Last Sunday of the Church Year

Last Sunday of the Church Year (Proper 29A)

November 26, 2023

Text: Matt. 25:31-46

            The Lord is coming.  He is coming soon.  Only God knows the day and the hour.  But we must be prepared.  We must be in the things of Jesus, immersed in God’s Word and Sacraments, the means by which God delivers to us the saving work of Christ.  That’s why I’m always harping on you about being in Church.  Because it's an eternal life and death situation for you and your family.  How do you prepare for the Lord’s coming?  Remain in the faith of Jesus.  How do you do that?  Receive, receive, receive.  Receive all that He gives you here in Baptism, Scripture, Preaching, Absolution, and Supper.

            This is how it will happen on that Day.  As it was in the days before the Flood, people will be eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, blissfully unaware of the Day that is coming upon them (Matt. 24:38-39).  It will be business as usual.  Until, all at once, the trumpet will sound, the risen Lord Jesus will appear with His holy angels, the dead will be raised (believers and unbelievers), the books will be opened, and the Lord will declare His verdict over each and every one of us.

            All people will be gathered before Him, from every nation, tribe, people, and language.  And our Lord Jesus will separate us, one from another, as a Shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  The sheep will be on His right, the goats on His left.  What will be the distinction?  It is tempting, on the basis of our Holy Gospel, to assume that the distinction is in the works each have done.  That is what the world believes, and that is what Satan preaches.  Good people go to heaven.  Bad people go to hell.  So, the logical conclusion is, it doesn’t matter what you believe.  It matters what you do.

            Notice, though, and this is very important… the separation takes place before any mention of works.  The sheep are already sheep, and the goats are already goats.  There is something already, first, that makes the sheep, sheep, and the goats, goats, so that the sheep the do sheeply things as a consequence of who they are, and the goats do goatly things as a consequence of who they are.  What is that something? 

            The sheep are sheep because they belong to the Good Shepherd, Jesus, the One sitting on the throne, pronouncing Judgment.  That is to say, they are in Christ.  They are baptized into Christ.  They are united to Christ by faith.  Therefore, their sins are forgiven.  They’ve been crucified with Christ.  They’ve received the Holy Spirit, again, in the Word and Sacraments.  They’ve been raised with Christ.  Spiritually, already in this life.  Now bodily, as they stand before the Risen One in whom they’ve believed and hoped their whole life long. 

            The goats are goats because they would not have Jesus as their Shepherd.  That is to say, they are not in Christ.  They are not baptized into Him, or they have left the grace of their Baptism.  They do not believe in Christ, as in, trust in Him alone for salvation, and so they are not united to Him by faith.  There is forgiveness for their sins in Christ Jesus, who died for them, and is risen and lives for them, but they will not have it.  And so, they are of their father, the devil.  They are shepherded by the devil, who leads them, not to green pastures and still waters, but into the boiling lake of fire.  Which, incidentally (and note this very carefully), God did not create for human beings, but for the devil and for his angels (the demons).  God does not want anyone to perish.  He desires all to be saved.  This is a great tragedy, that anyone be found a goat on that Day.

            Well… what, then, about the works that are mentioned?  Whenever a judgment is to be made, what is displayed before the Court in order to prove innocence or guilt?  Evidence!  If we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, apart from works (and we are!), why, then, does Jesus bring up our works on the Day of Judgment?  These are the evidence!  Sheep do sheeply things, like feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, and visit those who are sick and in prison.  And when they do, they do so in the Name of Jesus, and, mystery of mysteries, in doing it for their neighbor, they actually do it for Christ Himself.  The goats do nothing for Christ.  Not ever.  Remember, they’ve rejected Him, totally and completely.    

            “Now, wait a minute,” you say.  “I know plenty of unbelievers who do all sorts of wonderful things that look an awful lot like what the sheep are given credit for doing, and I know an awful lot of sheep who don’t seem as good at doing the things for which Jesus here praises them.”  True enough, and believers should be ashamed whenever they fail to love their neighbor in a sheeply way.  Repent of that.  That is Christ you are refusing to love under the mask of your neighbor, and that is dangerous.  And, by the way, God be praised when unbelievers do things that help their neighbors, that outwardly appear to be good works.  But understand, you and I don’t see what God sees.  We only see the surface of things.  The fact is, a good work is only good in God’s sight when it is done in faith.  And whatever is done apart from faith is sin.

