Matthew 25:31-46
This text is used for the Lectionary Year A on November 23, 2014.
This final parable in Matthew opens with an enthronement scene. Jesus connected the Day of Judgment with the Son of Man coming “in his glory,” establishing Christ in his rightful place as Lord of creation. All the people of the world were present as judgment commenced with a process of separation like a shepherd separating sheep from goats, a process familiar to the original audience.
In the separation scene Jesus referred to the Son of Man as a king, a fitting title for the one who had been enthroned. The righteous sheep were placed on the king’s right and the unrighteous goats on the king’s left. Those on the right were issued a word of blessing. Those on the left were issued a word of condemnation. The blessing was an invitation to receive an inheritance, the full kingdom experience featuring Christ as Lord of life. The word of condemnation was the opposite of blessing; the ones on the left were accursed receiving banishment to the “eternal fire prepared for the devil” rather than an inheritance prepared for the faithful.
The king justified the blessing and condemnation with explanation. The blessing was justified by the righteous ones’ actions toward the king when he was hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick and incarcerated. The condemnation of the unrighteous was justified by their lack of action toward the king in the same desperate situations. Both groups responded with surprise and with a question. Both wondered when they did or did not do these things. Neither group recognized the king when he was dressed in the attire of desperate humanity. At a time prior to the coming of the Son of Man, at a time prior to the moment of enthronement, at a time prior to the moment of separation, based on the response or lack of response to the “least of these;” each group was either blessed or condemned.
The parable closed with a final comment. That which was made obvious by the parable was stated succinctly. The accursed were ushered into eternal punishment while the blessed were ushered into eternal life.
One way to approach this text for the sermon would be to probe the text with two questions: who and when? Each question could form the heart of an individual sermon or the questions together could be the skeleton of one sermon.
Who? Who is represented by the phrase “the least of these”? Two ideas have dominated interpretation. One idea has been that the “least of these” were the poor the powerless, the desperate. This idea has led to a sermonic emphasis on the ethical treatment of the marginalized that can equate good works with the path to eternal security. A preferred interpretation, which fits with the trajectory of the entire text of Matthew, is that the “least of these” represents the Missional community of the early church. It was this community of disciples who carried the message of Jesus into the world, and the judgment outcomes in the parable reflect those who accepted or rejected the gospel message. This Missional community was Christ’s body. Subsequently people’s responses to this community ultimately reflected their responses to Christ, the king.
The sermonic audience would do well to explore the ways in which the church tends to act in the world as the “least of these” and in what ways it too often acts as the “best of these.” The church may need to come down from its self-made throne and connect with the world in the same places Jesus engaged the world. This investment in the life of the “least of these” cannot be done in order to gain kingdom points. Rather the church must make this choice because the church’s heart is filled with the love of Christ. For a heart filled with the love of Christ will be drawn to the poor and powerless. If the heart is not drawn in that direction, the heart may be filled, but it is not filled with Christ’s love.
When? This is the question both groups asked. When did we act or not act on your behalf? This is an interesting question since the when question dominates minds in conversations about the second coming. This parable does not speak to the when question in the way the question is normally asked, related to the timing of Christ’s return. The when question asked in this parable is not focused on the future, rather the focus is on the past.
The future is envisioned in the parable. Yet the judgment outcomes were not determined by reactions to that future return. The determinant actions of the outcomes had already occurred. When will Christ return? Who knows? The church certainly does not know. But the church ought to know the when question that does matter. When did we act with the heart of Christ, living in this world as the “least of these”? The right answer to that question is NOW, not sometime in the future.
Eric Holleyman
Senior Lecturer
Department of Religion, Baylor University
Eric_Holleyman@baylor.edu