The book of Hebrews is not a particularly complicated book, nor is it difficult to interpret. It is, however, a book that we are not used to. While it plays a major role in Christian theology, we don’t study it much. We are not used to the way it thinks. That’s probably going to be our biggest hurdle as we look at it this summer.
Hebrews shows up in the Bible at the end of Paul’s letters and before letters from James, Peter, John, and Jude. While Hebrews does give a mention to Timothy at the very end, it is not a letter. It is a sermon. And what a grand sermon it is! But before we turn to that, we need to remind ourselves about ways to interpret scripture. Or perhaps I should say, different senses of scripture.
For centuries Christians have noted four senses of scripture. Understanding this will help us to understand Hebrews. The four senses of scripture are printed on the last page of the worship bulletin. Let’s look at them briefly.
Four Senses of Scripture:
1. Literal – Critically examining the text, its history, and the culture which created it.
2. Allegorical – Symbolic interpretation of Old Testament texts to refer to Christ or to the church. St. Paul does this in Galatians 4:24 when he says of Abraham’s two heirs that one represents the covenant of Judaism and the other represents Christianity. (This sense was rejected by most Protestant Reformers.)
3. Moral – How one should act. Jesus’ parables are usually interpreted in this sense.
4. Anagogic – Seeking meanings (or hidden meanings) that point to the future. This is not using a book like Revelation to interpret current events. A good example is Jesus talking about the destruction of the temple and his resurrected body being a new temple.
While we easily go with literal and moral senses of scripture, we are not as familiar with the others. We’re going to find that Hebrews uses all four.
The beginning of Hebrews is a grand and sweeping introduction of Jesus. This is all stuff that we know, but Hebrews wants us to dwell in this for a little while. It sets up everything else that follows.
Hebrews wants us to realize that God has been active all throughout history. Prophets, priests, kings, judges, and many people without official positions were God’s mouthpieces. God did not create the world and then sit back and watch it run. God has been active all along.
But Hebrews insists on a distinction. Jesus is not just another person who spoke for God. Jesus is different, while also being in the same line that God has always used. Jesus is the Son, not a prophet. And yet despite being a Son, he is not necessarily a creation of God as Father. Rather, Jesus also existed from all eternity. He is a different expression of God’s personality.
Why does it matter that Jesus is pre-existing the universe, or pre-existing time (if such a statement makes sense)? We could take this into a deep hole of Trinitarian theology. But Hebrews gives a clear and simple answer:
-Jesus pre-exists creation.
-Angels, in whatever way you want to understand them, are part of creation.
-Humans are part of creation.
-If you are part of creation then you are not eternal.
-It is Jesus who bridges the gap between mortality and immortality. No prophet, priest, king, judge, messenger, or anyone could make that bridge.
Jesus, therefore, fully reveals God’s nature in a way that will not be bettered. Jesus’ is God’s ultimate and perfect revelation.
But of course, Jesus did more than just come and preach and teach about God. Jesus’ ultimate and perfect revelation of God included crucifixion and death. Now the whole situation thickens.
Why could Jesus not just come and tell us about God? Why couldn’t Jesus just teach us the right way to live so as to break through the limits of our created nature and enter into eternity? Those are very clean thoughts. They make us think that somehow by our own goodness we can do it. That is not the case.
Jesus’ death like a common mortal, makes purification for our shortcomings and our lack of trust in God. In other words, our sin.
Perhaps this is all too heady… too esoteric. But Hebrews wants us to understand a couple really down-to-earth things. This whole idea that we are part of limited creation but God invites us into immortality by coming and dying for us, is really meant for us to realize how much God loves us. God wants us and desires us. Our salvation was not a burden to God. Even though Jesus’ crucifixion was brutally painful, it was pain God willingly embraced for our sakes.
Perhaps think of it this way. If you look around you at society it is easy to get the impression that everyone is out to get the most for themselves while doing the least amount of work. While there are certainly many people for whom that’s true, I do not believe it fits most people, and not most of us. I believe, although I may be wrong, that while all people want to be well paid, they want to feel like they’ve done good work in order to earn it. Quick easy money may be fun and tempting. But a satisfying life earning comes from feeling like you’ve put value into a company or society in order to deserve it.
