Wakefield Cathedral
Sunday, 22nd November 2020 (Year A)
Matthew 25.31-end / Ephesians 1.15-end / Ezekiel 34.11-16, 20-24
Are you ready to meet The King?
No, I’m not talking about meeting Elvis….
I mean royalty…. monarchy…. sovereign…. anointed….
Are you prepared for that?
Anyone here who remembers the Royal Maundy visit of Queen Elizabeth 2nd in 2005 will recall the endless and complex preparations prior to the event. The Security, logistics, crowd control, media and so on, ensuring that everyone who needed to be in this Cathedral for the service were in their places early. Very early!
Anticipation and preparation in abundance! And a readiness – of a kind….
I’ll say this now, as there probably wont be another suitable occasion to include it….. I met the Queen! Amongst many others, I was introduced to our reigning sovereign. It was an honour, and I even had a conversation with her…! As I recall, I found myself asking her about her train journey….. the reasons for which are now lost to human memory….! Which is probably a good thing!
If I met her now, would I be incautious enough to ask Her Majesty if she has a Netflix subscription…. Maybe not!
Perhaps you prefer your Royal engagements via the telly! The drama of royal-family life played out for us to view, on demand. We hopefully seek to gain some insights into what separates us from ‘them’ or even discover our commonalities.
I am enjoying The Crown, at the moment, with its fairly well-balanced portrayal of familiar characters living out their lives against the backdrop of recent history. We are presented with a constant awareness of the heavy burden that monarchy places upon mere mortals, albeit privileged ones.
And yet it is still a story: part documented and part fiction – created for our entertainment, as a form of informative voyeurism – a window into something different to our daily lives that we imagine is somehow better…..
And it is thus a poor substitute for a real relationship…..
Scripture provides some intriguing insights into the concept of royal leadership. In 1 Samuel, Israel demands a King to lead them into battle, so they could be like other nations! God tells Samuel of how this is their rejection of God. Samuel tells Israel the realities of having a king. They still want one. Eventually David, the shepherd, is crowned and anointed as God’s direct appointment.
Scripture mostly gives a good account of David, and his lineage aligns with that of Jesus. Ezekiel speaks of God placing a shepherd – David – over the sheep (the people of God) – to care for them and feed them.
Fast-forward through the life and ministry of Jesus and similar needs are revealed: What did they want from God? A king? A warrior? The Messiah that would deliver them from oppression?
God sent Jesus – riding on a donkey, sleeping rough, preaching about loving one’s neighbour. He didn’t lead an attack on the Roman Empire but he did challenge the unjust and corrupt practices of the temple leadership. His rousing words did not lead into battle, but encouraged the poor and downtrodden, offering compassion and hope, showing what a true kingdom of God could look like.
Was he a king or a shepherd, or something else?
There is something about the imagery of animals in scripture that I find both appealing and encouraging! They are often the background actors in the everyday story of Israel….!
That juxtaposition of humanity and creation….
Stories about the haughty and the humble….
When Jesus mentions animals there is usually some other dimension we need to taste notice of!
He may speak of pigs, sheep, goats etc but there is a rootedness within the time and place in which he lived – the challenge of that moment in history – the need to rebuild a union with God – and His mission to the world.
The idyllic pastoral image of sheep or goats, and a shepherd with his or her dog, may come to us from Countryfile, but the reality is starkly different. Even in this country, working the land is hard and caring for animals is not so cute and cuddly. In the Palestine of Jesus, desert pastures could be cruel and unrelenting, with shepherding considered very low in the social-economic scheme of things.
And Jesus made His connections here – amongst the lowly and humble – He witnessed what was needed for the Kingdom to come.
But what about goats? What is the problem of goats, I hear you say!?
Well, I may hazard a guess at the building of a metaphor…. But the fleece of a sheep was softer and had a greater value: sheep were easier to manage and goats were more stubborn and challenging….
Those who heard Jesus talk in this way would probably have known what he meant – if they knew their scripture, they would have “got” the metaphor of sheep/good and goats/bad – and how the judgement must have been foreseen….
God was not an unknown quantity….. all of scripture described God as being of love and of judgment.
