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Current Sermons Archived Sermons "Do You Hear What I Hear?" January 15, 2006 An Incomplete Feast December 25, 2005 The Third Gift December 24, 2005 Nothing will be impossible with God December 18, 2005 Redeeming Holiday Cheer December 11, 2005 Comfort, comfort my people … December 4, 2005 Advent begins in the dark… November 27, 2005 Thanksgiving Day November 24, 2005 It's All About Respect November 20, 2005 The world is a better place because ... November 13, 2005 Holy Baptism and Festal Eucharist November 6, 2005 Promise and Presence October 30, 2005 This is Only A Test October 23, 2005 Made in the Image of God October 16, 2005 Finding Our Way October 9, 2005 Our Lives Are Based On A True Story October 2, 2005 It Is God Working In You September 23, 2005 Whatever Happened to our Security? September 11, 2005 Put on the Armor of Light September 4, 2005 Giftedness and Identity August 21, 2005 What about Respect? August 14, 2005 Dean Lane's Final Sermon July 31, 2005		Sermon It’s All About Respect Christ the King Rite 13 Ceremony Matthew 25:31-46 The Cathedral Church of the Nativity The Rev. Canon Anne E. Kitch November 20, 2005 No matter how I do the math, thirteen minus six equals seven. This is a significant difference for me because it means that Kalli, Emily, Katie and Matt were seven years old when I came to the Cathedral six years ago. We are about to recognize these four youth because they have turned 13 (or are about to). They are teenagers. That is a big deal for them. It is a big deal for their parents. In fact, it is a big deal for all of us. Although some of them and their classmates in our Rite 13 class are even newer to the Cathedral than I am, I have known most of them since they were seven. Many of you have known them even longer. We know them through car washes, spaghetti dinners, and camp. We’ve seen them in Christmas pageants, Stations of the Cross dramatizations, and Church School. They minister among us as acolytes, choristers and children’s liturgy assistants. If we pay a bit of attention, we also notice they are active in soccer, field hockey, band and basketball. As I thought about them and their ministry here at the Cathedral, I marveled at how that ministry has blossomed over the past six years. I realized what I most wanted them to know from me: Kalli, Emily, Katie, Matt, you have my sincere respect. I am honored to know you. It is a great pleasure to do ministry with you, whether on a Sunday morning, or a Saturday youth event, or at Nativity Youth Camp. Today is a turning point for these youth and it is also a turning point for us as well. It is the turning of the year, and not just because it got cold finally. Today in our Church calendar we celebrate Christ the King. It is the end of our church year. Next Sunday we will light the first candle on our Advent Wreath as we begin the journey of patient and anxious waiting for Christmas. At the turn of the Christian year, as we are about to set our hearts toward the birth of a child, we first stop here. Here we acknowledge that child, not as a babe in a manger, not as gentle man and rabbi, not as the messiah, not even as the crucified one. Here at the turn of the year we place ourselves before the resurrected Christ, our King. This Christ is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in all his glory. This is the King who demands our respect. What does it mean to respect? In basic terms, re-spect means to look at again. It means to take a second look, to examine carefully. To respect someone means to believe that person is worth taking a second look at. The opposite of respect would be not to take a second look at. It would be to ignore, not to give someone a second thought. As we engage with Christ the King, the resurrected Christ who sits upon a throne and calls us all to account, it is not surprising that in our reading today we would encounter judgment. This is a judgment parable. The Son of Man comes in glory, is surrounded by angels and sits on a throne. The entire world gathers around that throne and then begins a mighty task, one only this King of Kings can do: an accounting of the people. They are separated into two categories: sheep and goats, the righteous and the unrighteous, those who inherit the Kingdom that has been prepared for them and those who are sentenced to eternal fire with the devil. Believe me, this is a time you really want to be a sheep. In the hierarchy of domesticated animals in ancient Israel, goats were considered undesirable. Sheep, on the other hand, symbolized the precious people of God. Think of all those lovely shepherding images we find in scripture. We are told again and again about God, our good shepherd, and how the good shepherd cares for the sheep. So what makes the difference? How do you get to be a sheep instead of a goat? Like most things in