"YOU JUST NEVER KNOW
(SURPRISE, SURPRISE!)"

That is...my final sermon for this year. That is...this is going to be my final sermon for this church year. You see, today culminates the annual cycle of church seasons and next Sunday we will, together, start anew with the Season of Advent.

Did I scare you? Well, that can happen. When we only hear a part of the story...when we haven't gone beyond the surface information sometimes, we can "hear" a statement as being negative or uncomfortable...when, actually, once we understand the whole story, we discover that really... everything' s O.K. ! Such is the way of the lesson we receive from God's Word for our lives this morning. You just never know how good the news might be if you really listen to ALL the news!

Now IF this was going to be my actual FINAL sermon this morning, what would I want to say to you? Well, as much as I try often to challenge us all, if this was really my last chance to share a message, I would want it to be a message of comfort and encouragement. And that is exactly what we find in our Scripture reading this morning from the Gospel of Matthew.

Now...on the surface...that may not seem to be the case. This is a pretty well-known passage that is usually used, at the very least, to warn that we must devote ourselves constantly to social justice in order to please God...and, at worst, this passage has been regularly used to frighten people with the looming threat of hell!

Taken at surface, face value, T can understand the confusion. We heard in this morning's reading things like, "...the Promised One will...sit upon the royal throne, with all the nations assembled below..[and] will separate them from one another, as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. The sheep will be placed on the right hand, the goats on the left."

Then a few verses later we hear, "...the ruler will say to those on the left, 'Out of my sight, you accursed ones! [Because you neglected the hungry, thirsty, naked, imprisoned, etc.] Into that everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and the fallen angels." And they "go off to eternal punishment."

And so, in part from this passage, people in churches for years have jumped all over that "everlasting fire" and "eternal punishment" reference and twisted it around into the form of the proverbial sword hanging constantly over our heads - one false move, boy, and BOOM, into hell you go!

Well, that's pretty scary. But that's an understanding based only on the surface information; the full story reveals a deeper and much less threatening understanding. But of course, going below the surface to the full story requires study and work and a willingness to encounter some gray areas where there are no easy answers and, so, how much more convenient to stick with just a part of the story and sling that around like a whip to keep folks frightened and confused! Well, personally, I think Jesus would prefer us to take the time to really understand what He's talking about! You just never know the wonderful truths you may discover when you go deeper than the surface of Jesus' words.

Last week, we heard a story called the "Parable ofthe Talents" and, if you were here, you may remember that I told you: a "parable" is a simple story which is told, not to be taken literally, but to illustrate a spiritual truth. This passage we heard this morning is also a parable about the sheep and the goats. And the truth is that this parable is filled with many pleasant surprises! You just never know until you get in there and explore it all.

The first pleasant surprise is that the Judgement" depicted in this story may not mean exactly what we thought it meant. Many of the concepts we have of "judgement day" - like that depicted in this parable - are the result of traditions that developed over a long period of time in Jewish history; that image was the result of the people's interpretation of events and their hopes for justice.

It's interesting, though, that in the record we have of Jesus' teaching ministry, he had little to say about a final judgement, and He never uses judgment as a threat. He does warn people about turning away from God and choosing. to be separated, but He did not use judgment as a threat...like a closed fist shaken under the nose.

In the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, Christ paints a picture of the way things are, or will be, using sheep and goats to represent caring and uncaring people. In the story, sheep and goats are not made sheep and goats by judgment; they are only identified for what they are. Therefore, the so- called "judgment" simply reveals what has long been true. The acts of mercy which the sheep performed were not works of merit but examples and evidences of the fact that they were sheep and not goats. Therefore, "judgment" is not a threat of something to be feared in the future, but a warning that one day all people will be revealed for what they are now.

Some biblical scholars point out that judgment does not take place at the last day but now. We are judged every day as we react to the people we encounter. No decision is made by the judge on judgement day; Jesus is not Judge Judy. It may be only then that the announcement is made of the verdict already established by the way we have lived our lives. The last day may not be so much "Judgement Day" as it is "Verdict Day" when the truth about people will be revealed. For those of us who are living good lives, doing the best we can, trusting God's promises over people's hypocritical expectations, that is a pleasant surprise. And, as a side note, let me point out that this Scripture says clearly that the proverbial "everlasting fire" was "prepared for the Devil and the fallen angels" - it wasn't prepared for God's children! What a pleasant surprise!

A second pleasant surprise in this parable is that we, here, may well be among those for whom Jesus is urging compassion. This section of Matthew comes as the culmination of several chapters in which Jesus is responding to and confronting the Pharisees...those hypocritical and merciless religious leaders around Him. Now Jesus uses a parable to teach that it is not doctrine or "clean living" or ritual or even devout prayer that determines the "goodness" of one's life. Rather, it is the compassion and mercy and love shown to others that matters.

