Thursday, October 20th, 2005
When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all of his angels, he will sit on his royal throne. The people of all nations will be brought before him, and he will separate them, as shepherds separate their sheep from their goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, “My father has blessed you! Come and receive the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world was created. When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me, and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited me.”
Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, “When did we give you something to eat or drink? When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear or visit you while you were sick or in jail?”
The king will answer, “Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me.”
Then the king will say to those on his left, “Get away from me! You are under God’s curse. Go into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels! I was hungry, but you did not give me anything to eat, and I was thirsty, but you did not give me anything to drink. I was a stranger, but you did not welcome me, and I was naked, but you did not give me any clothes to wear. I was sick and in jail, but you did not take care of me.”
Then the people will ask, “Lord, when did we fail to help you when you were hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in jail?”
The king will say to them, “Whenever you failed to help any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you failed to do it for me.”
Matthew 25:21-45 (Contemporary English Version)
I like the approach taken by William Loader, in his presentation to a worshipping community at Bishop’s College, Calcutta in 1999. This was just after a supercyclone had devastated the neighbouring region in the state of Orissa to the south. He tells the story from the perspective of a fictional goat. Here’s an excerpt from his web site:
He said to the red people who were on his left: ‘Come and live with me in my father’s city. For I was an outcaste and you welcomed me into your home; I was in Orissa and you sent me help; I was trying to bring change through politics and you supported me; I was a child labourer and you found me another way for me to live; I was a woman burnt by her husband and you gave me refuge.’ They all said, ‘When did we see you as an outcaste, or in Orissa, or a politician, or a child labourer or a burnt woman and come to your aid?’ He said, ‘You did it to them; it was like you did it to me.’
Then he turned to the people in blue who also called him, ‘Lord’, but the situation was much less happy. They had kept themselves pure and had not helped the outcaste, the people in Orissa, the politician, the child labourer, the burnt woman at all – or anyone else for that matter. There was no room for them in the city.
Just then it started to rain and the vision went away. We were left to ponder what we had seen.
Nanny, who was standing beside me, said, ‘I know. If I am a human being in my next life, I shall pretend I see the shining one in everyone I see. I shall help all those needy people like I’m helping him. That way he will reward me with a place in his father’s city.’
I was thinking about that when from the other side her sister – they always used to argue – said, ‘No, no, no! Don’t you see it was all a surprise. They didn’t care for people because they saw the shining one in them. They cared for people because they were people. They did it naturally. It was their way. Only later were they surprised to learn that they had also cared for him.’
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Saturday, October 1st, 2005
Jesus told the chief priests and leaders to listen to this story:
A land owner once planted a vineyard. He built a wall around it and dug a pit to crush the grapes in. He also built a lookout tower. Then he rented out his vineyard and left the country. When it was harvest time, the owner sent some servants to get his share of the grapes. But the renters grabbed those servants. They beat up one, killed one, and stoned one of them to death. He then sent more servants than he did the first time. But the renters treated them in the same way. Finally, the owner sent his own son to the renters, because he thought they would respect him. But when they saw the man’s son, they said, “Someday he will own the vineyard. Let’s kill him! Then we can have it all for ourselves.” So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
Jesus asked, “When the owner of that vineyard comes, what do you suppose he will do to those renters?” The chief priests and leaders answered, “He will kill them in some horrible way. Then he will rent out his vineyard to people who will give him his share of grapes at harvest time.”
Jesus replied, “You surely know that the Scriptures say,
‘The stone that the builders tossed aside
is now the most important stone of all.
This is something the Lord has done,
and it is amazing to us.’
I tell you that God’s kingdom will be taken from you and given to people who will do what he demands.
Matthew 21:33-43 Contemporary English Version
The image of absentee landlord is a troubling one. Is Jesus referring to God here? The creator who is no longer present? Or are we getting a critique of abusive landlords? Or a critique of revolutionary practice by peasants?
The difficult reality we face is that in many ways God is absent. Yes there are moments when we feel close. But most people I talk to who have a faith in God, spend most of their time without a sense of intimacy with God.
Equally troubling is the idea that the vineyard owner might kill the abusive workers. It’s the answer given by the pharisees based on the realities of life. Murderers do tend to be dealt with severely.
Jesus is very clear in his challenge to the religious leaders who cannot accept his capacity to teach. By rejecting him they face the likelihood of losing their own authority and responsibility. Jesus is just as clear about the opening up of responsibility to new workers.
I note here that Jesus is talking about people who will do something in response to God’s call. Not just people who will trust in what he has done.
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Sunday, September 25th, 2005
A Question about Jesus’ Authority
Jesus had gone into the temple and was teaching when the chief priests and the leaders of the people came up to him. They asked, “What right do you have to do these things? Who gave you this authority?”
Jesus answered, “I have just one question to ask you. If you answer it, I will tell you where I got the right to do these things. Who gave John the right to baptize? Was it God in heaven or merely some human being?”
They thought it over and said to each other, “We can’t say that God gave John this right. Jesus will ask us why we didn’t believe John. On the other hand, these people think that John was a prophet, and we are afraid of what they might do to us. That’s why we can’t say that it was merely some human who gave John the right to baptize.” So they told Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Jesus said, “Then I won’t tell you who gave me the right to do what I do.”
Matthew 21:23-27
Why did these men need to know where Jesus got his authority from? It seems to me they just couldn’t fit him into the hierarchical structure they were used to. They knew where their authority came from. It came from an established system of chief priest, priest and acolyte, teacher and student, leader and follower. But to their bemusement, Jesus refuses to buy into the ‘up-down’ pecking order of authority.
Questions I’d ask Jesus
So how did you discern your call? With whom did you tease out the challenge of being true to your God-given responsibility to live and proclaim the reign of God? Was it really a private matter between you and God? Or were there others with whom you confided and from whom you gained confidence to speak on behalf of God? Your parents? Your friends? Your disciples?
And what about John? Was his call to baptise something sorted out between him and God alone? Or was there a community of baptism who moved with him?
Am I missing the point by seeing your life through the lense of ‘discerned call’?
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