scripture, it is both simple and complicated. Understanding this parable is simple, because the task of the sheep seems so clear. They are the righteous because they fed the hungry, gave water to the thirsty, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked, cared for the sick, and visited those in prison. In doing so to the least of people, it seems that in fact they served Christ. “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.” It is in just as straightforward a way, that the unrighteous blew it. They ignored the hungry, didn’t give a second’s thought for the thirsty, discouraged the stranger, didn’t bother with the naked, avoided the sick and dismissed those in prison. In doing so, they in fact abused Christ. The ethical behavior required of us is clear. But here is where it gets complicated. Why do the righteous and the unrighteous choose to act they way they do? What motivates them to act? It is important to note that when the King on his throne pronounces his judgment the righteous and the un righteous alike are surprised. The righteous had no idea what they had done right. Even when the king tells them that they served him they respond, “We did? When?” They were not out and about caring for others because they thought they recognized Christ. They didn’t do it because they thought it would get them brownie points. They didn’t reach out to others because they thought it would get them into heaven. They cared for others because that is what they did. The unrighteous are just as surprised by their judgment. How could they have possibly ignored the King? They would never do that! They had no idea they had done wrong, or missed an important task. In fact, these folks spent their lives acting with expectation. They acted in order to get something. They worked hard for a reward. Why, if they had known that it was the king who was hungry, they would have set out a banquet. They would have fed him, clothed him, and cared for him. They would have been busy earning their way into heaven. If only someone had told them what to do. Here is the complication: we don’t earn our way into heaven. Salvation is pure gift. In fact, when Jesus died on the cross and then conquered death itself, offering salvation to all, none of us here today was even yet a twinkle in our parents’ eyes. Yet Jesus died to save us. So, we either behave like the saved or we don’t. I believe the difference between the righteous and the unrighteous is internal versus external motivation. The righteous do the right thing because that is what they do. They do not act in order to gain anything. They do not act in hope of anything. Their motivation is internal. They are surprised that they have received any reward. The unrighteous, on the other hand, are completely motivated by reward. They would do the right thing to gain something: status, wealth, or the Kingdom of Heaven. I suspect that if each of us sat down today and gave ourselves some respect, if we each took a second look at our lives, we would find both internal and external motivations. When we join the world as infants, most of our actions are reactions to exterior stimuli. One of the great tasks of parenting is to guide children with external motivations so that they can develop the internal ones. It is not an easy task, but it is a vital one. How do we develop these internal motivations when we are no longer infats? Well, practice helps. If you practice feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, caring for others, it just might become a habit. A habit can become a discipline. A discipline can transform our lives. The sheep just did what they did. Along the way, they cared for all. The goats made choices in order to get ahead, deciding who was worthy of their kindness and attention. The sheep offered respect for all. They were willing to give anyone more than a second’s thought. The goats ignored all those who they thought were of little or no consequence. But in God’s kingdom, no one is of little or no consequence. The King does take a second look, a deep look, a loving look at all. The King respects all. One theologian has said that “The Kingdom of Heaven can go unrecognized in this world—it takes the love for the things of God to recognize it. It is found by those who see this world as a place filled with gifts to be shared with others.” * We can be respectful. We can take a second look, see the abundance of gifts all around us, and then share with others. Because that is what we do. So Kalli, Emily, Katie, and Matt, all of the Rite 13 youth, all of you here, practice respect. Be kind. Feed, water, clothe, welcome, visit and care. Do this, until it becomes a habit, and then a discipline, and finally, a transformation of your life. * The Rev. Timothy Schehr, Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, exegesis on Christ the King propers www.mtsm.org/preaching/.