I find myself frequently pondering how our society got itself into the social mess that it’s in. Where do these political divides and all this anger and distrust come from? The answers are complex and multifaceted. There are no simple answers and anyone who says otherwise is trying to earn more views for their content.
I believe that within the complexity of it all is the decline of the manufacturing sector in the 80s and 90s. A great number of people had solid stable jobs manufacturing things. The jobs might have been miserable. They might have been boring. They might have been bad for the worker’s health. Working in a factory is seldom fun. But the work has dignity. You may not feel particularly smart or talented, but you are undeniably creating value that will enhance other people’s lives.
There’s no way to replace the dignity of labor with information and service type jobs. And besides, there aren’t enough of those jobs to ever go around anyway.
You want to have a good life, yes. But you want to invest yourself in it in such a way that you feel you deserve it.
I think the same can be said of God and God’s work to shift us from mortality to immortality. God could have certainly created us as immortal beings. God can do anything! But I believe God has put something of God’s own mind within ourselves. Where is the labor and dignity of God if saving us is too cheap? If saving us is cheap for God, then are we cheap for God?
No, we are costly to God – very costly! And so we are also valuable to God. God has invested in us.
Hebrews 1:3 said of Jesus, “When he had made purification for sins he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Now we’re going to revisit this idea of Jesus sitting in Majesty when we get later into Hebrews. But here at the beginning of the text, Jesus’ actions are the labor of our salvation that has been completed.
I often say that you cannot negotiate with God. I usually say it with some sarcasm because people think they can make deals. But there is also a serious side. God has done the work. It is finished. You are dearly loved by God. God has worked hard for you. God wants you. Period. There’s no room for negotiation in any of that.
That, then, takes us to where we leave off from Hebrews today. Let me reread the first four verses of chapter 2.
Therefore we must pay greater attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. 2For if the message declared through angels was valid, and every transgression or disobedience received a just penalty, 3how can we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? It was declared at first through the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him, 4while God added his testimony by signs and wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, distributed according to his will.
What does that mean? It means that even though God loves us and has done the work to save us, we are wrong to exploit it. We cannot neglect that so great a work of salvation has been done for us by God.
That theme will continue in the verses ahead. So I will leave that for next week. We end today with the sense of awe and majesty Hebrews wants us to feel as God’s creatures. We are mortal. This whole creation is limited and will end at some point; perhaps far in the future. But God has moved us from mortality and this temporal creation into the promise of God’s eternity.
Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Wednesday, June 17, 2026
June 14, 2026 Authentic Anointing Vs. Scheming Matthew 26:1-16
Last week we read the judgment scene from Matthew’s gospel. You may remember Jesus as the king separating the sheep from the goats. The sheep went to his right side and into eternal bliss. The goats went to his left side into punishment. On the surface it seemed like the deciding factor was acts of charity. But other things were going on at a deeper level. One of those things was whether a person’s actions were driven by self-serving strategy, or whether a person’s actions were driven by authentic love.
In what we read today we get to see the contrast play out. On one side we’ll group the religious leaders and Judas. On the other side we’ll put the unnamed woman who anoints Jesus. Let’s look a little more carefully.
For the last few weeks we’ve been reading from what is called Jesus’ Judgment Discourse. He gives it probably in the middle of what we call Holy Week. Sunday Jesus had entered the city riding on a donkey. Then he went to the temple and caused a ruckus. The religious leaders questioned Jesus about why he did this and it became a verbal sparring match. Back and forth it went with various religious leaders challenging Jesus. That led Jesus into the Judgment Discourse, which included a stinging critique of the religious leaders. They probably would have just ignored Jesus, but the crowds were drawn to him. They saw him as a threat. And so, our gospel reading begins today with the leaders conspiring to have Jesus arrested and killed. However, they are worried about a riot developing. So they decide to postpone action. It may very well have been just left at that, if it weren’t for Judas.
Later in the story we read that Judas goes to the religious leaders and offers to hand Jesus over to them, but for a price. What caused this change in Judas?
The gospels don’t give us a back story on Judas, so we’re forever left to wonder. Maybe he was scared. Maybe he was greedy. Who knows? In our reading for today we see that Judas decides to go to the leaders right after the anointing by the unnamed woman. Perhaps that is what did it. And we can understand why.
