St. Paul’s Church in
Bergen, Jersey City NJ
November 23, 2014
Year A, Proper 29:
The Last Sunday after Pentecost – Christ the King
Ezekiel 34:11-16,
20-24
Psalm 100
Ephesians 1:15-23
Matthew 25:31-46
The Kingdom of
Thanksgetting or The Kingdom of Thanksgiving?
One
of the questions I often ask myself – and sometimes in sermons ask you – is,
how are we different from the world?
How
is our Christian way of being – our Christian culture – different from the way
people live their lives out there – how is our culture different from the
world’s culture?
I
think, unfortunately, that often the answer is not much.
Let’s
face it, much of the time we live our lives pretty much the way everybody else
does, for better or for worse.
Most
of the time, looking at how we live our lives, people would not necessarily
know we are Christians, unless they notice us wearing a cross-shaped piece of
jewelry, or happen to spot us dressed up and out of the house early on Sunday
morning, or they catch us entering or leaving church.
But,
actually, you know, I think it’s at this time of year, that many of us are most
different from the rest of the world – it’s during the so-called “holiday
season” that we are most counter-cultural.
The
world has already jumped into the so-called Christmas season while next we’ll
begin Advent.
As
we all know, we’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving on Thursday.
But,
if you’ve been watching TV or listening to the radio you know that really the
world will be celebrating “Black Friday” – the official start of the holiday
shopping season, when people line up outside stores and in mall parking lots in
the middle of the night to get deals on whatever it is they’re buying for
others or for themselves.
In
the last few years, “Black Friday” has backed into Thanksgiving itself, with
more and more stores open on that day that, until pretty recently, was seen as
set aside for turkey, family, and football.
You
may have heard that this year Lord and Taylor is running ads with the slogan,
“Thanksgetting.”
“Thanksgetting.”
That about sums up life in the kingdom out there, doesn’t it?
But,
today as we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King we are reminded that, as
Christians, you and I are called to be citizens of a different kingdom.
We
are called – we are baptized – to be citizens of Christ’s kingdom.
There
really are two kingdoms.
There’s
the Kingdom of Thanksgetting.
And
there’s Christ’s kingdom, the Kingdom of Thanksgiving.
Every
day we get the chance – we get many chances – to choose which of those kingdoms
we want to live in.
Jesus
teaches us that the choices that everybody makes now will determine our
ultimate fate.
That
goes for everybody, Christians and non-Christians alike.
And,
if you don’t believe me, listen to Jesus in today’s gospel lesson.
For
the past few Sundays we’ve been hearing some pre-Advent gospel passages with
Jesus teaching about being prepared for the last day when we will give an
account of our lives.
We
heard the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids, only five of whom were wise enough to
pack enough oil so they were ready to greet the bridegroom when he arrived.
And
last Sunday we heard the Parable of the Talents – the two slaves who were bold
enough to invest what the master had given them and the one slave who was so
afraid that he played it safe, ending up losing everything.
But,
you know those parables were meant for people who are followers of Jesus. They
guide us on how to live as Christians.
But,
today’s passage from the Gospel of Matthew is different – now Jesus is speaking
to and about the whole world.
Jesus
begins, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him,
then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 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…”
And,
what determines if people are counted among the sheep or counted among the
goats?
What
determines if people are blessed or cast away?
Feeding
the hungry – or not.
Offering
drink to the thirsty – or not.
Welcoming
the stranger – or not
Clothing
the naked – or not.
Caring
for the sick – or not.
Visiting
prisoners – or not.
The
kingdom we choose to live in now determines our ultimate fate.
So,
what’s it going to be?
Do
we live in the Kingdom of Thanksgetting where it’s all about our own needs and
wants, where we focus on what we lack rather than the many blessings that we
have received?
Do
we live in the Kingdom of Thanksgetting where we fool ourselves into thinking
that if we just have a little more money or more stuff everything will be fine?
Do
we live in the Kingdom of Thanksgetting where we look away from those in need,
the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and the imprisoned?
Or…do
we live in the Kingdom of Thanksgiving where, yes, of course we are aware of
our troubles, but mostly we’re grateful for the good gifts that we have
received?
Do
we live in the Kingdom of Thanksgiving, recognizing that money doesn’t buy
happiness and true joy comes from giving rather than receiving?
Do
we live in the Kingdom of Thanksgiving where we don’t look away from those in
need, but instead feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the
stranger, clothe the naked, heal the sick and visit the imprisoned?
We
can only answer that question for ourselves.
And,
speaking for myself, I live in the Kingdom of Thanksgetting sometimes – a lot
of the times – but sometimes, at my best, I live in the Kingdom of
Thanksgiving.
But,
here at St. Paul’s, in lots of different ways – from rallying around our fellow
parishioners who are suffering to our community Thanksgiving supper - I see us
living more and more in Christ’s kingdom, in the Kingdom of Thanksgiving where,
with God’s help, we love and support each other and serve people in need all
around us.
Out
in the world, it’s the Kingdom of Thanksgetting.
Here
at St. Paul’s, at our best, it’s the Kingdom of Thanksgiving.
Which
kingdom do we choose?
Amen.
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