Creekside Church Sermon of November 24, 1996 "In Praise of the Ignorant" Matthew 25:31-46	Rev. David Bibbee
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You know so much already about today's lesson that it is doubtful I can add much to your knowledge. You don't need me to explain it to you. I would guess that in the Church of the Brethren, more sermons have been preached on this passage than any other, and for a good reason. It reflects what we believe so passionately about the marks of the Christian life. It is the last parable Jesus tells before his arrest. It is the account of the last judgment and is told on the last Sunday of the church year for added emphasis. This is Christ the King sunday. Jesus is enthroned and before him are assembled all the nations who will be judged by King Jesus.

I don't need to tell you who will pass the judgment and who won't. Heaven will belong to those who cared for the least...the hungry, the naked, the sick and imprisoned. Right beliefs won't get you in. Right actions will. But you already know this. Like I said, you are intelligent, informed, and involved people. You contribute to the hunger offering. You clean your closets and give the things you no longer wear to the clothing drive. You send cards and call upon the sick. You sign petitions for prisoners rights and some of you visit inside prison walls. You know that the United States has the largest income gap in the world between the rich and poor. You know the statistics...that one half of one percent of households in the United States own forty percent of the nation's wealth. You know the cup of cold water is Christianity in action. Let's hear it for Tony Campolo for speaking out when the congress was enacting welfare reform. He said, "The Lord will say, 'For I was hungry, and you gave me no food.' Yes Lord, but we balanced the budget." You know that the helping hand of mercy extended to the least of these is in fact a hand extended to Jesus himself.

You probably don't need another sermon on this subject. No surprises for you. You are enlightened sheep. In the know. Been there. Done that. We're a shoe-in. Somebody said, "Christians aren't necessarily better than others, just better informed." That's why you are here every sunday...to get more information on how to be a Christian. "You shall know the truth and it will make you free. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them." Jesus said. But we have run into a bit of a problem. This parable isn't about people who already know anything. They are ignorant about what they are supposed, to whom they are supposed to do it, and ultimately, to the identity of the one they are doing it to.

Look first at the opening scene where all the nations are gathered before King Jesus. Who are "all the nations"? The word nation is translated "ethne" from which we get our word ethnic. The judgment being described is of all ethnic people, or all the gentiles. In other words, all who are outside Israel's faith. They don't know anything about Israel's laws. They don't know the Hebrew scriptures. Here's the answer to the question, "How will those who don't know Jesus be judged?" They can't be given a Bible quiz. No theological competence test. Information won't help.

"Let me have your attention please. We're going to split into two groups. Everyone with a sheep insignia on your name tag, stand to my right, goats to the left." To those on the right he will say, "Come, you have been blessed by my Father. Inherit the Kingdom that is yours. I was hungry and you fed me. Thirsty and you gave me a drink. Homeless and you gave me a room," and they will reply, "We don't know what you're talking about. We've never seen you before." "When you were merciful and compassionate to the least and the overlooked, you did it to me."

Then turning to the ignorant goats he will say, "I was hungry," and you said, 'Get a job.' "I was sick," and you said, 'I got what's coming because of my lifestyle.' " And they will reply, "We don't know what you're talking about. We wouldn't refuse someone like you." "But you did every time you ignored the needs of others. You put me out of your sight. I'll put you out of mine." "But we didn't know!"

I know someone who was fined for having too many fish in his possession last Winter. Hadn't read the regulations for several years. He was under the impression the limit was fifty, when it was twenty-five. "How do you plead?" The judge asked. "Guilty of ignorance, your honor." "Ignorance is no excuse. Pay your fine and read the rules before you fish."

"We didn't know it was you," the unrighteous will say. And we know who they are, don't we? They are the folks who sleep in on Sunday, read the paper, and go to brunch instead church. They wouldn't know the difference between the Lord's prayer and the pledge of allegiance. They would rather sing in the shower than sing in a pew any day, and why would they need to listen to a sermon or sit through a sunday school lesson when there's a huge self-help section at Barnes and Noble? You would expect people like this not to know. "We didn't know it was you." "Too bad. That's what you get for not coming to church."