Jesus has gone to Bethany to the home of Simon the Leper. Nothing else is known about this man. Bethany is a village just a couple miles from Jerusalem. There was a road between Bethany and Jerusalem going over the Mount of Olives. It seems that Jesus would stay in Bethany at night and then travel back to Jerusalem for the day.
For whatever the reason, a woman comes to Jesus while he is in Simon’s house and pours an entire bottle full of expensive ointment over Jesus’ head. The place was probably overwhelmed with the smell. And let’s remember that villages and cities generally stank in those days, especially when they were crowded for holidays. With lots of animals used for transportation, no real sewage systems, and no real opportunities for bathing, everything stank. Houses stank. Animals stank. People stank. You step outside a house for some fresh air and your nose is met with the stink of everyone else. Incense, ointments, and perfumes were ways to mask the smells.
In every gospel there is some story about a woman who anoints Jesus. The stories vary. In one she anoints Jesus’ feet. In others she anoints his head. Also, the stories vary with what kind of perfume or ointment that she uses. Exactly what the historical reality is behind these stories is impossible to determine. What we do want to do, is to be sure that we understand what Matthew’s gospel wants us to get from this.
Somehow, someway, this woman has a remarkable understanding of who Jesus is and what is going to happen to him. Perhaps she does not recognize him as God in human form. And perhaps she does not know that Jesus is about to be arrested and crucified. But she has some understanding that is beyond what every other person in the gospel has. She certainly knows more than the religious leaders. She knows more than the crowds who welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem and have listened to him for the past few days. And she even knows more than the disciples, who, despite being close to Jesus all along, don’t really seem to understand at all.
The disciples say the very thing that we find ourselves thinking. Why all this waste? The gesture was commendable and all, but this is ridiculous. No one has been fed, clothed, or housed from this gesture. No one has been healed. No problems have been solved. It is just an enormous amount of resources dumped out.
But Jesus, knowing what is coming, commends her. This unnamed and unknown woman has absolute worship and devotion to Jesus. From her point of view, she will give all of her very best to him.
We could speculate endlessly about this woman. How did she get the ointment? Was she rich? Was she poor? Who knows, and Matthew isn’t bothered telling us. What he does suggest, is that this is the act that sends Judas over the edge.
Whether Judas has been a greedy schemer all along, or whether he’s just had a sudden change of heart, are more things we don’t know. But Judas decides to part company with Jesus. He heads to the chief priests and says, “What will you give me to betray him to you?”
How much do they offer him? You know how much! Thirty pieces of silver. That amount, according to Exodus 21:32, is the value of an injured slave. So, Judas agrees to betray Jesus for cheap.
Now we see the contrast Matthew wants us to see. The unnamed woman anoints Jesus lavishly with an abundance of expensive ointment. That is the level of her devotion to him. Judas, whose name we do know, sells out Jesus as if Jesus is worth an injured slave.
If we take all of this back to where we began, which was talking about those who were the sheep whose lives are driven by authentic love, and the goats whose lives are driven by self-serving strategy, we see how that plays out in life.
This is not a lesson that we should be extravagant or wasteful. This is not a lesson that we should stop being critical thinkers or using limited resources wisely. But it is a lesson in motives.
Judas is driven by greed. The religious leaders are driven by fear and by clinging to their way of life. Take away their roles as religious leaders and they no longer have a special personal status or way of life. They are like the goats in last week’s gospel. They’re driven by strategy.
The woman is driven by love and devotion. She is like the sheep in last week’s gospel. There’s no strategy, no calculation. It’s just giving.
Discipleship like hers is hard. There is no clear road map. There is no guidebook. There are no solid rules even. You don’t know what’s going to happen. Maybe you’ll look a fool. Maybe that which you pour your love into fails or dies. I wonder how that woman felt after her extravagant anointing when she learned of Jesus’ crucifixion. Did she feel a fool? Did she know it all along? Was she in some way profoundly grateful to have done such a thing to Jesus? We know none of these things.
She is unknown. Her motives are unknown. But she is remembered and celebrated. A life of faith and devotion to God is not a clear straightforward path. But it is a life driven by commitment, and a life of giving that does not care what the world thinks. It is focused only on celebrating God and worshipping God with whatever may be available.
