Matthew 25:31-40
New International Version (NIV)
The Sheep and the Goats
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 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. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.34 “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. 35 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, 36 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.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “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.’
This time of year we claim to be celebrating the birth of the Messiah. To me it seems we are celebrating our God named consumerism. I am not sure how much attention is paid to the birth we say we are celebrating. The person in the story found in the Gospels would find little to praise about how most of the world celebrates Christmas.
I wonder how many of us have ever felt the pain of hunger in our bellies or been without food long enough to become weak and light headed? Maybe when we were getting ready for surgery, dieting, or fasting, but I am talking about being hungry for months and years.
Do we reach out to people we don't know? You are probably like me. I am more comfortable either by myself or with people I know.
My point here is that I just may be a goat. You may be a goat too. It does not matter if you believe the New Testament or not, you still face the moral questions raised in the verses above. Does our national religion of consumerism where corporations and wealthy folks rule remain or do we try to build a community where the least of our brothers and sisters come first?
How long can a country survive built on a three-legged stool of individualism, consumerism, and free market capitalism? I wish I could say that I believed this Christmas would be a turning point. We have seen enough over the last few years that it should make us wonder if a new direction is needed. However, the bright lights are a big draw. We think maybe we will get the big break.
The break we need is to break the bonds of slavery to ideas that condemn us to a slow death. There truly is a better Way.