Introduction:
Today is the last Sunday in the Christian year.
Next Sunday is Advent Sunday – which is the day we begin our
journey towards Christmas. It is a new year, with the anticipation of the birth
of a Saviour. Generations of Christians have used today as a moment to look
back on the year – and to be reminded about our faith in God. It is at this
moment that our church fathers ask us to turn to a story of a shepherd and a
flock of sheep and goats.
This is one story – told by two people.
It was first told by Ezekiel – who was a prophet to the children
if Israel 600 years before Jesus. Ezekiel tells of sheep who jostle for food - Ezekiel 34:18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good
pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture? When
you drink of clear water, must you foul the rest with your feet? 19 And must my
sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have fouled
with your feet?
Ezekiel stands at the junction between the old and the new:
He speaks to the chaos that was left after the Babylonians had invaded Judah
and carried off their leaders. These leaders were fighting over the available
resources – and the stronger pushed the weaker aside. Ezekiel castigates the
leaders for being too busy enriching themselves to pay attention to the people.
These are shepherds who failed their flocks. But God is not blind to this......
God will no longer rely on these shepherds. They have behaved like greedy sheep
and so God will step in as the New Shepherd of this traumatised flock.
Ezekie 34:20 Therefore, thus says the Lord
GOD to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you
pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your
horns until you scattered them far and wide, 22 I will save my flock, and they shall no
longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.
God sees the fat sheep who push the weaker ones aside.... and
so the shepherd chases off the bullies so that the others can feed as well.
600 years later Jesus goes back to this story.......
Just like Ezekiel - Jesus lives in a world where the leaders
of Israel enrich themselves at the expense of the people:
·
King Herod collaborates with the Roman Emperor in order to
keep his position.
·
The merchants of Jerusalem collaborate with the Romans to set
up a lucrative trade in fish and wheat,
·
Joseph Caiaphas, in exchange for his appointment as High
Priest by Governer Valerius Gratus,
persuades the people that it is the will of God to obey Rome
And so Jesus reminds the people of his time of the story told
by Ezekiel: He says that God is again judging the leaders.
Matthew 25:32 All the nations will be
gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd
separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand
and the goats at the left.
And how does God decide who sits at the right and who sits at
the left.
Mat 25:41 Then he will say to those at
his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire
prepared for the devil and his angels;42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I
was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me,
naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not
visit me.'44
Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or
thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of
you?' 45
Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it
to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.'
Jesus speaks to Herod, and the greedy merchants, and the
religious leaders.
He says that when they enrich themselves, and ignore the
poor, the strangers and the sinners in prison – they will not be blessed by God
but instead will be judged by God.
So the words of the Bible echo though history: both Ezekiel
and Jesus tell us that when some sheep become rich, and fat, and comfortable
because they pushed others into the darkness – the Shepherd of the Sheep will
intervene.
I wonder what God is saying to us today?
At the ending of 2014 – what would God say to South Africa?
Are there people who are rich and comfortable at the expense
of the poor, and the sick and the strangers?
·
I suspect that Jesus would say to Herod – “Pay back the
money”
·
I suspect that Jesus would say to the leaders – instead of
hanging out in the Parliament shouting insults at each other – fix our
electricity, and pave our roads and care for the poor.
·
Jesus might say to the religious leaders – stop asking for money
on your television shows, and walk the streets alongside the people.
I wonder what he might say to you and me?
As I read the Bible I hear God asking if we are like the fat
sheep who push the weak aside:In this past year – did we have compassion for
the weak, and the widows and the strangers. Were we willing to be generous, and
compassionate.
And if I am honest – really search deep inside myself – I
must acknowledge my own selfishness. Most often I make sure that I am OK first.
While it is tough to admit it (because I
know that Jesus expects me to love my neighbour as myself) but it seems that I
am hardwired to love myself before I love my neighbour. It is here that take us
back to the story of the Shepherd and the sheep. ......
Eze 34:15 I myself will be the shepherd of
my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD. 16 I will seek
the lost, and I will bring back the strayed....
Here is the Good News: We have a Shepherd who can save us
from ourselves. God is the shepherd who will rescue the sheep that stray – and
who will help us be the kind of people he wants us to be. We do not struggle
alone!
This is the good news of Christmas – a shepherd will be born
who will show us a new way to live. Next Sunday offers an opportunity to begin a
spiritual journey towards Christmas. Let us begin Advent with new anticipation.....
This is not just about food and presents, but is rather about the chance to make
a new beginning!
Let us pray for a renewed heart: for ourselves....... and for
our families............and for our country.............and for our world.
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