            The fact is, when we stand before the throne of Christ, we, who are in Christ, will not be judged according to our sins, which are washed away, and have been atoned for by Jesus’ blood.  We will not be judged for all the times we’ve not done what we are called upon to do, because Christ has perfectly fulfilled our every obligation to the Law for us, in our place.  His righteousness is imputed to us, received by faith.  We get the credit for what He has done.  That is why Jesus says only good stuff about His sheep. 

            But the goats don’t have the covering of Christ.  Their sins are not washed away.  The atonement made for them doesn’t benefit them, because they will not have it, nor will they have the righteousness of Christ.  So they only have their own works to rely on.  And their own works fall far short of the glory of God.  In fact, they are sin.  Their sins and failures stand before the Court of Divine Justice, because they are not in Christ.

            So, the goats are sent into eternal punishment.  But the righteous, the justified, those declared righteous by God for Christ’s sake, with Christ’s righteousness, who subsequently do works of love and mercy in and through and to Christ, enter into eternal life.  Truth be told, the Judgment has already taken place by the time we’re all raised from the dead.  What we call “Judgment Day” is essentially the public proclamation of the Judge's prior verdict.  That is why people already go to heaven or hell when they die, before the Day of Judgment.

            But here is something that may surprise you, although it really shouldn’t.  The Lord Jesus has already publicly pronounced His verdict on you, if you will have it.  You heard it again this morning.  As His spokesman, I said to you, “As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of X the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”  There you have it.  That is the verdict.  Knowing that, you don’t have to be scared of the Day of Judgment.  You should fear and love God, so that you remain prepared for that Day, lest it take you unawares, and you be found naked, not clothed with Christ.  But just stay in Christ.  Be here, always, immersed in Christ’s gifts, and you know exactly what will happen on that Day.

            Do note, though, dear Lutherans, the high and holy place given to works in this Gospel.  You are not saved by your works.  Phew.  We’re all very relieved.  But now you do works because you are saved.  And look at the works Jesus highlights.  Giving to the hungry and thirsty and naked.  Visiting those sick and in prison.  How would those translate into our lives here and now?  It’s not as complicated as we think, like some grand mission to Timbuktu (though that is wonderful if you want to do that, and I encourage you to give generously to those who do).  But really, the works are available to you much closer to home.  The essence of these works is to love, care for, extend mercy to, those who surround you.  Beginning with your family.  And then your congregation.  And then your community.  It is feeding your baby, and changing her diaper.  It is a word of encouragement to one who is burdened.  It is the meal train for a grieving family, giving new parents a break by babysitting, student care packages and Christmas gifts for Palouse Care Network families.  It is inviting someone to your Thanksgiving table.  So also, the wife who is a caregiver for her disabled or dying spouse; the grandmother who never gives up on her incarcerated grandson, but prays for him daily, and tells him of Jesus’ love; the man who brings his homeless coworker under his own roof until he can get on his feet (these are real examples, I’ve seen them for myself); the one who gives alms, like Cornelius, the Centurion (Acts 10:4).

            The Lord is not unaware of these things.  You are, because you just do them, because that is the Christian thing, the sheeply thing, to do.  And you do it in faith.  And, incredibly, the Lord Jesus says here that, when you do it for the least of these, for those benefitting from your love… you are doing it to Him!  Now, you’ll be surprised when He brings it up on that Day, not because you’re ignorant, or dense, or ridiculously forgetful.  You’ll be surprised because you’re not looking at the work.  After all, Christ has already done all the work of your salvation.  So, you’re looking, instead, at the one who needs your work.  You are looking at that person through the lens of Christian love, the lens of Christ.  And insofar as you’re not looking at the person through Christ… insofar as you are looking at the work and all impressed with yourself… well, repent, and give thanks that this sin, like all sin, is covered by the blood atonement of Jesus Christ.

            Beloved, the Lord is coming.  He is coming soon.  Watch.  Pray.  Be prepared.  Which is to say, remain in Christ.  Be in the things of Christ, in His Church, in His Word and holy Sacraments.  And love your neighbor.  You’ve already heard the verdict.  And so, on that Day, you know the King will say to you, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:34; ESV).  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son X, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.