In this series we have been talking about the means of grace and putting First Things First in our lives and establishing priorities. And we have identified what Wesley called the means of grace or spiritual disciplines that are means to deepen our relationship with Christ and love for others. These priorities help us to be the people that God has created us to be AND to perform the works that God has ordained for us to perform AND ultimately arrive at the destination that Christ has planned for us. In other words, practice these things so that we may be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.
Let me start out by stating that John Wesley who started the Methodist movement, placed the means of grace into separate categories: Works of Piety and Works of Mercy. Piety is a word that may not be in vogue these days, but it is a great word. Piety and pious people are often thought of negatively, like the Pharisees in the NT. However, it was not the actions they performed like, praying, fasting and giving alms that Jesus criticized. But it was the way they performed those acts of piety that Jesus found dishonoring to God. They wanted to be seen by others. They acted for selfish reasons. But Jesus did not tell them to stop praying or worshipping or fasting or giving to the needy just change how they performed them. Coming back to our Wesleyan heritage, Wesley emphasized works of piety, and he categorized individually as well as communally or corporately. Here are few.
The Works of Piety:
reading and meditating and studying the scriptures
prayer and fasting
regularly attending worship
healthy living
sharing our faith with others.
Again, several of these we have preached about over the last few weeks. Communal practices are also in the works of piety which we regularly experience in the sacraments, Christian conferencing or fellowship, and group bible study.
Today the content is a little bit different as we review those things that Jesus mentions in this passage. But these are still important priorities in our lives. Wesley called them Works of Mercy. Works of piety tend to focus on our own self. Works of mercy tend to focus on helping others. We might say that these are acts of compassion. Kindness is extended toward others who are in need. Works of mercy can also be placed in individual as well as corporate aspects.
Works of Mercy might include:
feeding the hungry
giving water to the thirsty
clothing to the naked/needy
visiting the sick
visiting those in prison
giving generously to those who are in need.
Again, these are acts of compassion mentioned by what Jesus is talking about here in Matthew 25. There are also communal or corporate practices like seeking justice, ending oppression and discrimination. For instance, Wesley was very opposed to slavery in his day. If you remember during his lifetime, in the 1700’s Wesley helped and encouraged William Wilberforce in the world of politics to bring an end to slavery and addressing the needs of the poor. But what is Jesus really saying to us in this passage?
Now if I had to retitle my sermon today it would be this, “Don’t be a Goat! Be a Sheep.”
This is a sobering passage because it depicts a scene of final judgment. It entails the imagery of a separation of sheep and goats. And then ultimate consequences for our actions or our inactions or neglect, resulting in those who will be in heaven and those who will be in hell. And most importantly, the criteria that is used for this judgment in identifying those who are the sheep vs those who are goats which would indicate those who are in favor with God and those who are not in favor with God. Those who are doing God’s will and those who are not doing God’s will.
I remember being in certain classrooms, both in college and seminary, where the good professor would be lecturing and then he would say, “You need to write this down and know this information because it’s going to be on the final. So whatever else you write down and memorize make sure you get this because, “it’s going to be on the final. You’re going to see this again!” I always appreciate the teachers that give you a very clear understanding of information on which you would be tested later on. I think that’s what Jesus is really saying to us here. Make sure you take note of this because you’re going to see it again. It’s going to be on our final evaluation or judgment. You don’t want to miss these works or fail to practice them because it’s going to be on your final examination. And the consequences of this are so great and so important, it should get our attention and call us to action!
But as I reviewed this passage, I find something very puzzling here. The criteria for the judgment of the sheep and goats does not appear to involve works of piety. It’s only identifying works of mercy. We might expect it to read something like this… Because I prayed every day. Because I fasted maybe twice a week. Because I went to worship 50 times a year. Because I was in Sunday School or small group. You may hear the Lord say, “Come you who are blessed by my Father. Take your inheritance the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” Sorry friends, that’s not here!
