A Little Bit Sheepish

Have you gotten your flu shot yet? Seen your doctor for your annual checkup? Sometimes we can get a little nervous going to the doctor, wondering what they might find, or hearing again that we need to lose weight or eat less sugar. Sometimes we get hard news from the doctor, but it’s only because the doctor cares about us and wants us to have the best health possible.

Read Psalm 100 and Matthew 25:31-46.

Rev. Lindsey Armstrong compares this Gospel passage to a doctor check up, saying that this passage is less designed to condemn people than it is to inspire us to check up on how we are living out our salvation. 

How did you feel reading this Matthew passage? Did you identify with the goats, or did you feel a little sheepish?

Either way, it’s important to remember that as Jesus tells this story, both the sheep AND the goats are surprised by what he tells them. The sheep did not care for the least of these because they knew it would earn Jesus’ favor. The sheep served their brothers and sisters because they were living out the salvation they had freely received.

Jesus once again points out that how we live today really matters – that how we treat each other matters to God. Mission Sunday is about having a check up on our faithful lives – are we living out our salvation? Are we actively caring for the least of these? Are we being faithful to our commitments to Let’s Help, Doorstep, Topeka Rescue Mission, and VIDA? Psalm 100 calls us God’s people, God’s sheep in the pasture – are we living up to that identity?

Lest we think we are too good to associate with the hungry and the thirsty, Matthew makes it clear: the powerful One on the throne is also the hungry, the thirsty, the poor. Our shepherd king who knows His flock is also the vulnerable, weak, and dependent. As we serve those in need, our hearts and our lives are transformed by the power of the Spirit, and we see in the least of these not just the face of Jesus but our own image as well. Praise be to the God of the least of these. May we all be a little more sheepish.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Kate