This is the polar opposite ofwhat the Pharisee's taught and lived. In this story we discover that the "religious" are not as good as they thought they were, and the "heathens" discover they are not as bad as they had been told they were. Reminds me of a little poem:
"There is so much good in the worst of us,
And so much bad in the best of us,
That it hardly becomes any of us,
To talk about the rest of us!"

And look at the examples Jesus uses to show who needs to be given compassion: the hungry and thirsty, the stranger and the naked, the ill and the imprisoned. Now we all know that, as Christians - simply as human beings - we have a responsibility, as we are each able, to provide for the hungry, to care for the sick, to comfort the imprisoned. There are many ways to do those things. We each must do something to help. No doubt about it.

But look beyond the obvious, literal meanings of the examples Jesus gave. There is more than one way to be "hungry"...there is physical hunger, emotional hunger, spiritual hunger. A person can live in the same place all their lives and feel like a stranger because of people's judgment and non- acceptance. To be "naked" is to feel vulnerable to attack and ridicule. Being in prison is being deprived of the freedom to live life to the fullest as the person you really are. Well, in your mind's eye, look around: this world...this country...this city...this room is filled with hungry, naked, imprisoned strangers...not because of God' s judgment but because of the judgments of people! And Jesus is warning the world, partly on our behalf, "Ignore them...and you ignore me. Reject them...and you reject me. Harm them...and you harm me." What a pleasant surprise!

Still another pleasant surprise in this parable is that, despite the expectations the world places on us, the truth is that simply being a "good person" may actually be our highest calling! Jesus' words tell us that the good things we do unconsciously and spontaneously are the things that please God the most.

Last night, at our "PRISM Awards" dinner, many of the people who were recognized for their good works in this church were genuinely surprised when their names were called. They don't serve and give of themselves for recognition or rewards but just because that's who they are...that's what God's presence has produced in their lives. And that's as it should be. We're not to do good works in order to earn points in heaven but simply as the result of the Holy Spirit at work within us.

Now that can be harder than it sounds. This idea of doing things "unconsciously and spontaneously" can become a bit of a "Catch 22" for us. Obviously, the moment we become aware of what we are expected to do, we can't do it unconsciously or spontaneously. It's like finding out beforehand about a surprise party being given in our honor. There's no way we can forget that we've heard about it and be genuinely surprised. This parable may seem to create an impossible expectation.

However, there is a way that we can consciously move to an action which is unconsciously done. When something is done so often that it becomes a habit, then there is a point where an action is completed without conscious attention to that effort.

Remember when you first started learning how to drive a car? At first every movement of hands and feet was deliberately directed. You were hyper-concentrated on what you were doing and super- aware of every motion.

Now? Man, you're driving...weaving in and out of traffic...singing with the radio...eatin' a sandwich. No problem! It's automatic. And so can it be with acts of goodness and Christian service in our lives. At the beginning, there is a consciousness of Christ's directive that we are to serve others and, in doing so, serve God. But as such service and good deeds for others becomes a habit - a life style - it becomes something we do without conscious effort. We do good without even realizing it.

So Jesus is pointing out in this parable of judgement that the final test is not doing good deeds, but being a good person - being a sheep rather than a goat - hopefully being the type of person for whom service to those in need is a natural expression. Spontaneous service becomes a holy habit for which we will be praised and rewarded. What a pleasant surprise.

Still one -final important surprise in this parable is that the key issue to consider is not so much the standard by which we may be "judged" but who it is that will be our judge. Regardless of what the so-called "final judgment" turns out to be, we don't have to be afraid. You see...we don't have just any judge...not Judy or Joe Brown or Wapner or Kotch. We have Jesus...the good and righteous judge.

A young man who was not really bad became associated with some hardened criminals. Through them he became involved in a bank robbery. He had only driven the get-away car but he was charged along with the others for grand theft.

The young man asked his lawyer about his chances, and the attorney answered, "Well, it's like this: there are three possible judges that might try your case. Two are 'hanging judges' and they will throw the book at you. But the third judge is concerned to rescue young people like yourself from a life of habitual crime. It all depends on whom you get as judge."

The young man spent some restless days and nights going over in his mind what would happen to him because of this foolish fling. Then one morning his lawyer came to him with the news: "You got the right judge. Your chances are good."

The good news for us today is that, whatever the "final judgement" turns out to be, we can be happy rather than afraid...because we have a righteous and merciful judge. The Lamb of God sits on the throne. And that throne is in the shape of a cross, and the crown He wears is a crown of thorns. And the hand he raises to separate out the sheep bears the marks of nails. What a fantastic surprise! The dreadful day so many have feared is instead a day of great rejoicing...when the Good Shepherd will claim ALL of His sheep into one flock...even those, as John 10:16 says, who are from a different pen right now.

With our annual observance of Thanksgiving just a few days away, this is the perfect time to praise God and give thanks: thanks for the love that God has for us and for the assurance that God has not planned for our destruction but for our eternal life. Thanks that we are genuinely among the objects of Christ's deepest compassion. And thanks that, in the end, when a hand gets held over each of our heads, it will be the merciful hand of Jesus. What a great surprise! Amen.

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