Christ the King Sunday
Matthew 25:31-46
November 26, 2017
What do you think Jesus looked like?
I’ve asked that question many times over the years –
Usually to groups of children.
The response I remember the best came from a boy
Who lived at Hoffman Homes for Youth outside of Gettsyburg.
I asked the question, What do you think Jesus looked like?
And this boy raised his hand excitedly.
“Well, he said,
He was tall, and had a long red robe,
And black hair and a black beard,
And children sat all around his feet.
…And he had a yellow hat!”
Hmm? A yellow hat?
I looked over to the boy who was 9 or 10 years old
And I could see him looking to the side wall of the chapel
Where there was a large brightly colored painting
From a Nicaraguan artist.
And there was Jesus.
He was tall, and had a long red robe,
And black hair and a black beard,
And there were children sitting at his feet.
…and there was a halo around his head!
What do you think Jesus looked like?
This question has come up again in recent weeks.
Perhaps you heard about the ‘lost DaVinci painting,’
A work called Salvador Mundi or “Savior of the World”
Which sold at auction for $450 million!
This is the most that any paitning has ever sold for!
You could have gotten a bargain in 1925 – it sold for the equivalent for about $125.
Even in 2005, it was a deal at $10,000.
But since then, what was once thought to be a copy,
Was discovered with restoration to be a true DaVinci –
One of less than 20 known to be in existence.
I’ve been intrigued by what people have written about the painting.
One art critic from the NY Times wrote a piece which caught my eye
Because it was entitled, “Not the Mona Lisa.”
Apparently Jason Farago is not all that impressed.
He says that the restoration isn’t complete and isn’t all that good.
But what really gets him going is the appearance of Jesus!
Salvador Mundi is a straight on portrait of Jesus.
The artist Durer painted a portrait from a similar angle,
And Farago says – that’s what a painting of Jesus should look like –
It just exudes authority!
But this Jesus?
He is too retiring; too humble;
Far from being able to ‘save the world,’ Farago says,
This Jesus would have to struggle to save himself a seat on a crosstown bus!
What did Jesus look like?
What does the Savior of the World look like?
What does Christ the King the look like?
According to Mattthew (and the other gospels), Jesus was a different kind of king.
Perhaps not so much like Durer’s painting,
And more like DaVinci’s.
In the 25th chapter of Matthew as we heard today,
Jesus comes as the Son of Man seated on his throne of glory.
And he gathers the nations around him.
He divides the people – some to his right and some to his left –
Just as a farmer separates the sheep from the goats,
He divides the people.
To the sheep on his right he says,
“Blessed are you! You will inherit the kingdom of God,
For when I was hungry, you gave me food;
When I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink;
When I was naked you gave me clothing;
When I was a stranger you welcomed me in;
When I was sick and in prison, you visited me.”
But then the sheep are confused….
When was this?
When did we see you hungry or thirsty, or naked or a stranger, or sick or in prison?
And Jesus responds:
Just as you did it to one of the least of these,
Who are members of my family, you did it to me.
Well done my good and faithful servants!
And then he will turn to his left, to the goats (you sat on the wrong side this morning!)
And he will say,
Cursed are you! Depart from me!
For I was hungry and you gave me no food;
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink;
I was naked and you gave me no clothes;
A stranger and you did not welcome me;
Sick and in prison and you did not care for me.
And the goats will be equally confused…
When did we see you hungry or thirsty?
Naked or a stranger?
Sick or in prison?
And Jesus will respond:
Just as you did not to it to the least of these,
You did not do it for me.
The fact of the matter is that we are just as confused as the sheep and goats are….
Sometimes we’re sheep and sometimes we’re goats;
(both saint and sinner as Luther says).
Now I don’t want to brag, but there was a day…
Or maybe actually a morning a couple of weeks ago when I was pure sheep….
I went to the Giant on Duke Street and didn’t avoid the Salvataion Army bell ringer;
I let someone have a parking spot that was really mine;
I drove someone home whose ride didn’t show up.
That morning I was pure sheep….
But mostly like most of us, I’m a mixture of sheep and goat.
The promise of this text is that when we act as sheep,
When we meet those on the margins of society,
We will meet God.
What does the Savior of the World look like?
According to Matthew, he looks like a man who’d struggle saving a seat on a crosstown bus!
Leo Tolstoy wrote a short story based on this reading.
It’s called, “Where Love Is, God Is” and it goes something like this:
There was a cobbler named Martin who’d had a difficult life.
His wife and children had died,
And one night, in the depths of his grief, he was praying.
And he had a vision of Jesus!
Jesus said “Martin – tomorrow I am coming to visit with you!”
Martin was thrilled!
He got up the next morning all ready to meet Jesus.
As he worked in his shop that day, he looked out the window,
And there he saw a soldier, who was shivering in the snow, and looked rather lonely,
Martin thought.
So he invited him into the shop
For a cup of cocoa and to warm himself by the fire as they talked.
Afterwards the soldier went on his way.
Later, as Martin looked out the window,
He saw a poor young woman with a baby in her arms.
The woman didn’t even have a sweater in the middle of winter!
He invited her into his shop
And she explained that she had sold her shawl
For money for food for her baby.
Martin gave her some coins,
And his own coat, before she went away.
Just as it was beginning to get dark,
Martin looked out his shop window,
And he saw an old woman selling apples from a cart.
Just then, a boy runs to the cart, grabs an apple, and starts to take off…
The woman screams, grabs him by his collar, and shouts that she is going to call the police!
Martin ran outside,
Paid for the boy’s apple and gave him money for food,
Soothing the old woman with the cart,
Before he walked back into his shop.
Well, by then, it was the end of a long day,
And Martin was disappointed.
He had waited all day for a visit from Jesus, but he did not.
You can imagine how the story ends…
Just then Martin had a new vision.
He saw the soldier, the poor woman with her baby, and the boy with his apple.
And they said to Martin,
“Just as you did it to the least of these who are members of my family,
You did it to me.”
Where Love Is, God Is.
When we care for those God cares for, the promise of this text is we will meet Jesus.
What does Jesus look like?
The Savior of the World look like a man on a bus.
Amen.
A Sacred Space 