We have arrived at the final parable. The end of Matthew 25, which is a hard chapter to hear. We have suffered through the parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids, where we struggled to understand what it is to be a person who waits, someone who expects Jesus to come. We tolerated the parable of the talents, where we were encouraged to use our resources well, creatively, courageously, even zealously. To understand that this is the kind of waiting and expecting that is appropriate for lovers of Jesus.
And so today we have the parable of the sheep and the goats. The culmination of Chapter 25. The judgment of the nations. The Son of Man has, at last, arrived. And, as much as people have waited and expected and prepared, lo and behold, they are surprised.
Surprised at the way he chooses to sort them – the sheep at his right hand, the goats at his left. He turns to these metaphorical sheep with open arms and a blessing. Come to me all you who are blessed. For I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was naked and you clothed me, sick and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me. Come, inherit the kingdom that is prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
And these ones are surprised. When did we do those things? When did we care for you, Lord? We don’t recall. And the answer: whenever you did it for the least of these who are members of my family, you did it for me.
The goats, alas, are less to be envied at this point. They are banished for their failure. They, too, are bewildered. When did we fail you, they ask? When you failed the least of these, he responds.
And so we have the conclusion of this lesson: this is how one waits for the Lord. It is about becoming like the Lord. It is about day by day growing in Christlikeness, becoming unselfconsciously good.
There is the risk of overthinking it, for sure. Judging each of my own actions, judging others as well; comparing myself to them, keeping score. Wondering how I am doing.
How am I doing? As the old New York City mayor Ed Koch was fond of asking. How am I doing?
While we could probably all benefit from inviting a little honest feedback, this is ultimately not a question for any of us to answer. It is only for the Son of Man to answer. But we are not without direction in this life. We don’t have to stumble around in the darkness not knowing which way to go. There is light to be found. I found some light, in fact, from a story I read in the paper this week.
A man named Geoffrey Holt died this year. He lived in a small town in New Hampshire called Hinsdale. He was the caretaker of a mobile home park.
Most people in Hinsdale really didn’t know him. He was not a native and he didn’t do much to be involved in the community. He grew up in Springfield Massachusetts, attended college, then served in the U.S. Navy. After the navy, he went back to school and earned a master’s degree.
And some time later he moved into a trailer home in Hinsdale. The trailer sat on land that was owned by Edwin Smith, who was a lifelong resident of Hinsdale. Geoffrey scraped together a living doing odd jobs for Mr. Smith, and gradually they became friends.
The years went by like this. Geoffrey kept busy clearing brush, plowing snow, taking care of all kinds of little things. People in Hinsdale knew him as the old guy who would sit on his riding mower, out by the edge of the highway, watching the world go by.
When he died earlier this year, the town learned something else about Geoffrey Holt. He was a multimillionaire. And he left it all to the town of Hinsdale.
Earlier in his life he had received a sum of money as a settlement, when one company he worked for was bought out by another. It was a good sum of money. But he didn’t go on a spending spree. He didn’t bury it in the ground. He took this money and invested it wisely, and it grew. And as he got older he set up a fund for his adopted hometown, Hinsdale, that would be dedicated to providing health, educational, recreational, or cultural benefits to the residents of Hinsdale. He set it up and then never said a word about it to anyone.
The story made news everywhere, it seems, because Mr. Holt was certainly an interesting man, as it turned out. But when I read the story, I found myself more interested in his friend Mr. Smith. Geoffrey Holt left his entire fortune to the town that didn’t even really know him very well. And I have to think it was basically because Edwin Smith befriended him. He gave him a place to live; he gave him work to do. He was kind to him.
Edwin Smith, of course, wasn’t angling to get anything out of Geoffrey Holt because as far as Edwin knew, Geoffrey didn’t have anything to give. Only many years into their friendship did Geoffrey speak with Edwin about his wealth – then only to seek his advice about how to best use it. Edwin suggested he talk to a financial advisor, and so he did and the rest is history.
This is one of those heartwarming stories that gives you hope for the world. The simple goodness of it is the thing: Mr. Smith, Mr. Holt – they are not perfect people, certainly, but their humble acts of kindness and generosity go a long way to spread kindness and generosity. Farther than they could know.
This, my dear ones, is what it is to live a life of expectation for Jesus to come.
It is truly a way of life. It is about turning away from certain values that the world promotes and embracing the way of Jesus. Knowing that our lives are not blessed because we give in order to get something back. Our lives are blessed when we give simply because there is need.
Whether you have been entrusted with a few things or many things, invest them well and enter into the joy of your Lord.
Photo by Sam Carter on Unsplash