In what we read today we get to see the contrast play out. On one side we’ll group the religious leaders and Judas. On the other side we’ll put the unnamed woman who anoints Jesus. Let’s look a little more carefully.
For the last few weeks we’ve been reading from what is called Jesus’ Judgment Discourse. He gives it probably in the middle of what we call Holy Week. Sunday Jesus had entered the city riding on a donkey. Then he went to the temple and caused a ruckus. The religious leaders questioned Jesus about why he did this and it became a verbal sparring match. Back and forth it went with various religious leaders challenging Jesus. That led Jesus into the Judgment Discourse, which included a stinging critique of the religious leaders. They probably would have just ignored Jesus, but the crowds were drawn to him. They saw him as a threat. And so, our gospel reading begins today with the leaders conspiring to have Jesus arrested and killed. However, they are worried about a riot developing. So they decide to postpone action. It may very well have been just left at that, if it weren’t for Judas.
Later in the story we read that Judas goes to the religious leaders and offers to hand Jesus over to them, but for a price. What caused this change in Judas?
The gospels don’t give us a back story on Judas, so we’re forever left to wonder. Maybe he was scared. Maybe he was greedy. Who knows? In our reading for today we see that Judas decides to go to the leaders right after the anointing by the unnamed woman. Perhaps that is what did it. And we can understand why.
Jesus has gone to Bethany to the home of Simon the Leper. Nothing else is known about this man. Bethany is a village just a couple miles from Jerusalem. There was a road between Bethany and Jerusalem going over the Mount of Olives. It seems that Jesus would stay in Bethany at night and then travel back to Jerusalem for the day.
For whatever the reason, a woman comes to Jesus while he is in Simon’s house and pours an entire bottle full of expensive ointment over Jesus’ head. The place was probably overwhelmed with the smell. And let’s remember that villages and cities generally stank in those days, especially when they were crowded for holidays. With lots of animals used for transportation, no real sewage systems, and no real opportunities for bathing, everything stank. Houses stank. Animals stank. People stank. You step outside a house for some fresh air and your nose is met with the stink of everyone else. Incense, ointments, and perfumes were ways to mask the smells.
In every gospel there is some story about a woman who anoints Jesus. The stories vary. In one she anoints Jesus’ feet. In others she anoints his head. Also, the stories vary with what kind of perfume or ointment that she uses. Exactly what the historical reality is behind these stories is impossible to determine. What we do want to do, is to be sure that we understand what Matthew’s gospel wants us to get from this.
Somehow, someway, this woman has a remarkable understanding of who Jesus is and what is going to happen to him. Perhaps she does not recognize him as God in human form. And perhaps she does not know that Jesus is about to be arrested and crucified. But she has some understanding that is beyond what every other person in the gospel has. She certainly knows more than the religious leaders. She knows more than the crowds who welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem and have listened to him for the past few days. And she even knows more than the disciples, who, despite being close to Jesus all along, don’t really seem to understand at all.
The disciples say the very thing that we find ourselves thinking. Why all this waste? The gesture was commendable and all, but this is ridiculous. No one has been fed, clothed, or housed from this gesture. No one has been healed. No problems have been solved. It is just an enormous amount of resources dumped out.
But Jesus, knowing what is coming, commends her. This unnamed and unknown woman has absolute worship and devotion to Jesus. From her point of view, she will give all of her very best to him.
We could speculate endlessly about this woman. How did she get the ointment? Was she rich? Was she poor? Who knows, and Matthew isn’t bothered telling us. What he does suggest, is that this is the act that sends Judas over the edge.
Whether Judas has been a greedy schemer all along, or whether he’s just had a sudden change of heart, are more things we don’t know. But Judas decides to part company with Jesus. He heads to the chief priests and says, “What will you give me to betray him to you?”
How much do they offer him? You know how much! Thirty pieces of silver. That amount, according to Exodus 21:32, is the value of an injured slave. So, Judas agrees to betray Jesus for cheap.
Now we see the contrast Matthew wants us to see. The unnamed woman anoints Jesus lavishly with an abundance of expensive ointment. That is the level of her devotion to him. Judas, whose name we do know, sells out Jesus as if Jesus is worth an injured slave.
If we take all of this back to where we began, which was talking about those who were the sheep whose lives are driven by authentic love, and the goats whose lives are driven by self-serving strategy, we see how that plays out in life.
