Great Separation

THE GREAT SEPARATION

Matthew 25.31-46

'When the Son of Man comes in his glory....he will separate people from one another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.' Matthew 25.31,32

It was the custom, and still is today, for sheep and goats to graze together in the Middle East. However, at night time they would be separated by the shepherd, because goats are less hardy beasts than sheep, and therefore need to be kept warm.

ln the above Gospel reading for today, St Matthew uses the image of the separation of sheep from goats to illustrate what will happen at the day of judgement. We are told that 'when the Son of Man comes in his glory...he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.'

The criteria upon which that separation will be determined will be whether or not we have cared for those in need.

The great separation will not depend upon our church attendance, or the amount of money we put into the collection, but upon the kind of life we have lived. Has it been a life focused upon our personal needs or the needs of others?

This is down-to-earth Christianity. As the writer of the Letter of James asks, 'What good is it my friends, for someone to say he has faith when his actions do not show it?'

Elsewhere, the writer says, 'Suppose a fellow Christian, whether man or woman, is in rags with not enough food for the day, and one of you says: "Good-bye, keep warm and have a good meal", but does nothing to supply their bodily needs, what good is that'?

And he goes on and says: 'Pure religion in the sight of God the Father is this: to look after the orphans and widows in trouble and keep oneself untarnished by the world.'

Yes, the criteria by which you and I will be judged will depend upon whether or not we have cared for those in need.

For instance, have we given food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, a welcome to the stranger, clothes to the naked or visited those in hospital or prison?

Now there is a great danger that we put off until tomorrow, that which should be done today.

We tend to think the judgement lies in the far, far, far distant future, and that there is no sense of urgency about how we live out our Christian commitment.

But, that is not how the New Testament sees it. For the New Testament writers, judgement starts in the here and now, because we are already forming the character by which we shall be ultimately judged.

If we are deaf to those cries for help and close our eyes to those in need today, we are likely to do the same tomorrow, and the same on the day after that. And so our character, by which we shall be judged is already being formed.

ln fact, the irony of the whole thing is that it is not so much that God passes judgement upon us but rather that we pass judgement upon ourselves!

But that is not all.

As St Matthew reminds us, by virtue of the resurrection, Jesus has stepped over the natural barriers of time and space and meets us in the here and now.

But like those early Christians, to whom Matthew wrote his gospel, we find ourselves trying to clear our conscience by saying: 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you drink? And when was it that we saw you as a stranger and welcomed you, or naked, and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?'

The problem is that Jesus often comes to us in the person who is in need, and therefore we do not always recognise him.

It was the late Bishop John Robinson who often used to talk about the 'incognito Christ'. The Christ whom we meet in various disguises.

He comes as that stranger sitting on the park bench looking for companionship.

He comes as the asylum seeker, knocking on the door, looking for accommodation.

He comes as the young person selling the Big Issue, looking for work.

He comes in a thousand and one disguises challenging us to show some down-to-earth Christianity.

Now that I find very frightening, as I recall the number of times I have said to myself, 'It’s their own fault' or, 'l would be aiding and abetting their situation, or, 'It’s the government responsibility', since I could have been turning my back upon Jesus. That is indeed very frightening.

St Francis of Assisi lived at the turn of the twelfth century. He was born into a very wealthy family. However, that wealth did not make him happy. He felt that his life was empty and unfulfilled.

One day, when he was out riding, he came upon a leper. Now leprosy was something Francis could not handle. He found the sores on the skin of the leper loathsome and repulsive. Nevertheless, something within Francis moved him to get off his horse and throw his arms around the leper.

And as he looked into the face of the leper, he saw the face of Jesus looking back at him.

May you not be blind to the face of Jesus looking back at you from those in need. May you be found among the sheep and not the goats when the time of the great separation comes, and may you ever be mindful that you are already forming the character by which you will be ultimately judged at the end of time