So, it has me scratching my head a little bit and wondering why we are talking about works of piety as being priorities, important things that we do, if Jesus is not using them on the final exam of our lives? And why are they missing here? Are they not that important after all? So, next Sunday we’ll just load up our pontoon boat and go fishing and not come to worship because after all, it’s not going to be in the final, right? But before we do that…
Wait a minute! Let’s take a little longer look at this. So, how many chapters are in the gospel of Matthew? At least 25, right? There’s 28. It ends with the Great Commission. Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations… baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and teaching them to observe all I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:19-20) But a little earlier in the gospel of Matthew you have another important passage called The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. And in that Jesus talks a lot about prayer and worship and fasting which again are works of piety. And Jesus ended that Sermon on the Mount with a parable. Remember what it is? It’s the parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders. I hope we can see in this earlier teaching of Jesus, a close connection with this passage in Matthew 25. The wise builder is the person who built their house on the rock. And the foolish builder was the person who built their house on the sand. And what was the difference between those two? The wise builder who built his house on the rock was the one who heard and practiced the words of Christ. It was the foolish builder who heard the words of Christ but did not practice them. Let’s look at that passage in greater detail (Matthew 7:24-27). “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on a rock. The rain came down, the streams rose and the winds blew and beat against that house yet it did not fall because it had it’s foundations on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rains came down, the streams rose and the winds blew and beat against that house and it fell with a great crash.”
I think as we look at Matthew 25, we can’t forget Matthew 5-7. It’s not a question of works of piety or works of mercy or which one is most important. We need both. We must not only hear the word but put it into practice. I think that’s what Jesus is talking about here in works of mercy in Matthew 25. It is putting our faith, our prayers, our worship, our study of God’s word into practice or as James said, “Faith without works is dead.”
The small church where I was reared was a great little church. It was a small rural church. Most of the people in that church knew their bibles very well. Most of the people in that church could pray very well. They were great at fellowship. But there was rarely a missional activity. There was what I would call a holy huddle that was formed. But they never seemed to get out of the huddle. Now these days in collegiate football a lot of teams do not huddle anymore. They have plays designed and they go out on the field and play at a rapid pace. But you better believe that those teams have gone through a lot of meditating and practicing and going over plays long before they ever get on the field. They are hearing and rehearsing and practicing before they go out on game day. It’s not just hearing. It’s also doing. As we relate that to the spiritual teachings of Jesus, It is not just works of piety but it’s also works of mercy. The play book is useless if it is not executed on the field.
One way to look at this may be that works of mercy follow or proceed from our works of piety. Let me give a personal example.
The first time I went on a mission trip was to Jamaica many years ago. I was very young at the time and truthfully, a little overwhelmed by the experience. Before we went on that trip we had little training sessions. And I was instructed that you would take some extra money with you and this money had to be 400J, which is what we called the local currency there. The 400J was necessary to get you back on the plane to get back to the US. I loosely registered that in my mind. But when I got down there and experienced what I did and I saw so many people in need, I was really overwhelmed. I saw so much poverty and people in desperate circumstances, well you might guess what I did. I gave away all the money I had in reserve including ALL the 400J that I needed to get back on the plane to get back home. And then I had to go to our leader, and I said, “I think I might be stuck in Jamaica now!” And he looked at me and laughed. And he said, “You gave all your money away, didn’t you? All your extra 400J that you needed to get back on the plane?” Now I suppose there are worse places in the world to get stuck, right? And I said, “Yes, I’m sorry I did”. I really wasn’t sorry that I did but I wanted to get home to see my family, right? So, he gave me the 400J to get home. But I found a similar experience in most places that I’ve been whether in Costa Rica or Ecuador, particularly the people in Quito. There are extremely impoverished people in the streets selling trinkets or candy or whatever they can with their children. On other trips I was a little wiser recognizing that I could give all my money away in one night and still not scratch the surface. So, I discovered that prayer and discernment are needed in the greater focus of what we do in mission and ministry. Again, works of piety and works of mercy go hand in hand.
