I’ve not shared sermons on this platform before, but I had some new insights (for me) in the passages from Matthew that were in the lectionary at the end of the last liturgical year. Unusually for me, I wanted to revisit what I’d said and try to write it up in full (I usually preach from notes). Having done that, I thought I share it here. It’s not quite an advent theme, but it’s not far off… so it sort of fits for this time of year.
Any thoughts/feedback are very welcome.
Many of the members of the youth group we run have just had their mock GCSE exams; a dummy run for the tests they will have to take next summer as they finish this stage of their education.
Our education system tries to help inform, shape and prepare our young people for the world of work, and the exams and tests on the way are all milestones on that journey.
Some Bible passages can make it seem like life is a test... have we understood, believed and professed the right things? Have we done and said the things that are acceptable to God?
Is the whole purpose of life just a test where God is weeding out the bad from the good? Well, at first glance, the readings of these last few weeks can make it seem like that.
The prophetic picture that Jesus paints with the judgement of the sheep and the goats at the end of Matthew 25, is the climax to the parables that go before it; the parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids/virgins, and the parable of the talents/bags of gold.
The teaching points that regularly come from these passages are things like:
Don't be like the foolish bridesmaids... pass the test; be prepared and you will be rewarded
Don't be like the fearful servant... pass the test; use all the abilities and resources you have to the best of your ability and you will be rewarded
Don't be like the goats... pass the test; show compassion to others and you will be rewarded
However, the unhappy endings to these passages are troubling; the foolish bridesmaids are excluded, the fearful servant is thrown into the outer darkness, and the ‘goats’ (the people who did not show compassion and serve those in need) go away to eternal punishment in ‘the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels' (Matt 25:41b).
Given the compassion that Jesus has shown throughout his ministry – compassion for the foolish, the fearful, the confused, the lost and the least – given what has been revealed about his character and the character of God, these parables are puzzling. The judgemental actions at the end of each story seem completely out of character, not like Jesus, and not like many of the other parables he has shared about the Kingdom of Heaven.
Why aren't the ‘wise’ bridesmaids punished for being selfish and not sharing their oil? Why is the groom so mean as to exclude the foolish bridesmaids for being late? How does the harshness of the master in the parable of the talents (who reaps where he does not sow and throws the fearful servant into the outer darkness) fit with the image Jesus gives us of God as a loving father? And, alright the goats failed to do the things that Jesus calls people to do, but the scale and the length of the punishment (all eternity) they receive seems way over the top. Where is the God of compassion and grace in this?
I've heard the arguments about God's perfect justice, and the fact that the people characterised as the sheep and the goats are non-believers who are rewarded/punished based on how they have treated the followers of Jesus... but these seem like they are hugely stretching the point to try and make the passages say what people want them to say.
No matter how we dress it up, the groom and the master in the first two passages, and Jesus in the third, portray the Kingdom of Heaven, and God, as angry, judgemental and unforgiving.
How do we make sense of this?
To understand any text in the Bible, we have to look at it in the context of the passages around it, and we have to try to look at it from the perspective of the disciples who heard Jesus say this 2000 years ago… and it can also help to look at other perspectives in the worldwide church.
Chapters 24 and 25 need to be read together. These chapters are one long chunk of teaching from Jesus in answer to the questions the disciples ask in Matthew 24:3b, “Tell us when this will happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age.”
They ask these questions because when they were marvelling at the beauty of the temple buildings, Jesus had told them that not one stone would be left upon another.
Scholars vary in how they interpret Chapter 24, but many would say that Jesus is talking about 3 prophetic horizons:
His own death, resurrection and the subsequent persecution of the disciples
The destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (which happened in 70AD)
The end of the age when he will come again, and all the earth will know him as king.
Three times in chapter 24 Jesus uses the phrase ‘At that time...’ (verses 10, 23, and 30). And each time he uses that phrase, it seems that he is referring to one of the above prophetic horizons; verse 10 - the persecution of the disciples, verse 23 - the destruction of the temple, and verse 30 - the end of the age.
The phrase, ‘At that time...’ is also the way that the three parables in Chapter 25 are introduced. Jesus said, ‘At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like...’
And I think this is a helpful key to help us understand these difficult passages in chapter 25.
Elsewhere in the gospels, Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like...”, or “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to...”, but this is the only instance where he says, “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like...”
It seems like he is saying that at that time the kingdom of heaven will be different. But why would the kingdom of heaven be different? Surely God's rule and reign, his will and grace and peace are consistent throughout all of time.
It may help to know how Eastern Orthodox Christianity views the church. We would say that the church is the body of Christ, the representative of Jesus on earth. As well as this, the Eastern Orthodox Church would also say that the church is the embodiment of the kingdom of heaven on earth.
And I think there is something here that gives us another perspective on these passages in chapter 25...
If the church is seen as the kingdom of heaven, then perhaps Jesus is saying something here about how at that time, the kingdom of heaven on earth, the church, will lose its way.
It will become selfish in its worldly wisdom and not ‘share its oil’ with those it regards as foolish
It will treat people ungraciously, becoming judgemental of others and more inward-looking
And then the story of the sheep and goats that follows is an encouragement, an exhortation, a reminder to the church to serve the poor, and the lost, and the imprisoned with compassion. If the church fails to do this... if the church fails to clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, feed the hungry, etc. then how will the world know what God is truly like? The story is also a warning to the followers of Jesus, that if they fail in these areas then they will face judgement.
Hang on a minute though... doesn't faith in Jesus mean that we are exempt from judgement? Well, that's a topic for another entire sermon (or three). However, in short, it is down to how we understand judgement.
Jesus spells out what the judgement is in John 3:19-20: “This is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come into the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed.”
There is a lot more to this, but putting it simply, judgement is not about guilt and punishment, it is about cause and effect. At times we have all thought, said, and done things that fall short of our own standards, let alone God's standards. None of us is perfect, we are all part goat and part sheep, and as we get closer to the light of Jesus, it highlights the darkness (the goat) in us. Confronted with our own darkness we have a choice:
When we understand that God is love and we step into the light, we find that the refiner’s fire burns away the darkness (the goat) in us.
However, if we fear a judgemental angry God, then we remain hidden in ‘the darkness where there is much weeping and gnashing of teeth’ (Matt 25:30b), or, as Jesus says at the end of Matthew 24 ‘a place with the hypocrites, where there will be much weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
Life is not a test that we pass or fail, BUT in life, there will be testing times.
In Matthew 24 – 25, Jesus is telling his disciples that there will be testing times, and when they do, then his followers should ‘stand firm’ (24:13), ‘pray’ (24:20), and ‘keep watch’ (24:42 & 25:13). And I think that's not just keeping watch for what is going on in the world around us, but keep watch on him.
Jesus call on his followers back then, and throughout history, is in all times of trouble to stay focussed on him. We are to keep watch on our attitudes and attend to our discipleship: Share oil, welcome foolish bridesmaids (and wise ones), help those who are fearful, be generous in our welcome, show compassion, love, grace and forgiveness.
We are called to be his hands and feet, so at that time... in this time today... and all those times in the future... people will see the light shining in the darkness, people will realise that they are still loved by God, people might know that despite the darkness, they might have his hope, his joy, and his peace.
So keep watch, keep your focus on Jesus, because he is the light and hope of the world. Amen