Sheep & Goats

Come you that are blessed by my father. From the 25th chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Notice the words of Jesus to those on his right and those on his left.

To those on his right, he says, "Come, you that are blessed by my father." It is a personal invitation to a fantastic party, one that will feature only the best wine, the tastiest food, and the perfect atmosphere. It is an invitation to participate in perfect communion with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. That is the true reward for a faithful Christian. Come you that are blessed by my father. To those on his left, he says, "You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire." This is a much different kind of response from Jesus. It is not an invitation, but a command. A command that says, "Get out of my sight. He does not want to see you anymore. He is chasing off those unwanted goats who wasted their lives disturbing the flock, causing controversy, hindering the saints, ignoring the mission of the church. To those canankerous goats, Jesus will say, "You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire."

Nobody wants to be a goat. Goats are troublesome, difficult to herd, always causing some sort of trouble. They make the job of the shepherd challenging even though it is in their best interest to behave.

They tip over water containers. They ram you with their horns when your back is turned. They are constantly making disturbing noises that scare the flock. They always have something negative to say. They are never content. They think primarily of themselves. They don't act like sheep who are of the flock of Christ. Goats are similar to sheep in their appearance but their character is not like the sheep.

Jesus says that the sheep are righteous not in and of themselves but because they are blessed by their faith in Christ. A sheep in a flock of Christ has to put on Christ so that their behavior is Christlike.

They feed the hungry. They give water to the thirsty. They welcome the foreigner. They clothe the naked. They tend to the sick. and they visit those in prison. The sheep are by no means perfect. Like everyone else, they are redeemed from their sins by Jesus. The difference between goats and sheep is that the sheep are totally carefree and surrendered to the care of their shepherd. which is Jesus Christ.

The sheep don't spend much time being a bother. They play with each other. They don't fight amongst themselves. However, sheep go with the flow because they know that Jesus is their good shepherd. They trust in him even if they are uncomfortable with the situation.

If the sheep are worried, they listen to the voice of their shepherd and he calms them down. Jesus calls these sheep on his right hand righteous. And you can tell the sheep are righteous because they don't even realize what they have done. Jesus says to these sheep, "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 in. I was naked and you gave me clothing. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you went and visited me. And the next verse says, "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 as a stranger and welcomed you in? Or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it? When was it that you were sick or in prison and we 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.

These righteous sheep are blissfully unaware that when they give food to somebody who is hungry on the street, they are feeding the body of Christ.

This reminds me of the monastic tendency toward folly.

Monks are known for following the commands of Christ explicitly. If you were to ask a monk for their last piece of bread, they would give it to you joyfully. That sounds like folly sometimes. Sheep of the fold of Christ are to be like monks in that they are not terribly concerned by who it is that they are serving. If a sheep of Christ is walking down the street and a stranger asks them for their coat, they are likely to give it to the stranger. Why is that? Because that is what Christ would do. And better yet, they know that in good in doing good to a stranger, they are doing good to Christ. Imagine if Jesus walked into the room and asked for a cup of water. Would you deny him? No, of course not. But what if Jesus walked into the room, but he was a bit disheveled?

Maybe he appeared to not have had a bath in a while. What if that Jesus asked you for a cup of water? Would you give it to him?

Friends, the command of Jesus to care for others does not come with any sort of conditions. He does not say that we should serve only those with whom we agree or like. He simply says, "Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me."

He is the good shepherd who knows who is a part of his flock. He decides, not you and not me. Our job is simply to care for everyone whom the Lord brings into our lives, whether we like them or not. And often in the process of serving those with whom we disagree, we learn to love them as Christ loves them. And in doing that, we fulfill the law of loving God and loving our neighbor. I cannot judge who is a sheep and who is a goat.

That is not my place. The command of Christ to me is to love and serve all of those in my flock. But Jesus knows. He knows who amongst you is a sheep and who is a goat. Surely there are many sheep in our midst. Many who have poured themselves out as an offering unto God by the way they live their lives. And by their efforts they have brought glory to God and have advanced the kingdom of God.

I recently asked a few people to share with me the impact of the ministry of this church. Many people told me that this church by the grace of God has been like going from night to day, from darkness to lightness, from chaos to peace. And that is only because of God's grace for us and because we are faithfully walking out our lives loving all people as Christ loves them.

Brothers and sisters, we have much work to do. This church has made an eternal and lasting impact. And those who came before us have labored in their time so that we might reap the benefits of this ministry. They serve the Lord with faithfulness. And now it is our turn to continue down this faithful walk with God. We will reap some of our rewards in our time, but those who come after us will benefit even more. We not we cannot sit idly by as the body of Christ atrophies from inactivity. We must stand up. We must begin to labor in the kingdom of God here in downtown Witchto Falls.

And the choice is yours, brothers and sisters. Do you want to be a goat or do you want to be a sheep?

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

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Elmer Miguel