We are prayerful about what we do and how we give our time and our talent and our treasures in mission and ministry to the world.
Giving to those in need is incredible. And it can be overwhelming! And as we look at the needs in our world, they seem unlimited. There’s more human need than any of us can provide for alone. And even in giving this list that Jesus mentioned in Matthew 25, I think he’s highlighting the more prominent needs of humanity as thirst, and hunger, and nakedness and sickness and loneliness and imprisonment. These are common needs that every generation experiences and certainly even here…yes, even in Baldwin County.
Here is another angle. You, as I, get emails and regular mail asking for donations and help from a myriad of worthy causes and charities. (Heart Association, Cancer, MS, MD, ALS and the list goes on and on). Some of them are much closer to us as we have loved ones who struggle with these infirmities. Then there are concerns of those who are abused and neglected as in our Methodist Children’s Home now Embrace Alabama. Interestingly, many of our colleges, hospitals, and helping institutions are the result of the church engaging in missions to the community and to the larger world to help bring better education for our communities and greater health and we hope holiness to our world. But again, the list and the needs are overwhelming. It’s so difficult for us to have a particular focus of where we need to be and what we need to be doing and how we need to be doing it. I go back to prayer and even fasting and meditation to help us get our focus in line with where God might want us to engage in these works of mercy.
In earlier sermons I quoted a couple of people, and I want to requote them because of the significance to this passage today. Steve Harper said, “Our devotional life is to bring us greater communion with God and greater compassion for others.” But the great importance of this is the reality that our prayer life does not cause us to escape from the world, just in a holy huddle! But rather it gives us the ability to work in the world in a manner that God desires, not just our own efforts.” Our prayer and devotional life must lead us to engage the needs of those around us in a more direct and focused manner.
E. Stanley Jones called prayer the listening post, “It is out of these moments that we are instructed and directed by God to get our marching orders for the day”. Prayer and action. Piety and works of Mercy go hand in hand.
So, this passage talks a lot about people who are in need, people who are most vulnerable or simply in difficult situations and then how we might reach out to them. I love what DT Niles said about evangelism… “It’s like one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.”
Many acts of kindness have been extended through this church family. I am thankful for the mission programs and opportunities that are offered here and that we are engaging as a church. I am thankful for the efforts of the volunteers who work through our meeting place here at the Prodisee Pantry, the Kidz Eatz program, those helping through the storm relief efforts, those who are engaging work projects. We just completed one recently. I hope to reengage our mission trips to Costa Rica and helping others, particularly children who are most vulnerable, who are hungry and need clothing and shelter. And there are many acts of kindness and works of mercy that I don’t even know about that are happening through Sunday School classes and Bible Study groups here. I pray that the Lord will help us to keep engaging in works of mercy because this will be the criteria by which we are judged. This is what makes us sheep!
As I think further about the works of mercy, sometimes it is the smallest of actions that make the biggest difference. I was reminded of one of the quotes of Mother Teresa. She said, “We may not do great things on this earth, but we can do small things with great love.”
While we certainly can do more in our greater connection through the church, we must also know that the simplest act that we do has significance. It has importance. Jesus showed us that by his example and his model. Jesus showed us that through his cross. One sacrificial act brought salvation to the whole world. Think about that. I love what Nicky Gumbel says, “If you were the only person on the earth, Christ would have died for you.” Christ’s one sacrificial act brought about salvation to our world. But Jesus said, Even if you give a cup of cold water in His name it would not go unrewarded. Matthew 10:42
So, as we engage in prayer, study, fasting and worship, I wonder where God might lead you to give a cup of cold water in His name. Folks don’t pass this by! You’re going to see this again. It’s going to be on the final! And I want us all to be sheep. In the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Give a bottle of water to people as they leave. It is a symbol of works of mercy we might perform and where God may lead us to perform other acts of mercy.