The blessings are reserved for the righteous, but notice this--they don't know anymore than the unrighteous. "When did we ever see you hungry or hurting? We don't know what you're talking about." They help others not because they knew there would be rewards if they did and consequences if they didn't. The only difference is their active compassion. They knew nothing about Jesus or organized religion. In unselfconscious ways they simply went about doing the work of the saints. You can talk about only being justified by faith and all your good works won't get you into heaven if you want, but for these ethne, these gentiles who are outside the faith, it was precisely the good, merciful, compassionate acts which was their welcome into the Kingdom. They are the sheep of another fold which Jesus spoke of.

Matthew says the criteria is not simply what you know, but what you do. Not who you know, but who knows you. Like the saint who prayed, "Lord, may I do much good that I know nothing about," there are people in this world who are doing the will of God and aren't conscience of doing it.

If you find this unsettling, it's understandable. You take being a Christian seriously. Lot's of you have been coming to church all of your lives to learn more about following Jesus. You have sat through hundreds of sermons trying to hear God's voice. You've gone to Bible studies, you have worked hard at disciplining yourself in prayer and study; you try to live your highest spiritual aspirations within your family and work hard at living your commitment to Christ in a chaotic world that at best is indifferent and at worst hostile to its convictions which you seek to uphold; you try to be dependable, reasonable, and make the world a better place, and along come these ignorant sheep of another fold who know nothing compared to you, and heaven's red carpet welcome mat is rolled out for them.

They have no baptismal certificates. They can't name the four gospels. They couldn't pick Jesus out of a crowd. But in keeping with Matthew's emphasis on right action over right belief, the ignorant are to be praised for their Christ-like behavior. The truth spoken by Jesus back in chapter seven is repeated loud and clear in the last judgment. "Not everyone who says, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Knowing the correct password won't get you anywhere with me." O Lord, it's not what we know or say, but what we do that shows exactly what we think of you.

This doesn't mean that we no longer strive to know more. Like the old hymn goes, "More about Jesus let me learn, more of his holy will discern. Spirit of God, my teacher be, showing the things of Christ to me." The point isn't that we should "dummy down", but stand amazed at those who know more than they know, those people of whom Peter spoke when he said, "That in every nation (every ethne), God loves those who live according to his will."

I read about a guy named George Smith. The pastor who wrote the story said that one of his parishioners wanted him to go down to the wharf during the fall fishing season to hear George swear. As he ordered his fishing crew around, he took profanity to new heights, or depths, depending on how you look at it. The parishioner said that George was as eloquent with profanity as anyone he had ever heard, and George obviously was not a member of this church.

It wasn't long afterward that the pastor met George on a street corner. Through his cigar he uttered some profuse profanity just before they were introduced. Learning he was the new minister in town, George said, "Here's fifty dollars, preacher. Lot's of people come through town looking for food in the winter. Don't turn them away from the church. When you've spent this, give me a call and I'll send you more. No questions asked." George never entered the church, and the pastor concluded by saying, "Through George, our church fed over two hundred people in three years." I was hungry and you fed me. Who? Me? Where? When? Ignorance.

When the Son of Man comes he will sit upon his throne and become presiding judge over the people's court. He will proclaim the blessings which have been prepared from the beginning of time upon those who are ignorant, or at least have little knowledge of Christianity, but being who they are, do unto others the very things which characterizes a Christian disciple. How much more important it becomes then, for those who do know the will of God to do it. Our concern isn't the performance of others. Our concern is with the light which their performance cast upon ours.

Come the judgment, we will see with crystal clarity what matters most. It is not the knowledge of spiritual realities we possess. Not how many Bible verses we have memorized. It all comes down to expression. Like St. Paul put it, "If I speak God's word with power, revealing all His mysteries, and have faith to make a mountain jump, but don't have love, I am nothing." I was hungry. I was a stranger. I was sick and in prison, and you came.

Last week, Kermit Eby shared with our healing class his compelling story of the climb from the abyss of alcoholism. He spoke of the people who reach down into the pit to help pull him back up to forgiveness, sanity, sobriety, and love. At the close of the hour I asked Kermit to name the ingredient which is absolutely essential for the church to be a place of hope and healing. "Be Christians," he said. "Just be Christians."

[Thanks to William Willimon for an inspiring jump start to this sermon.]

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