Measuring What Matters

The Festival of Christ the King

November 26, 2023

Matthew 25:31-46

 “Measuring What Matters”

“On June 5, 1965, the Rolling Stones performed to a crowd of three thousand people in Clearwater, Florida. Later that night in his hotel room, a sleepy Keith Richards came up with a catchy guitar riff along with a lyric made up of the most famous double negative in the English language, ‘Can’t get no satisfaction…’ The lyric immediately resonated with lead singer Mick Jagger who saw it as a way to capture the frenzied pursuit of materialism and sex he saw in America. Jagger finished writing the song while sitting by the pool, and the band released the finished version three weeks later. The influence of ‘Satisfaction’ cannot be overstated. It gave the Stones a Beatles-like celebrity, and it introduced a harder feel to rock music that was here to stay… Surely no single phrase better mimics the cry of contemporary culture: ‘I can’t get no satisfaction. But I try, but I try, but I try.’ Everyone in the world is searching for the same thing – to be deeply satisfied, to have their souls thrilled. You can say that people are searching for purpose or meaning or contentment, but ultimately what they really want is to find something that will thrill them” (Chasing What Matters, by Richard W. Smith. Spartanburg, SC: Walden Hill Press, 2013; pp. 13-14). On this final Sunday of the church year as we celebrate Christ our King, here is a call not only to chase what matters in life, but to measure what matters in life. And in Jesus’ words from today’s Gospel lesson, we find out what really matters. The message for today rises out of that Gospel lesson and is entitled “Measuring What Matters.” May the Lord’s rich and abundant blessing rest upon the preaching, the hearing, and the living of his Word for Jesus’ sake

 The truth is that we are often so busy from day to day, engaged with tasks and commitments on our to-do list, preoccupied with interests and pursuits, that we forget all of this will come to a crashing halt when our Shepherd King comes in great power and glory. Generally, we don’t like to think about this too much because it makes us uncomfortable. But maybe that’s part of the problem. We have become too comfortable with the way things are in this world. Sure, life is never perfect, and we’ve all got our share of problems and challenges, but it’s all good, right? We might think differently when we ourselves are the ones who are hungry and thirsty; or when we ourselves are the stranger and in need of clothing; or when we ourselves are sick and in prison. Only then might we see things through different eyes. On that great and final day when all the nations will then be gathered before our Shepherd King, as he will separate sheep from goats, the Lord Jesus will then reveal what truly matters in life: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me” (Matthew 25:35-36). In the busyness of life, the hungry and thirsty, the stranger and ill-clothed, the sick and imprisoned, may well be invisible to us. We do not see them, or we choose not to see them. Whether we see them or not, Jesus seems them. Jesus not only sees them, but he tells us that he himself is one of them.

Thinking about Jesus’ words in the Gospel lesson, the person who comes to mind is Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997). She remains a well-known figure today, even though she has been dead for more than twenty-five years. “Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a [Roman Catholic] religious order which grew to have over 4,500 nuns across 133 countries as of 2012. The congregation manages homes for people who are dying of HIV/AIDS, leprosy, and tuberculosis. The Missionaries of Charity also runs soup kitchens, dispensaries, mobile clinics, children’s and family counselling programs, as well as orphanages and schools. Members take vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience and also profess a fourth vow: to give ‘wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor’” (Mother Teresa - Wikipedia). Here is someone who measured what matters – what really matters – in life. Mother Teresa spoke of how the Lord Jesus comes to us now in “distressing disguise.” He comes to us now not in glory and power as he will on that final day, but in great suffering and need. She also said that “if we recognize Jesus under the appearance of bread [in the Sacrament of the Altar], we will have no difficulty recognizing him in the disguise of the suffering poor” (Jesus in His Most Distressing Disguise - Word on Fire). We believe that Jesus is certainly present in his holy Supper, giving us his true Body and Blood under forms of bread and wine, and that we receive mercy and grace to help in time of need from him in the Blessed Sacrament. Do we believe that Jesus is present among us in the suffering poor? We may struggle with this because we tend to judge by outward appearances. We may say: “I’m not Mother Teresa. I can’t do what she did.” But we don’t have to be Mother Teresa and do what she did. Whoever we are, wherever we are, the Lord Jesus calls us to see Christ in our neighbor and be Christ to our neighbor. As Dr. Harry Wendt, author of Crossways! Bible study materials, has said, “There are really only two people in the world: Jesus and you.” As we wait and watch for our Shepherd King, we would do well to remember this.

Chasing what matters in life, measuring what matters in life, flows out of the redeeming love of our Shepherd King. He has laid down his life for the sake of the sheep of his hand; the people of his pasture (Psalm 100:3). By the offering of his very life we have been set free from the old life of sin and death; we are a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Whatever good we are permitted to do in this life flows from being this new creation in Christ. “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). It is the love of Jesus that moves and motivates us to help our neighbor in need. It’s not about paybacks or how we can benefit from doing this. It is simply about doing good. There is no deed so small or insignificant, no act of service so unnoticed or hidden, that the Lord is unaware of what is done. He knows full well. “As much as you did it to one of the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40). Behind our Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets for Koinonia is the love of Jesus. Behind the bags brought here to the altar on Thanksgiving Eve is the love of Jesus. Behind the Christmas wishes tree out in the Narthex is the love of Jesus. Behind everything that the child of God does that points people to our Shepherd King is the love of Jesus.

 As the church year draws to a close today, as we look ahead to the coming Advent season, as we anticipate the coming of Christ our King, we look to the One who is beyond time. In faith, we look to him who loves us and is coming again for us. Until that day, let us do on earth those things which prepare us for heaven, until by the grace of God, we hear these words: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:33). Amen.