This is not a lesson that we should be extravagant or wasteful. This is not a lesson that we should stop being critical thinkers or using limited resources wisely. But it is a lesson in motives.
Judas is driven by greed. The religious leaders are driven by fear and by clinging to their way of life. Take away their roles as religious leaders and they no longer have a special personal status or way of life. They are like the goats in last week’s gospel. They’re driven by strategy.
The woman is driven by love and devotion. She is like the sheep in last week’s gospel. There’s no strategy, no calculation. It’s just giving.
Discipleship like hers is hard. There is no clear road map. There is no guidebook. There are no solid rules even. You don’t know what’s going to happen. Maybe you’ll look a fool. Maybe that which you pour your love into fails or dies. I wonder how that woman felt after her extravagant anointing when she learned of Jesus’ crucifixion. Did she feel a fool? Did she know it all along? Was she in some way profoundly grateful to have done such a thing to Jesus? We know none of these things.
She is unknown. Her motives are unknown. But she is remembered and celebrated. A life of faith and devotion to God is not a clear straightforward path. But it is a life driven by commitment, and a life of giving that does not care what the world thinks. It is focused only on celebrating God and worshipping God with whatever may be available.
Monday, June 8, 2026
June 7, 2026 Judgement Matthew 25:31-46
Sheep or goats? That’s what it seems to come down to in our gospel reading for today. The sheep go to the right hand of Jesus and into heaven. The goats go to the left hand of Jesus and into hell. This passage should be deeply troubling for us. Is the distinction between heaven and eternal damnation simply acts of charity? And if it is just acts of charity, then how come the goats didn’t realize it? They were never given a chance to understand the criteria!
All of us live in the great joy and mystery of being alive. And all of us have the basic anxiety of death. What happens after you die? It seems to be a cruel twist of fate or act of God that we face the certainty of death but have nothing definite in this life to go on.
Think of it this way. If we knew the criteria to ensure that existence after death would be good then we’d be able to surely live properly now. We’d endure whatever temporary pain, inconvenience, shame, or even torture in the short term in order to have the long term be good. That’s smart. That’s strategic.
Perhaps that’s part of the problem. The problem being, our human desire to have control.
Whether you like our national president or not, he is certainly one who likes to make deals. Making a deal involves negotiations, leverage, pressure, and concessions. Our minds easily think this way. When you were a child did you ever want something from a parent or teacher or someone in authority over you? Of course you did! But before you ask for that thing you pause and strategize. What tone of voice should you use? Should you be bold or meek? Should you hide your real intentions? Should you compliment that person before the ask? Should you offer to do a favor in exchange for what you hope to get? Again, whether you like our president and his deal making or not, it’s a life pattern that we’re all familiar with.
Except that doesn’t work with God at all. Perhaps that is the fundamental anxiety we feel about death. It is something we all face. It is something we are powerless to stop. And it is something over which we have no leverage.
Let’s look at those who are the goats in the judgment scene. When they discover their fate they reply, “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?” Do you see how that’s transactional, like a deal? Behind the question is the assumption that if they had known there were the ‘right’ people to help they would have done so… had they known what the consequences would be. Their attitude all along was that there were people deserving of being seen as Christ’s presence and those who were not.
Now consider the sheep in the judgment scene. They say, “Lord when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And what was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” For them this work was not strategic. It was not a deal. It was not a judgment of who was or was not worthy of being seen as Christ’s presence. They simply lived out who they were. They saw value and dignity across the board.
Though politics, business, and many interpersonal relationships might work through making the cost/benefit calculations of making deals, a relationship with God does not. Go ahead and try to make a deal with God. What are you going to offer God? What can you give to God that God can’t get better somewhere else. The God who made you can certainly make someone better than you if he wanted to.
God’s relationship with you is, in a sense, purely one way. God loves you. You can respond to that love, but you cannot leverage it.
This judgment scene also shows that we should not exploit it. Jesus is rarely recorded as talking about hell and damnation. But he did talk about it occasionally. This gospel text is one of those times. We need to pay attention to it and take it seriously.
I frequently hear that God is love. I hear about God’s abundant and never-ending love. There are texts like 1 Corinthians 13 that talk about the nature of love. You know it: “Love is patient. Love is kind,” etc. Romans 8 says that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Indeed, God is loving. But in regards to this love, let’s remember both the depth of human cunning and the sovereignty of God.
