Matthew 25:31-46
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
First, some background
When I agreed to preach at my final Sunday at common cathedral, I didn’t yet know the assigned lectionary text.
I can’t say I was excited when I looked it up and saw Matthew 25 on the schedule.
You see, Matthew 25 is a great passage for indoor churches. It’s been used as a rally cry for missions and giving and trips and outreach. All good things.
It’s also a beautiful vision for the work street pastors do and my own call to ministry. It gets at the heart of what we believe is true about our unhoused and marginalized neighbors—they are the face of Christ to us.
But what do you say about Matthew 25 when you’re preaching to the hungry person? Or the person in prison? Or the naked or stranger or addicted neighbor? What is the Good News in Matthew 25 for “the least of these” when they aren’t sufficiently being fed or housed or clothed by their neighbor? This is a question I’ve never had to wrestle with because I’ve never had to preach this text in a context such as this.
Needless to say, I stumbled through my exegesis, unsure of what to proclaim, wondering how to say it in under 5 minutes, leaving it to the last minute (which is very unlike me), and finishing my thoughts on Saturday night.
I decided to go with a manuscript—a crutch every street pastor throws out the window at some point in their ministry—but knew I needed it to calm my nerves.
Here’s my attempt at some Good News.
The sermon
Note: Preaching is an oral and auditory event, similar to the way scripture has been shared with communities throughout the centuries. I invite you to give it a listen.
When I was preparing for today’s message, I was thinking about how unexpected it is to hear Jesus say that he was hungry or thirsty, naked or in prison.
These are shocking words, right?
Like Jesus was perfect—he was supposed to have it all together!
What does it mean if Jesus says he’s thirsty or hungry?
I think through Jesus’ words, Matthew is pointing out the unexpected nature of God.
That even though Jesus could have had it all together, he understands the pain and suffering of being human, of being hungry, cold, thirsty, sick, and in prison.
That even though Jesus could have just hung out with the people at the top of society, he instead cared most deeply about the poor and the brokenhearted.
That even though Jesus could have turned away from all the suffering in the world, he instead turned toward it, entering into the messiness of our lives.
So much so that when we see someone who is hungry, we see Jesus.
When our friend is cold, we are seeing Jesus.
When our community is suffering, Jesus is suffering.
Jesus unexpectedly comes to us through our neighbor who is suffering, who is broken, who is at the end of their rope.
And then he invites us to enter into these unexpected places, showing deep love and compassion for our neighbor, showing the world that there is no place God will not go to be with God’s people.
It’s like Jesus could have said today:
I was cold in the Boston winter and you invited me inside.
I was wet during the storm and you offered me an awning that would keep me dry.
I was newly sober and you encouraged me.
I was in withdrawal and you stayed with me.
I was having a hard day and you gave me a hug.
I was feeling lonely and you sat down and talked with me.
I was grieving my friend who died and you prayed for me.
God is made real to us in the face of our neighbor, in the face of all of you.
Knowing all of you gives me a bigger glimpse of the God who loves us all.
And though it’s hard to believe, Jesus tells us in Matthew that God shows up in our lives when we’re suffering. When life isn’t perfect. When the stranger or friend comes along and says the right thing or gives us a kind smile and we know that we’re loved.
That’s where God is—in the messiness of it all.
This is the unexpected nature of our God.
And remembering this prepares us well for the upcoming Christmas season, when we celebrate the most unexpected thing of all:
When God came to us, born a human in our very flesh, out of the womb of his homeless mother outside among the animals.
That’s not where we expect God to be, but that’s where God shows up anyway.
🗣️
Where have you seen God at work in your life or the world that was unexpected?
These reflections, experiences, and dedicated time for writing is thanks to the generosity of The Reverend Janet Karvonen-Montgomery Preaching Fellowship from Luther Seminary. You can learn more about Rev Janet and the Fellowship here.
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