When I was a student, I loved open-book tests. I was a pretty good text-taker anyway. I generally performed better on tests than I should have, whether they were multiple-choice, true/false, or essay. There were other students, of course, who underperformed because they had test-anxiety. They didn't score as well as they should have... but we could all agree that an open-book test was a no-brainer. Who could mess up an open-book test? No one, really, and that's what made them great. Well, as it turns out, the Bible has an open-book test for everyone who seeks heaven through Jesus, and the test is found in Matthew 25:31-46.
In this passage people are gathered around Christ as he comes to judge them. They are a bit anxious, I suspect, and they've probably armed themselves with a long list of real good reasons for the sins they committed. They are gathered to be judged, and they are divided into two groups- the "sheep" who are assembled on the right and the "goats," who are congregated on the left. Then, Christ said to the sheep- but only to the sheep- come on in! "Come on in, and inherit the kingdom that has been prepared for you." (vs. 34) Come in and take your seat in the banquet hall! Go ahead and take your seat- it's the one way up toward the front. Dance for joy and come on in. You've done well faithful servants... because you fed me when I was hungry; gave me drink when I was thirsty; welcomed me when I was a stranger to you; clothed me when I was naked; visited me when I was sick; and called on me when I was in prison. You lived as if you knew me... and you saw me when I stood before you hungry, thirsty, and naked! You saw me in your alleys and in your food lines. You saw the need in my eyes and the desperation on my face. You saw me- when I was least among you- and you loved me... in my name. So, come on in!
"Unfair," the goats cried. Your test is unfair. We've seldom missed a Sunday in church. We've tithed and we've served as leaders in our congregations. We've behaved ourselves and we've reared our children to do the same. We've done any number of good deeds... and besides, we never saw you hungry, or thirsty, or naked, or sick, or as a stranger, or prisoner! We never, ever, saw you in these ways, and if we had known it was you, Lord, we would've fallen all over ourselves to meet your needs. You know we would've. "O, but you didn't," the Lord will say. I appreciated your tithes and your church attendance was impressive. So was your knowledge of the Bible. I know how hard you tried to be good and I appreciated that too. But it wasn't about you... and when I appeared before you, you didn't give me the love and the grace that I gave to you? When I asked for food- you walked on by. When I was thirsty, you were too busy to give me a drink, and when I was dressed in rags, you looked the other way, never seeing that I'm important too. When I was sick, down and out, and isolated, you never called on me, although it would've made my day if you had. And when I was in prison, for crimes I did and didn't do, you acted as if I was dead to you. You never loved me enough to know me.
Friends, if we don't see Christ in the least among us, we won't see him at all. He appears to us in a hundred different ways. We'll see him in a darkened corner, sitting alone; we'll seeing him getting on and off one of our buses. We'll bump into him at the mall, make eye contact across the way, maybe walking on our side of the street, coming toward us. He'll come to our own dinner table, stop in to our home. Maybe he's working beside you. I don't know, but he will appear to you. He's male and female, gay and straight, young and old, rich and poor, able and disabled, smart and not-so-smart, clean and dirty, borning and dying. He's all these things and more. Look and see him, and if you see him, for God's sake, respond... because responding is your final exam. The goats will persist,"We never saw you thirsty, or naked, or suffering, not once," and our Lord will reply, "Who in the world did you think that was... hanging on the cross?" Amen.
In this passage people are gathered around Christ as he comes to judge them. They are a bit anxious, I suspect, and they've probably armed themselves with a long list of real good reasons for the sins they committed. They are gathered to be judged, and they are divided into two groups- the "sheep" who are assembled on the right and the "goats," who are congregated on the left. Then, Christ said to the sheep- but only to the sheep- come on in! "Come on in, and inherit the kingdom that has been prepared for you." (vs. 34) Come in and take your seat in the banquet hall! Go ahead and take your seat- it's the one way up toward the front. Dance for joy and come on in. You've done well faithful servants... because you fed me when I was hungry; gave me drink when I was thirsty; welcomed me when I was a stranger to you; clothed me when I was naked; visited me when I was sick; and called on me when I was in prison. You lived as if you knew me... and you saw me when I stood before you hungry, thirsty, and naked! You saw me in your alleys and in your food lines. You saw the need in my eyes and the desperation on my face. You saw me- when I was least among you- and you loved me... in my name. So, come on in!
"Unfair," the goats cried. Your test is unfair. We've seldom missed a Sunday in church. We've tithed and we've served as leaders in our congregations. We've behaved ourselves and we've reared our children to do the same. We've done any number of good deeds... and besides, we never saw you hungry, or thirsty, or naked, or sick, or as a stranger, or prisoner! We never, ever, saw you in these ways, and if we had known it was you, Lord, we would've fallen all over ourselves to meet your needs. You know we would've. "O, but you didn't," the Lord will say. I appreciated your tithes and your church attendance was impressive. So was your knowledge of the Bible. I know how hard you tried to be good and I appreciated that too. But it wasn't about you... and when I appeared before you, you didn't give me the love and the grace that I gave to you? When I asked for food- you walked on by. When I was thirsty, you were too busy to give me a drink, and when I was dressed in rags, you looked the other way, never seeing that I'm important too. When I was sick, down and out, and isolated, you never called on me, although it would've made my day if you had. And when I was in prison, for crimes I did and didn't do, you acted as if I was dead to you. You never loved me enough to know me.
Friends, if we don't see Christ in the least among us, we won't see him at all. He appears to us in a hundred different ways. We'll see him in a darkened corner, sitting alone; we'll seeing him getting on and off one of our buses. We'll bump into him at the mall, make eye contact across the way, maybe walking on our side of the street, coming toward us. He'll come to our own dinner table, stop in to our home. Maybe he's working beside you. I don't know, but he will appear to you. He's male and female, gay and straight, young and old, rich and poor, able and disabled, smart and not-so-smart, clean and dirty, borning and dying. He's all these things and more. Look and see him, and if you see him, for God's sake, respond... because responding is your final exam. The goats will persist,"We never saw you thirsty, or naked, or suffering, not once," and our Lord will reply, "Who in the world did you think that was... hanging on the cross?" Amen.
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