Hope for a Holy Nation
Good Morning Friends,
Yesterday’s scripture at church was focused on the judgment portrayed by the shepherd separating the sheep and the goats, the righteous from the self-righteous, and the good from the bad. Jesus was about to face crucifixion and death when he shared the description of what is to come…the hope of his return and the good news that he cares for all sorts of people. The image can be a bit scary but the intention of the passage is not so much to focus on judgment, for if we are honest we are all a bit of sheep and a bit of goat. No the intention, I think, was to provide hope in a situation of despair. It was to prepare the disciples for a time of suffering in a battle. You can see it pictured in the Sistine Chapel. And as is the nature of all good stories it has the tension of a battle between good and evil….wisdom and foolishness…. hope and despair, character hidden and character revealed. And so too in the telling of our stories others learn, but in the living of the stories our character is developed. So today we explore how the art of being hospitable develops our character and a dream of Hope for a Holy Nation.
Scripture: When he has finished atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. Then Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and sending it away into the wilderness by means of someone designated for the task. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a barren region; and the goat shall be set free in the wilderness.
Leviticus 16: 20-22
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
I Peter 2:9-10 (NRSV)
‘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. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for 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.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”
Matthew 25:31-40 (NRSV)
Message: Did you realize that involuntary hospitality was an issue that helped to cause the American Revolution? It was. Colonists were compelled by British soldiers to provide food and lodging for them in their homes. It gets lost in the list of reasons but it is there. Now the third amendment to the Constitution protects us against some forms of involuntary hospitality. Nevertheless, reliving the issue shows us the relationship between freedom and sacrifice and faith and hope for a more holy nation. Now some may think hospitality is an admirable social skill but, for those who follow Christ, I would say that it is more…even essential. In today’s scripture from Matthew its importance is unmistakable. It is a critical factor, one to be encouraged but not forced… In the story one is either a sheep or a goat. There is a division here. There is a battle and victory to be won. But on which side are you fighting? Here we might discover that there is wisdom in being hospitable when we can, for when we do show kindness, we reflect the character of God deposited in us for a return. Here we might learn that being hospitable is wise because there is a blessing and gift that God intends us to receive when we welcome others. Friends we miss out on experiencing hope if we are not hospitable. That is why God instructs us through scripture to offer hospitality to even strangers. Still we have to be wise. The table is set before enemies and here we discover the enemy as Pogo knew the enemy. Friends, discern but also discover your true faith, shown by good deeds, sacrificed, but also discover true wisdom and good character that comes from God when we choose to love. Friends, life without love, like faith without works, is like hope without character… dead. A good character never shown is worthless. Discover that true hope serves by seeking out a need to be met and with hospitality meeting it as we would for Christ himself. True hope weighs life in a higher court. Friends, you have been blessed to be a blessing. Do not let it be stolen from you…do not give it away without loving others. Use this life you have been given. Recognize that we are judged by our choices in this life but also in the court of the King in the next.
Pray we realize that true hope is active with ears and eyes and hands and feet. Pray we realize that false hope is self-serving. Pray we understand that true hope brings peace but a false hope brings division. Pray that we learn that gratitude for what we have can displace the worry about what we lack. Pray we discover the hope of mercy and hospitality. Pray we follow Jesus. Pray we serve Jesus as a nation of priests. Pray we are generously hospitable to the least, the last and the lost. Pray we make our assigned divine appointments on earth before we are called to a divine appointment in heaven where we all are aliens.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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