “You – did – it – to – me.”
In our society, we are taught to be wary of the stranger in particular – to be cautious about people different from ourselves, or who hold different views from our own. Rabbi Sacks was an orthodox Jew, but his attempts to reflect on his faith and on the teachings of the Torah meant that he had to relate them to the real world around him and to the people and conversations that were very different from them. In so doing, he made enemies even within his own community. But, being aligned to God’s plan – searching to find him in others – means that I might actually find him in myself. And if I discover my true identity, perhaps God will also recognize me for who I am – a beloved child of God.
‘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.’
Today, we begin the fourth week of our Annual Appeal for our Church and Choir School. It may seem to some that it is at odds with the Gospel parable of today’s mass. At least last week’s parable was actually about money and being trusted to make more! But at first glance, it would appear that an appeal for a church and a school; for a building and a music program is not really making a difference. Or is it? At our strategic planning parish briefings last week, one person challenged the panelists about decline in church membership across the Episcopal Church and whether it was worth all the effort we were going to. I said in response that even if membership continued to decline – as it is in all the mainstream churches in the United States – but we were able to transform the life of just one boy from a disadvantaged background through the work of our Choir School, then that was actually priceless and worth all the effort. Yes, it is costly keeping this glorious sanctuary on Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street and open every day. Yes, it is very expensive to run a residential school for around 35 boys in the middle of Manhattan. Yes, music of our tradition and excellence requires huge resources. To risk sounding crass, to have a Saint Thomas Family, it takes a lot of cash and making our investments work. But we do this to make a difference – to be community – to glimpse the Kingdom of God – to reach out to the stranger – to change the lives of young people for good – to build a Beloved Community where people become more Christlike in all that they say and do and in the way that they live. And all of this, brought together in worship which is another way of loving and serving our Lord Jesus Christ.
We can make a difference. Please make your pledge to this Church and its mission and ministry. Help us become more Christlike in all that we say and do, and in the way that we live. Let us recognize Christ in one another and in the stranger in our midst.
Some words of Mother Teresa of Calcutta:
God has identified himself with the hungry, the sick, the naked, the homeless; hunger, not only for bread, but for love, for care, to be somebody to someone; nakedness, not of clothing only, but nakedness of that compassion that very few people give to the unknown; homelessness, not only just for a shelter made of stone, but that homelessness that comes from having no one to call your own.” [1]
Making a difference means building a Beloved Community, and its starts here.
“The good we do lives on in others, and it is one of the most important things that does.”
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