Todays’s passage from Matthews Gospel is one of several presaging the end of the age – how things will be when the Son of Man returns.
In previous weeks we have had the earlier passages from Matthew that impress upon the hearer an urgency to be ready – for the return of Christ – Describing the nature of the Kingdom – and prompting the response: how do we respond?
It is part parable and part prophecy….. Jesus spells it out.
In this Judgment of the Nations….
The Son of Man will come…
In power and glory…
And He will sit on a throne and pronounce the judgements of God upon the world.
The righteous and the unrighteous will be judged according to how they have responded to God.
There is a challenge here to all the world at every level. To us.
We will be judged.
Surely it is not possible for us to have lived our lives – in the ways we do – without anticipating any repercussions.
But wait. We regularly elevate mortals to high status and allow their judgment – or influence – to determine us.
Isn’t the judgement of God – in Christ the King – what we hope for? Terrible though it might be….
Judgement by someone that knows us.
For His is the reign of the upside-down; He comes to judge as one who is fully God and fully human – He knows us, and His face reflects all of humanity – in all its glory and despair!
Christ the King rules for God and His judgement will be awesome. Yet His reign will not be imposed and imperious, oppressive and deferential. Jesus is the shepherd who shows us the way to be of His flock – the sheep of His fold – and to live lives of loving union with God – for and with one another.
How do we respond to this?
If the mission of Jesus was to return the world to a right relationship with God, we are called to be a part of that – not just wait to be judged.
When Jesus returns, how will He find us? Ready? Waiting? Prepared?
Will that involve a checklist, ensuring everyone is in the right place at the right time?
Did we do the things we were told we had to do? Can we be bothered to do more?
And will the engagement we have with our world, and those around us, be one of love or just a voyeuristic observation of other people and their problems?
A bit harsh? Maybe.
But here’s the thing…. Faith in God and discipleship with Jesus – can enrich our lives and those around us.
And no, it isn’t easy, but it’s what what Jesus calls us for.
I have no idea how the Returning King will judge me.
There is much in which I fail, and no doubt I will continue to do so…!
I know that I can never love enough.
Yet I shall not give up, and neither shall you.
We can and do have a relationship with our king, our judge, our shepherd and our God.
It takes effort, on our part, to make this a real and valuable constant in our lives.
As Christian Disciples, we seek to be ready – not by ticking boxes to say we have done what was asked, but by saying “yes I will be ready for anything – ready for God”.
Being regarded as a ‘sheep’ is not cool in this age. We might be encouraged to ‘follow’ someone we place on a pedestal, but being regarded as one of the flock has the overtones of blind obedience and a lack of imagination.
Yet that call of the shepherd king is one of love – the love of the Creator – the love we can show for one another, meeting and exceeding the basic needs of all humanity, wherever we can…. and so much more.
In the words of the contemplative theologian, Richar Rohr,
Love is who you are. When you don’t live according to love, you are outside of being. You’re not being real. When you love, you are acting according to your deepest being, your deepest truth.
So: Chose life. Chose sheep. Don’t be goat….. as they say!
Recognise the real Royalty in Christ the King,
If the Kingdom is about union and communion, then it is also about mercy, forgiveness, nonviolence, letting go, solidarity, service, and lives of love, patience, and simplicity.
Seek out and build a relationship with God – together….!
Thankfully our monarchy is fairly removed from the direct model of judgment. Such complex and onerous responsibilities are devolved to other parties, in their name.
Ready or not, I met a monarch once, and you may do too or have done, or someone you class as “royalty”……
Remember. They are human and your life is not in their hands. Our judgement, as in our hope, is in Christ who walks with us every step of the way, preparing us to be real. Thanks be to God.
Now, like so much that seems to be out of time and place during this year, I will leap briefly into Advent to steal a hymn that was literally ringing in my mind as I was writing this.
To close, I offer just a few words of “Long Ago, Prophets Knew….”
Ring, bells, ring, ….!
Sing, choirs, sing, ….!
When he comes,
When he comes,
Who will make him welcome?
Amen.
Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation (email), “God, the Lover of Life” 13/11/20, CAC
YouTube coverage from Wakefield Cathedral channel here (Gospel etc from 26:55)