March 22, 2009 - Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Smithtown Emergency Food Pantry)
“Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you 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?”
Jesus is telling a story, and the disciples are confused.
Just a few days earlier
they came into the city
with Jesus riding a donkey
and the crowds celebrating.
And they thought, they thought that this was it. This was he beginning
of the revolution,
this was the beginning of a new kingdom
with Jesus at the head.
The crowds were behind them; surely it couldn’t be long
until they rose up against the Romans and their puppet king,
and placed Jesus on the throne.
This was it, this was what they had been waiting for,
after three long years of wandering the country,
never sure where their next meal would come from
or whether they would sleep that night
in the comfort of some wealthy patron’s home
or on the hard ground, with the limited protection
of a few rocks or a ditch.
But now
they had finally arrived. Jerusalem, at the Passover feast,
and Jesus was being welcomed as a hero.
The time had come.
And yet, and yet,
they felt a kind of prickling unease.
Because Jesus didn’t seem to get it.
Here he was, being welcomed, being honored,
and instead of graciously receiving it,
and doing his best
to win over those few
who weren’t already on his side
he seemed to be hell-bent
on stirring them up,
challenging the religious leaders,
attacking them,
the very people whose support he would need
if an uprising
were to succeed.
And then talking
about suffering and death
and the end of the world.
It didn’t make sense;
all the world
was celebrating
and it as if he had turned his back
bent on his own dark imaginings.
And then there were the stories, story after story
of owners and thieves and masters and slaves
and bridegrooms and lamp girls,
and at the end of them all
the sharp dichotomy:
the watchful, the faithful,
rewarded,
and the foolish, the faithless,
locked out,
headed
to
eternal
damnation.
It’s the kicker at the end, and it overshadows
everything else. Because we don’t like to hear it,
we want the reward,
but without the fear.
We could simply
leave off the last verse,
especially for today,
but apart from the problem that sooner or later
we’re going to have to deal with it,
leaving off that verse leaves us
without the promised reward.
So what do we do?
What we do
is go back to the story Go back to the story, and the people Jesus first told it to.
Because remember, we’re just eavesdroppers, listening in to something told
a long time ago.
Sometimes we forget
that Jesus is not speaking
directly to us.
This story doesn’t begin,
“And Jesus thought about the people who in two thousand years would be gathering in Smithtown for the twenty fifth anniversary of the food pantry, and said...”
No, it begins, way back in chapter 24, this way:
“When Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
Jesus is speaking to his disciples. He’s just told them,
and everyone else around who would listen, he’s just told them
that the temple will be destroyed; he’s just told them
that the end of the world as they know it
is coming.
And it’s no wonder that they come to him privately and ask,
“What’s going on?”
And this story
is part of his answer.
It’s one of the last stories
that Jesus would tell them.
Two days later, the way Matthew tells it,
the disciples gather with Jesus
to celebrate the Passover.
Two days later,
he is betrayed with a kiss.
Two days later, he is arrested and put on trial,
and then
he is crucified.
Two days later
the bottom will fall out of their world
And Jesus is trying to prepare them, he’s trying to give them
something that they will remember,
something that they will be able to look back on,
and use as a guide
for the next step forward.
Whether you believe in eternal damnation or not, that’s not Jesus’ point. Because the people who are listening to him, they are the ones destined
for eternal life.
This is an encouragement to them,
an affirmation
that as they wait and watch, and do their very best
to keep on following Jesus’ way,
God will not forget them.
But of course, following Jesus
is going to be a whole lot harder now. Because so far
all they’ve had to do
is follow him. Literally wander around after him
and do what he tells them.
But he will die,
and they won’t be able to just wander after him any more.
And the last thing he wants
is for them to be paralyzed,
Everything he’s done, his preaching, his teaching, his healing, everything he will do, his death and resurrection,
all that is for nothing
if his disciples just give up when he’s gone.
Jesus needs to teach them
how to follow him
even when
they can no longer see him.
And that’s the point
of this story he told
in our reading today.
What will they do
when they come across
the very same people
they came across when they were with him?
People who are hungry, and in pain, and lonely?
How will they respond to them?
If they see someone who is hungry,
will they find some food for them
as Jesus did
when they walked through a field on the Sabbath and plucked grain?
If they see someone who is thirsty, will they stop and offer them
not just water, but the living water, as Jesus did
with the women at the well?
If they see someone who is lonely, will they stop and talk to them,
as Jesus did with Zacchaeus, the short tax collector
who climbed a tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus
and ended up having dinner with him?
If they see someone who is in prison,
will they send messages to them, as Jesus did for his cousin John?
Or will they be so busy looking for Jesus,
hoping that he might reappear in the flesh, will they be so busy looking for Jesus
that they miss all the other people who so desperately need them, so desperately need
good news?
And so Jesus tells this story,
and he prepares them
ahead of time,
so that they will not get so tied up looking for him
that they miss the people around them.
The people around them
who are hungry
and thirsty
and strangers
and sick
and lack clothing
and are in prison,
the people around them
who need practical help,
people
are created and loved by God - just as the disciples are.
Jesus loves them, and they are to share that love with others,
share it in words,
and share it in food and clothing and care and friendship.
Two thousand years later,
and we hear Jesus’ story
secondhand.
But we get it.
No point spending our time and energy
running around
hunting for Jesus.
He’s risen, and we likely won’t get to see him face to face
this side of death.
And so no, we can’t show our love for him
with cupcakes
or flowers
or hugs.
But we know what to do.
We show our love for Jesus, we love God
by caring for those he loves,
our brothers and sisters,
who need our help.
And so today, we are thankful
for the love God has shown us,
and the love that has been shared
over the last twenty-five years,
shared with so many people
who have been hungry and thirsty
and strangers,
and we are thankful
for the unexpected grace
that giving has given us,
as God has reached into our hearts
and filled them with love.
© Raewynne J. Whiteley 2009