We Must Be Doers of God’s Will In This World!

Sermon for November 20, 2005

1. Good morning. Let’s pay. O Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing to You O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

2. Opening Comments: Are you and I committed to what really matters or are we more often than not committed to illusions – to things and causes which will dissolve in the pure and holy atmosphere of glory! That will pale into insignificance under the direct light of God’s holy stare? Or perhaps even worse are we committed to nothing – a terrible state to be.

Are we God-honoring Christian doers or are we God-defying quasi-Christian sitters?

Today marks the end of the Church year. It’s “Christ the King Sunday” and the focus of today’s scriptures are to challenge us to recommit our lives to our King and Shepherd Jesus Christ – to recommit ourselves to what really matters and to jettison – to slough off - that stuff and really doesn’t matter – to become doers of God’s will today!

3. Our First Reading: In our first reading from Ezekiel chapter 34 we’re reminded that we have a Shepherd who deeply deeply cares for us. Listen once again to these words of comfort. Let our Lord comfort you and remind you how much He truly “cares” for you:

Thus says the Lord GOD:

I myself will look after and tend my sheep.

As a shepherd tends his flock

when he finds himself among his scattered sheep,

so will I tend my sheep.

I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered

when it was cloudy and dark.

I myself will pasture my sheep;

I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD.

The lost I will seek out,

the strayed I will bring back,

the injured I will bind up,

the sick I will heal,

but the sleek and the strong (who don’t need me) I will destroy,

shepherding them rightly.

As for you, my sheep, says the Lord GOD,

I will judge between one sheep and another,

between rams and goats.

Can you hear the heart of our Shepherd Lord? “I will tend my sheep, I will rescue them, I myself will give them rest and so on!

We’re being shepherded by our Good Shepherd! It’s so wonderfully appropriate isn’t it that at the end of the Church year we’re being reminded of how much our Shepherd King loves us.

4. Turn with me now if you will to Psalm 23. It’s a classic isn’t it? It’s like the great old hymn “Amazing Grace” – everyone knows most or parts of it. It’s universal in its ability to resonate with our common humanity!

Listen once again as I read it this time from the tried and true King James Version. Let the Holy Spirit – the Comforter, comfort you with these endearing words:

1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Many of us know those words by heart. Heck even pagans know those words by heart! It’s probably the most used psalm at funerals in the western world but what is our Lord wanting to say to us?? – indeed, to you, this morning? “Yea, though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

These are words of sublime comfort aren’t they? They’re telling us that we’re not alone that our Good Shepherd has everything under control. We need fear nothing or nobody – all is well with the world – “surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever! Amen and Amen!”

5. Now let’s focus in on our Epistle reading – 1Corinthians 15:20-28.

These verses are reminding us that our Good Shepherd will come for us at the end of all time and we will enter into eternal life with Him! He will come and establish once and for all His Messianic Kingdom. Ah! We begin now to see His shepherding role melting into His kingly role.

The Good Shepherd comes at the end of all time as a Shepherd King to usher in His Kingdom reign!

Our Good Shepherd came to us 2000 years ago. He comes to us this morning by His Spirit and by His Body and Blood in the Eucharistic banquet. And He will come for us at the end of all time as our Shepherd King to welcome us into His fully resurrected and renewed kingdom!

6. But now let’s turn to our Gospel reading for today shall we?

Let’s turn to the Gospel of Matthew chapter 25 verses 31 through 46. In these verses St. Matthew gives us a glimpse at what that time will be like when Jesus – the Shepherd King – returns in all of His glory in judgment!

Listen again to Matthew 25 beginning at verse 31:

Matt. 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, at the end of all time - and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate – did you hear that? At the end of it all Jesus will come as King to separate His people – His flock, from all others who are not His. He will come to separate the weeds from the good wheat. This will be truly a time of terrible reckoning! Justice will be absolutely and fully restored! And Jesus will come to separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom already prepared for you from the foundation of the world; Why are they given this great great great reward – look at verse 35 for I – who? I, was hungry and were sad for me. You grieved for me. No!!! No!!! - you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 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.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’

But now listen to what Jesus the Shepherd King will say to the well intentioned, the careless, those who rejected Him who could not believe in Him or entrust themselves to Him. Listen to what He will most certainly say to them. Look at verse 41:

41 Get out, worthless goats! You’re good for nothing but the fires of hell. 42 And why? Because—

I was hungry and you gave me no meal,

I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,

43 I was homeless and you gave me no bed,

I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,

Sick and in prison, and you never visited.’

44 “Then those ‘goats’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn’t help?’

45 “He will answer them, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.’

46 “Then those ‘goats’ will be herded to their eternal doom, but the ‘sheep’ to their eternal reward.”

Bishop Emmanuel and Fr. Joseph came to us and told us about their people – our brothers and sisters in Christ. We have been told that they can only feed children at their Nurseries two times a week.

Could Jesus be saying to us - “I was hungry and your gave me no meal, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink!”

Bishop Emmanuel and Fr. Joseph told us that Rwanda and Burundi and the Congo are nations of young people – their parents and grandparents – a whole generation - were wiped out in the atrocious genocide a decade ago. Rwanda is a nation where children are bringing up children and the poverty is so absolute that it’s a nation filled with homeless young people!

Could Jesus be saying to us - “I was homeless and you gave me no bed, I was shivering and you gave me no clothes!”

BUT it’s not just about the cry from our brothers and sisters in far away Rwanda and Burundi and the Congo but there’s also the cry of the children in our streets crying out for our help – and a few of us are hearing that cry and are working even now to do something about it! These are the good good good sheep hearing and responding to the call of the Good good good Shepherd!

Matt 25:40 Then the King will say to them, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’

St. Martin of Tours a famous holy man and Bishop about 316. In his early years, when his father, a military tribune, was transferred to Pavia in Italy, Martin accompanied him and when he reached adolescence was, in accordance with the recruiting laws, enrolled in the Roman army. Touched by grace at an early age, he was from the first attracted towards Christianity, which had been in favor in the camps since the conversion of Emperor Constantine. His regiment was soon sent to Amiens in Gaul, and this town became the scene of the celebrated legend of the cloak.

One cold winter day, as he was entering Amiens, a beggar stopped him and asked for alms. Martin had no money; but the beggar was blue and shivering with cold, and Martin gave what he had. He took off his soldier’s coat, worn and frayed as it was; he cut it in two and gave half of it to the beggar man. That night he had a dream. In it he saw the heavenly places and all the angels and Jesus in the midst of them; and Jesus was wearing half of a Roman soldier’s cloak. One of the angels said to him, “Master, why are you wearing that battered old cloak? Who gave it to you?” And Jesus answered softly, “My servant Martin gave it to me.” And so began the ministry of a saint!

When we learn the generosity which without calculation helps men and women in the simplest things, we too will know the joy of helping Jesus Christ Himself!

7. Can you see where our Lord is taking us? He began it with the visit from Bishop Emmanuel and Fr. Joseph and now He’s brining it all home as we reflect this morning upon His Holy Word. He’s reminding us that we must be doers of charity! To think about it isn’t enough! We must be doers!

· It’s about being His sheep and doing what He places in front of us!

· It’s about recommitting ourselves to following our Shepherd King wherever He leads us.

· To ever be looking for Him in the faces of those about us in need – even when they don’t know it!

· Ultimately what our Lord is calling for is our recommitment to Him and His cause to bring His Kingdom reign to earth – here and now.

The King has come! May we be worthily of Him! Do I hear an “Amen” out there?

8. Let’s pray . . . Pray that we would be doers!