“Christ In Disguise”

Matthew 25:31-46

October 2, 2022 World Communion Sunday

“And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’” (Matthew 25:40, NRSV)

This is a familiar passage to many–this description of the separating of people at the time of judgment into the righteous and the unrighteous, into those who will inherit the Kingdom of God and those who will sent to, in the words of Matthew, “the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” (cf. Mt. 25:41). Yikes! 

And this time of judgment, so says Jesus, will be like when a shepherd separates his sheep out from the goats that were apparently sharing the same pasture, taking the sheep–who belonged to him–and putting them on one side of him, and putting the others–the goats, who were not his–on the other side.

But moving back to the people in question, what determines who goes where? With the animals it’s easy–the sheep go one way, and the goats, the other. But with people, it’s not as easy to tell one kind from the other. At first glance, in fact, it’s impossible to know who’s righteous and who’s not righteous. At least for us. 

Because unlike the sheep and the goats, who can easily be separated just by looking at them, whether someone will be judged by Jesus as righteous or not, according to this passage, has nothing to do with anything that’s visible to the naked eye. 

It’s not about their hair type or eye shape or skin color. It’s not about their age or gender. It’s not about the kind of shoes they wear or the kind of home they live in or the kind of work they do. None of those things, according to Jesus, have anything to do with whether they will be judged as righteous or unrighteous.  But Jesus says that he can, and will, make that determination at the end of time. 

Who remembers how, according to today’s passage, he will make the distinction? [answer??] Right–by how they treated “the least of these.” 

And who are “the least of these”? He lists six different categories…

1. Those who are hungry;
2. Those who are thirsty;
3. Those who are strangers;
4. Those who are naked;
5. Those who are sick;
6. Those who are in prison.

The righteous did what for the hungry? Fed them.

And they did what for the thirsty? Gave them them something to drink.

And for the strangers? Welcomed them.

And for the naked? Gave them clothes.

And for the sick? Took care of them.

And for the imprisoned? Visited them.

And we’re going to stop there for the moment–because as I considered this passage this week, I was struck by something, for the first time. And that is the apparent lack of judgment by those who were deemed righteous, toward those who were in need. 

There is no mention of these people taking it upon themselves to judge the worthiness of the people in need. It seems that they didn’t sit around wondering WHY the people who were hungry, were hungry, or why the thirsty ones were thirsty. It seems that they didn’t judge the stranger as bad or evil or as someone to stay away from at all costs, or even just as someone who didn’t belong with them. It seems they didn’t need to figure out if it was the fault of the person with no clothes that they didn’t have clothes, or if the one who was sick did something stupid or careless that resulted in their getting sick. And it seems that they didn’t need to know whether the ones who were in prison were innocent or guilty, whether they deserved to be there or not. 

It seems that the people who were deemed righteous by Jesus simply met the needs that were presented to them, as they were able to.

Perhaps the hungry person was someone they knew; perhaps not. What they did know, though, was that he was hungry. And they gave him something to eat. 

Perhaps the person who was thirsty was someone of ill repute–maybe a prostitute or a tax collector. But he or she was thirsty. And they gave them something to drink.

Maybe the stranger was from an enemy clan, from a tribe that had defeated Israel multiple times in the past. But now he found himself among the Jews…who remembered that they, too, had been strangers in a strange land… And they welcomed him.

What about the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned? Maybe their problems had resulted from stupid things they had done, or careless things they had said; or maybe they had been caused by circumstances totally outside of their control. However they had arrived in the states they were in, their needs were tended to by the people deemed righteous. Seemingly without fanfare. Apparently without hesitation. And clearly, without judgment. 

And in serving those in need, without fanfare or hesitation or judgment, they were serving Christ himself. Without knowing it. 

I think we are left asking, who is hungry, that we have not seen? Who is thirsty, that we have ignored? Who is a stranger, on the outside looking in, that has been invisible to us? Who is sick, and has no one to care for them? Who is naked, from who we avert our eyes? And who is in prison, that we have perhaps deemed deserving of being there, and thus allowed ourselves to put them out of our minds?

Whose needs are in front of us, who don’t need our judgment or analysis, who are hurt by our hesitation, who we don’t see…and who are Christ in disguise? 

I think it’s a question we need to consider. Especially now, when we are deeply and painfully aware of the many, destructive, human-generated divisions in our local and global communities, factions that outdo one another in greed and violence and desire for power and control…

On this World Communion Sunday, however, let us also be reminded of God’s Beloved Community, where the needs of all are met by one another with generosity and humility, where justice and compassion and mercy and grace abound. And where judgment of one of God’s children by another has no place. 

“And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’” (Matthew 25:40, NRSV)

May God open our eyes, and our hearts, and our hands, to the least of these who are right in front of us, and all around us; who are Christ in disguise waiting to be served. 

Amen.