Our human cunning can easily conclude that if God is infinitely loving and the love is absolutely sure, then we can do whatever we want and God will forever love and forgive us. Thus: exploit, hurt, and destroy now and still enjoy eternal bliss later. I think everyone would agree that is not an appropriate response to God’s love. But, it is a logical conclusion you can reach if you are promised infinite love.
There is also God’s sovereignty. God is God. God can do as God wants. God will never be bound or limited by the conclusions of human logic.
We humans are fools if we do not have respect and a healthy fear of the sovereign, all-powerful, creator of this universe. We are creatures who had no say in our creation, but we find ourselves here and alive. While St. Paul wrote in Romans 8 of the certainty of God’s love, he also wrote to the Philippians that they should work out their own salvation in fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12) That was not a threat, but a statement to cause them to be in awe of God and obedient. Similarly, Proverbs 9:10 says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
And so, while God is loving, God can still do as God pleases. God can also certainly hold people accountable. If you were an abused, oppressed, and exploited slave, how does it feel to be told that your owner is solidly and eternally loved by God, and that your owner will never be held accountable for anything done to you? How fair is that? How can that be a God of justice?
So, as Jesus describes the judgment scene the clear message is that justice and accountability will be carried through by God. What you do in this life matters. Your actions and attitudes are important. Yes, there is forgiveness. Yes, God is deeply loving. You can count on that. But God also brings about justice. And, it is within God’s power to bring about ultimate everlasting punishment if God so chooses.
That is not the point of this passage however. The point is not to condemn us or frighten us. The point is to inspire us and move us.
I have one of those now old-fashioned clock radios by my bed. Instead of some blaring alarm to wake me in the morning, it turns on the radio. The first thing I hear most days is a run down of current events. I hear about what important and powerful people across the world have done. It’s usually bad news. Good news doesn’t have as much of a market. It is also a humbling experience. Here I am, just waking up, an average citizen of this nation; one of a few hundred million. Of what consequence is my life? Perhaps, being a pastor, you could say that I have slightly more power than most, but not by much. What does my life matter? What do my decisions matter? Surely I can be a part of a trend or a voting block that brings about significant change, but then I am still just one of many – not an individual.
The gospel reading reminds us that we are individuals. Our lives do matter. The things listed - acts of charity to unimportant people – are of no worldly consequence. Yet they are noted by God. Also noted by God is the attitude of those who did the acts. It was of great importance.
So, don’t hop on 490 and drive down to the Goodman St. exit in Rochester, hand one of the beggars a couple of bucks, and think you’ve secured yourself a place in heaven. That’s still trying to manipulate God. You’ll probably also enable a homeless person’s unhealthy choices. But do realize that even your smallest actions have consequences. Realize that what the world deems important does not align with what God deems important. Knowing that you are loved by God, live out that love and be a sheep at Jesus’ right hand.
All of us live in the great joy and mystery of being alive. And all of us have the basic anxiety of death. What happens after you die? It seems to be a cruel twist of fate or act of God that we face the certainty of death but have nothing definite in this life to go on.
Think of it this way. If we knew the criteria to ensure that existence after death would be good then we’d be able to surely live properly now. We’d endure whatever temporary pain, inconvenience, shame, or even torture in the short term in order to have the long term be good. That’s smart. That’s strategic.
Perhaps that’s part of the problem. The problem being, our human desire to have control.
Whether you like our national president or not, he is certainly one who likes to make deals. Making a deal involves negotiations, leverage, pressure, and concessions. Our minds easily think this way. When you were a child did you ever want something from a parent or teacher or someone in authority over you? Of course you did! But before you ask for that thing you pause and strategize. What tone of voice should you use? Should you be bold or meek? Should you hide your real intentions? Should you compliment that person before the ask? Should you offer to do a favor in exchange for what you hope to get? Again, whether you like our president and his deal making or not, it’s a life pattern that we’re all familiar with.
Except that doesn’t work with God at all. Perhaps that is the fundamental anxiety we feel about death. It is something we all face. It is something we are powerless to stop. And it is something over which we have no leverage.
