Some weeks ago I was watching the Health Channel on TV. They showed and described different types of plastic surgery procedures. I was amazed at the things that plastic surgeons can do now-a-days. If you need more luscious lips, they can inject collagen and make your lips downright pouty. If you would like higher looking cheekbones, you can get a tug here and a lift there and presto – cheekbones to rival Sofia Loren. If you wanted your derrière to be less wide, the plastic surgeons can slim it down. If you need just a bit more here or there, they can augment most parts of your body.
A body builder thought that nature slighted him by giving him calves that were too skinny. I’ll be darn tootin’ if they didn’t put calf implants in his legs in order to make them shapelier. You name it, and they can make it, cut it out, lift it up, push it over, fill it in or tighten it up.
This show really got me thinking. Why would people want to go through the suffering involved in cosmetic surgery? The poor guy with the calf implants limped around for a month because of the pain. Recovery from some of the plastic surgery procedures is downright grueling. Why would people endure all of that? It’s obviously not always a matter of necessity. Most of the procedures are elective. Most of the people are not actors or actresses that depend on their looks to make a living. So why? Some say vanity. But on the show I watched, some of the people interviewed seemed to doubt that they were OK the way they were. They thought that they didn’t quite measure up.
Do you measure up? Kids who feel that they haven’t met the expectations of their parents would answer, “no.” Do you measure up? If we feel that we don’t quite fit in, not quite one of the crowd – we answer that question, “no!” Do you measure up? If we think that our looks are substandard, we answer the question, “no.” Do you measure up? If we think that our wardrobes are not quite in fashion, the answer to the question is, “no.” Do you measure up? If we don’t have the kind of job that we feel that we deserve, the answer is, “no.” And the litany of not quite good enough – not measuring up - plagues people for a lifetime. Into this whole mix come Jesus’ words penned by Matthew Levi in our Gospel Lesson today. [Read Gospel text here]
This can be one of the most disconcerting texts in scripture. It leaves us wondering, “Do we measure up?” Am I one of the sheep or one of the goats? You see, in this text Jesus speaks about what will happen when the world as we know it, ends. He speaks about a coming judgment – a judgment where the eternity of all people will be determined. He speaks about a time when all that we value: high cheekbones; shapely calves; pouty lips; designer wardrobes; fast-track career paths – won’t mean anything. The only thing that will matter is: will I be on Jesus’ left – a goat? Or will I be on Jesus’ right – a sheep? Do I measure up?
The people to Jesus’ left were shocked to learn that they had missed the boat. They didn’t have a clue that they didn’t measure up. They couldn’t know because they never took the time to notice. They lived self-satisfied lives in the face of human suffering and need. When Jesus said to them, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels,” they were blown away. But why Lord? How can this be, Jesus?
But we find a surprising Jesus here. No longer the kindly servant who rode into Jerusalem on a donkey; no longer the suffering Messiah Who died on the cross - but the Judge Who says: “Depart from me – go into the eternal fires.” You lived only for yourselves. You never raised a finger for the needy. You had no compassion for the hungry and naked. Those languishing in prison never entered your minds. You’ve lived as if life was all about you - your contentment. When God came calling, you laughed. When it came time to serve others, you said things like, “I’m busy. I don’t have time. I go to church, what more do you want? I gave money.”
“But that doesn’t cut it – that doesn’t measure up,” the Lord will say. How could you go on living that way - thinking – thinking that you were Christian? How can the love of Christ be in you while you choose to ignore the need of your brother or sister?
At first blush, it appears that the basis for the judgment of Jesus was on how those on his left treated the poor. This passage is consistently misinterpreted and misapplied this way. But this is not the case. People often twist this text to teach that Christians are to earn their way to heaven by serving the poor. It’s comforting to think about it this way because it prescribes a formula. It suggests that you, on your own, can earn heaven. If you give to the poor, if you visit the sick, if you do this or that, then God will love you.
But that is dead wrong. You see, these kind deeds are evidence, evidence of what’s in the heart, but not a ticket to heaven. Deeds of kindness occur because people want to show the same kind of love and mercy that God has shown to them. And so when Jesus says that those on his left will not enter heaven because of their lack of kindness to the poor, the sick and needy, He is really referring to their cold, dead, self-centered hearts. Lack of compassion is evidence that saving faith isn’t present.
It’s scary to think about the possibility that we might be in this group. It is scary because each and every one of us has neglected to do the good that we should have at one time or another. It is scary because we have passed by the person that was begging and we thought to ourselves, “Get a job, man.” It is scary because we’ve all heard about a brother or sister that was sick, and we didn’t even bother to call.
But listen to the words Jesus speaks to the sheep – to the people on his right: “Come, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you.” Now, again, if we’re not careful, it would seem that Jesus is saying, “You will receive the kingdom because you visited those in prisons; you gave food to the hungry; you gave clothes to the needy; you tended to the sick.”
But the Bible teaches that people can’t earn their way to heaven. "By grace through faith," is how salvation comes. You see, even the sheep were surprised at Jesus’ words. They asked Him, “Lord, when did we do these things for You? The sheep were not even aware that their acts of kindness honored Jesus. They didn’t know that their faith measured up.
So what gives? You see, the key to this is in verse 34. Jesus said to these folks, “Come you who are blessed by my Father.” The sheep inherit the Kingdom not because of what they’ve done. In fact, they really didn’t measure up. They no more deserved the Kingdom than did the goats on Jesus’ left. None of us do! But because the sheep are blessed by the Father – heaven is theirs. God offered forgiveness and salvation and saving faith grasped it! And from this blessing and Holy Spirit filling - the good deeds follow. These acts of charity and kindness become the prima fascia evidence that they have saving faith.
Those on Jesus’ right are surprised to learn that they’ve done so much to honor their Lord. They were not trying to work their way to heaven. They didn’t have a clue that they measured up. You see, sheep run on automatic pilot. The Lord brings them forgiveness and faith. The Spirit living in them guides them to works of kindness and mercy. Because they’re connected to the True Vine, Jesus Christ – they bear fruit.
Being kind doesn’t require superhuman strength – just faith in Jesus. Doing good is not a burden or something that sheep get sick and tired of doing. They don’t quit because they don’t get honored or get their way. They don’t get bored of being kind. When sheep aren’t thanked, they keep right on serving. This is so, because you see, they don’t do the works out of selfish ambition – it is Christ in them. It is Christ’s love that drives them. It is Christ that fills them. And so, in the end, Jesus will call them and tell them: “Here, you blessed of my Father, stand at my right – enter into my Kingdom.”
Jesus said, “You are mine… you do measure up… I made sure that you did. My death on the cross was for you, my beloved. My resurrection is yours. My Father has blessed you by giving you the faith to grasp it through his Word. And the Holy Spirit has changed you into sheep on automatic pilot – people who serve God and often don’t even know it! You are blessed and you are mine.” Amen.
