goat
Gospel hymn for Christ the King Sunday
1 Rise up, ye saints of God!
Have done with lesser things,
give heart and soul and mind and strength
to serve the King of kings.
2 Rise up, ye saints of God!
His kingdom tarries long:
bring in the day of brotherhood
and end the night of wrong.
3 Lift high the cross of Christ!
Tread where his feet have trod;
and quickened by the Spirit's power,
rise up, ye saints of God!
I bid you stand for the gospel from Matthew. We stand in awe, because Jesus comes personally present in the reading and hearing of his holy Gospel.
Matthew 25:31-46
His kingdom tarries long, but Jesus said, "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, with the holy angels, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.
Then the king will say to those at his right hand, `Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 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.’
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? And when 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?'
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.'
Then he will say to those at his left hand, `You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'
Then they also will answer, `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?'
Then he will answer them, `Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal fire, but the righteous into eternal life.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Don’t be a sheep, be a goat! You may be seated.
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Don’t be a sheep, be a goat!
From growing up in the late 1940s and early 50s, at Bay High School, under Bill Weeks, our challenging, mentoring, beloved but terrifying history teacher shouting “DON'T BE A SHEEP, BE A GOAT!!”, I claim fellowship with the goats as he charged us. Including the goats of the gospel. And I tell you that Jesus himself was a goat! No conformist, had he been a sheep, he would have lived to a ripe old age, adoring grandchildren on his knee, safely a carpenter, studying Torah evenings, and you would never have heard of him. But Jesus was no compliant sheep, he was crucified for his crime and sin of nonconformance.
The Lamb of God was slain for spreading the Word of God, which is that in a world where nothing matters to you but self and self interest, nothing matters to God but agape’ - love of neighbor,
where to love neighbor IS to love God,
where to love God IS to love neighbor,
where God appears on Earth as Love Incarnate, Love Divine, charging us to reclaim that godly image in which we are created, by loving indiscriminately.
"Be quick to love, and make haste to be kind" is the entirety of the gospel. Preached among humans, it’s a fighting, losing battle though, because everything about God and Jesus goes against human nature. Self-important organisms, we are self-centered and self-protective. We think good Christians are doting parents and grandparents, but you are no Christian until every child on earth is fully as important to you as your own child.
Until every poor child,
every Black child,
every Muslim child,
every Indian child,
every White child,
every weak child,
every sick chid,
every hungry child,
every abused child,
every unloved child,
every child without a place to sleep tonight,
every child under the sun
every lamb of God
is as precious to you as the safety, wellbeing, life and health of your own beloved children.
Advent is coming, when God is Incarnate in humanity, but unless you are walking the Way of the Cross, becoming Christ, Jesus will never come.
Today we have a hellfire and damnation gospel, harsh and demanding; but not as you think. Matthew writes to keep his congregation compliantly in line, within his church. But Jesus is not Matthew’s sheep, nor is Jesus a punishing shepherd who threatens his flock with eternal fire if we stray. Jesus is God’s own,
the cosmic Son of Man,
a goat come once to Show and Tell us that we are not to live for self and loved ones, not for mothers and fathers,
not for sons and daughters,
not for brothers and sisters,
but for neighbors who hate us: that’s the incredible and impossible and outrageous gospel of Jesus Christ.
Do you believe? If you believe, you will continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers.
If you believe, you will persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord.
If you believe, you are proclaiming by word and especially example the Good News of God in Christ.
If you believe, you are seeking and serving Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself.
If you believe, you are striving, not for victory, but for justice and peace among ALL people.
If you believe, you are respecting and honoring the dignity of EVERY HUMAN BEING, not just those who are like you.
Nothing else matters.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Homily by the Rev Tom Weller, Holy Nativity Episcopal Church, Panama City, Florida. Christ the King Sunday, November 22, 2020.