Let’s look at those who are the goats in the judgment scene. When they discover their fate they reply, “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?” Do you see how that’s transactional, like a deal? Behind the question is the assumption that if they had known there were the ‘right’ people to help they would have done so… had they known what the consequences would be. Their attitude all along was that there were people deserving of being seen as Christ’s presence and those who were not.
Now consider the sheep in the judgment scene. They say, “Lord when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And what was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” For them this work was not strategic. It was not a deal. It was not a judgment of who was or was not worthy of being seen as Christ’s presence. They simply lived out who they were. They saw value and dignity across the board.
Though politics, business, and many interpersonal relationships might work through making the cost/benefit calculations of making deals, a relationship with God does not. Go ahead and try to make a deal with God. What are you going to offer God? What can you give to God that God can’t get better somewhere else. The God who made you can certainly make someone better than you if he wanted to.
God’s relationship with you is, in a sense, purely one way. God loves you. You can respond to that love, but you cannot leverage it.
This judgment scene also shows that we should not exploit it. Jesus is rarely recorded as talking about hell and damnation. But he did talk about it occasionally. This gospel text is one of those times. We need to pay attention to it and take it seriously.
I frequently hear that God is love. I hear about God’s abundant and never-ending love. There are texts like 1 Corinthians 13 that talk about the nature of love. You know it: “Love is patient. Love is kind,” etc. Romans 8 says that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Indeed, God is loving. But in regards to this love, let’s remember both the depth of human cunning and the sovereignty of God.
Our human cunning can easily conclude that if God is infinitely loving and the love is absolutely sure, then we can do whatever we want and God will forever love and forgive us. Thus: exploit, hurt, and destroy now and still enjoy eternal bliss later. I think everyone would agree that is not an appropriate response to God’s love. But, it is a logical conclusion you can reach if you are promised infinite love.
There is also God’s sovereignty. God is God. God can do as God wants. God will never be bound or limited by the conclusions of human logic.
We humans are fools if we do not have respect and a healthy fear of the sovereign, all-powerful, creator of this universe. We are creatures who had no say in our creation, but we find ourselves here and alive. While St. Paul wrote in Romans 8 of the certainty of God’s love, he also wrote to the Philippians that they should work out their own salvation in fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12) That was not a threat, but a statement to cause them to be in awe of God and obedient. Similarly, Proverbs 9:10 says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
And so, while God is loving, God can still do as God pleases. God can also certainly hold people accountable. If you were an abused, oppressed, and exploited slave, how does it feel to be told that your owner is solidly and eternally loved by God, and that your owner will never be held accountable for anything done to you? How fair is that? How can that be a God of justice?
So, as Jesus describes the judgment scene the clear message is that justice and accountability will be carried through by God. What you do in this life matters. Your actions and attitudes are important. Yes, there is forgiveness. Yes, God is deeply loving. You can count on that. But God also brings about justice. And, it is within God’s power to bring about ultimate everlasting punishment if God so chooses.
That is not the point of this passage however. The point is not to condemn us or frighten us. The point is to inspire us and move us.
I have one of those now old-fashioned clock radios by my bed. Instead of some blaring alarm to wake me in the morning, it turns on the radio. The first thing I hear most days is a run down of current events. I hear about what important and powerful people across the world have done. It’s usually bad news. Good news doesn’t have as much of a market. It is also a humbling experience. Here I am, just waking up, an average citizen of this nation; one of a few hundred million. Of what consequence is my life? Perhaps, being a pastor, you could say that I have slightly more power than most, but not by much. What does my life matter? What do my decisions matter? Surely I can be a part of a trend or a voting block that brings about significant change, but then I am still just one of many – not an individual.
The gospel reading reminds us that we are individuals. Our lives do matter. The things listed - acts of charity to unimportant people – are of no worldly consequence. Yet they are noted by God. Also noted by God is the attitude of those who did the acts. It was of great importance.
So, don’t hop on 490 and drive down to the Goodman St. exit in Rochester, hand one of the beggars a couple of bucks, and think you’ve secured yourself a place in heaven. That’s still trying to manipulate God. You’ll probably also enable a homeless person’s unhealthy choices. But do realize that even your smallest actions have consequences. Realize that what the world deems important does not align with what God deems important. Knowing that you are loved by God, live out that love and be a sheep at Jesus’ right hand.
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