(Sermon starts with a video of Norman Greenbaum’s Spirit in the Sky. The lyrics are reproduced here.)

When I die and they lay me to rest,
Gonna go to the place that’s the best.
When I lay me down to die,
Goin’ up to the spirit in the sky.
Goin’ up to the spirit in the sky;
That’s where I’m gonna go when I die.
When I die and they lay me to rest,
I’m gonna go to the place that’s the best.

Prepare yourself; you know it’s a must –
Gotta have a friend in Jesus,
So you know that when you die
He’s gonna recommend you
To the spirit in the sky.
Oh, recommend you
To the spirit in the sky;
That’s where you’re gonna go when you die.
When you die and they lay you to rest,
You’re gonna go to the place that’s the best.

Never been a sinner; I never sinned.
I got a friend in Jesus,
So you know that when I die|
He’s gonna set me up with
The spirit in the sky.
Oh, set me up with the spirit in the sky;
That’s where I’m gonna go when I die.
When I die and they lay me to rest,
I’m gonna go to the place that’s the best.
Go to the place that’s the best.

Isn’t that a great song? Written by a Jewish hippy folk-rocker in 1970…. A bit overly confident in the first verse, but that’s the way of some hymns, don’t you think? I mean “Praise my soul, the King of heaven” in which we claim to be “ransomed, healed, restored, [and] forgiven” betrays a pretty over-the-top confidence as well! The theology in the second verse is pretty good, although in the third it’s not so hot – so let’s take a look at that second verse because it really does have something to do with the Gospel lesson for this feast of Christ the King.

Prepare yourself; you know it’s a must –
Gotta have a friend in Jesus,
So you know that when you die
He’s gonna recommend you
To the spirit in the sky.

Today is the last Sunday of the Christian year, the last Sunday after the Feast of Pentecost, the last Sunday before the church year begins again on the First Sunday of Advent. We call it “The Feast of Christ the King” and in the lessons for the day we focus on Christ’s return, his Second Coming, to reign as king over all of creation. In this year “A” of the lectionary cycle, we are still in the same cycle of lessons that we began several weeks ago, Matthew’s description of the events of the first Holy Week. What we heard today takes place on Wednesday – Jesus has just told his disciples some parables about being prepared – the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids – and about properly stewarding what he has given them – the Parable of the Talents. Now he tells them plainly what will happen at the end of time. This is not a parable! This is a straight-forward statement of what will happen:

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 he will put the sheep at his right hand
and the goats at the left. (Matthew 25:31-33)

There’s nothing parabolic about this. This is what will be – Jesus on his throne with the people gathered before him. To some he will say, “Step over here on my right and ‘inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.'” To others he will say, “Step to my left and ‘go away into eternal punishment.'”

“Prepare yourself; you know it’s a must – gotta have a friend in Jesus!” You do not want him to not be your friend, no way, no how! So how do we get to be Jesus’ friend?

Well, that’s laid out here in pretty straight-forward fashion, as well:

I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,
I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
I was naked and you gave me clothing,
I was sick and you took care of me,
I was in prison and you visited me.

In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus completes his teaching ministry voicing the same concerns with which he began it in the opening words of the Sermon on the Mount:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

In Luke’s Gospel we are told that Jesus began his ministry by identifying himself as the one who would provide for the hungry and the thirsty, the meek and the mournful, the poor and the persecuted. He went to his hometown synagogue and read from the Prophet Isaiah:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

And then told them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” He would be the bringer of blessing, but now, three years later ….

At the end of his teaching ministry he has handed the Good News over to his followers, like the master handing over the Talents to his slaves, to used and to be increased, and he says to them plainly, “It’s your show now! You provide the food and the drink; you provide the clothing and the shelter; you care for the sick and the prisoner; you welcome the outcast and the lost. Befriend the least of these and you befriend me.” In John’s Gospel, he makes this even clearer when he says, “You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends.”

“Prepare yourself; you know it’s a must – gotta have a friend in Jesus!”

You know, there are two things about this end-time description that intrigue me. The first is that Jesus doesn’t mention a single one of the things that good religious people always seem to think are important. For example, he doesn’t say to either the sheep or the goats anything about sex or gambling or drinking or church-going or Bible-verse memorizing or any of that …

The sheep are not rewarded for attending religious services, nor are the goats condemned for skipping them.

The sheep are not rewarded for being faithful to their spouses, nor are the goats condemned for adultery.

The sheep are not rewarded for giving to the religious establishment, nor are the goats condemned for their lack of charitable giving.

The sheep are not rewarded for staying away from the casinos, nor are the goats condemned for betting at the racetrack.

The sheep are not rewarded for preaching their religion on street corners or on people’s door steps or at their places of work, nor are the goats condemned for failing at evangelism.

The sheep are not rewarded for being teetotalers, nor are the goats condemned for drunkenness.

The sheep are not rewarded for studying their scriptures, nor are the goats not condemned for being biblically illiterate.

We might all agree that we would expect the righteous sheep to behave as described, and that it would be a lot better if the unrighteous goats didn’t … but Christ the King judging between them at the end of time doesn’t seem to be concerned with questions of religious observance and moral behavior. He’s concerned the harsh realities of hunger and thirst, poverty and homelessness, illness and persecution, and whether anybody has addressed them.

The second thing that is intriguing and noteworthy about the scene Jesus describes is the complete lack of self-awareness by both the righteous and the condemned. “Really?” the sheep ask, “When did we do that?” “You’re kidding?” the goats exclaim, “When did we fail to do that?”

And this is where we really have to be very careful that we are understanding of what Jesus is saying. He is not suggesting, in any way, shape, or form, that there is some sort of cosmic check-list that we have comply with. “OK. I worked at Free Farmers’ Market the past four weeks handing out fresh vegetables. Feed the hungry, check! I donated all my old clothing to the Good Will. Clothe the naked, check!” No! It doesn’t work that way.

The righteous don’t go before the King waving a check list: “Look, Jesus, look what we did!” Instead, they are surprised to learn that they did it. Because it’s not really about “doing” … it’s about “being”. It’s not about doing good deeds; it’s about simply being good. That’s why Jesus doesn’t have to mention sex or gambling or religious observance, because someone who would feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the stranger, or care for the poor without thinking about it surely would lead a moral and religious life. They “walk the walk” whether they “talk the talk” or not.

In the letter of James we are admonished to “be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.” James asks this important question: “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,’ and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.”

Jesus is well aware of the differences between people. He knows that how we live our lives shows more clearly the kind of person we are than anything we might say, any belief we might claim. So his criteria for separating people at the end of time are based on what we do during the course of our lives. Those who quietly get on with living the Good News – feeding those who were hungry, clothing those who were naked, visiting those who were sick or in prison – not because there’s some rule or check list, but simply because they have a need and we have the means to meet it – these are the people who will be taken to one side and told that, in fact, they had been doing those things for Jesus himself; by their works, they showed their faith – they had done what Jesus commanded; they had been Jesus’ friends. Those who do not do these things – not out of some evil intent, but simply because they are, perhaps, too self-centered to see the needs of others – will be told that when they failed to do those things, they were neglecting to do them for Jesus; by their lack of works they showed their faith was dead; they had not done what Jesus commanded; they had not been his friends.

“You are my friends [when] you do what I command you.”

To some the King will say, “Step over here on my right and ‘inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.'” To others he will say, “Step to my left and ‘go away into eternal punishment.'”

“Prepare yourself; you know it’s a must – gotta have a friend in Jesus!”