Well, alrighty then. We find ourselves back to judgment and sheep and goats and the “in” and the “out”.
There are couple ways I’ve seen preachers talk about passages like this one. ONE – they talk about the “good” stuff. They would talk about how we should be like the sheep. They’d tell you all kinds of facts about sheep and how dumb they are and how much they stink and rely on shepherds and stuff… but the main thing is, they’d focus on how we should be good people, do the things that would make Jesus call us sheep and we’d get to inherit the kingdom. They’d want us to be like sheep, even though they just spent a while telling us how dumb sheep were.
They wouldn’t mention the goats, maybe, beyond a cursory description of how they’re different than sheep and they would probably avoid the whole “eternal punishment” thing altogether. Because, lets face it, its not a popular topic. The idea of eternal punishment makes us uncomfortable and turns us into “not me”-ers. I mean, that guy is probably going to hell, but not me, right?
Another way is kind of the opposite. The hellfire and brimstone sermon. You are all
miserable sinners because you don’t do any of these things Jesus talks about, and so you’re all going to hell! Stop, Drop and Roll doesn’t work in Hell! Turn or Burn! You think its hot in Texas? Just wait until you get to Hell! They don’t serve breakfast in Hell! That last one is the most frightening, I think. Some people think you can scare people into living right. It doesn’t work. It didn’t work on me, anyway.
I’m going to tackle the uncomfortable part straight on. I think most of the reading is pretty straightforward. Jesus is telling us how to live our lives, in much the same way as he has been from the beginning. Love our neighbors – help the helpless, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, do good to those who cannot repay you – we see this all through the gospels. In this reading he adds that when we do these things to the “least of these” people around us, we are doing these things to him as well. Likewise if we aren’t doing these things.
If we aren’t doing these things, we aren’t living the kind of life that God has planned for us and we’re going to find ourselves in trouble.
What kind of trouble? ETERNAL PUNISHMENT! Oh my! That’s a little extreme isn’t it?
The answer is yes, yes that is very extreme.
And not really what the passage is saying either.
Now hang on Father – I can read! It says it right there! “these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” You can’t wiggle yourself out of this one.. its pretty clear!
And you’re right, the passage is clear, the problem is the translation is bad. The same word is used twice in Greek for the word eternal – eternal life and eternal punishment. This word is pronounced Ah-Yo-knee-Os. At least, that’s as close as I can get to it. Ah-Yo-Knee-Os. Without getting too complicated, the word is best translated as “duration, whether through an age or a succession of ages” – but the key thing here is that it does have a beginning and an end. It could also be called an interval. It implies a vast, undefined duration, rather than one in the full sense of the word infinite. So why do we use it?
I’ll give you my opinion – they use it because they want to get across that the good side of the equation – the eternal life with God IS eternal.
Now, I know what you may be thinking – “Wait a minute Father – how can one be temporary and one be permanent – it sounds like you’re twisting things up here!” OK, I hear you – just hang on a second, because when we’re talking about eternal life, Jesus himself tells us what that is shortly after this passage. At the last supper, Jesus prays, looking up to heaven and says
“Father, it’s time.
Display the bright splendor of your Son
So the Son in turn may show your bright splendor.
You put him in charge of everything human
So he might give real and eternal life to all in his charge.
And this is the real and eternal life:
That they know you,
The one and only true God,
And Jesus Christ, whom you sent.”
So, when we come into his Kingdom and get to really know God, we will have eternal life. How long will that last? I don’t think we’ll care at that point. That’s the good news, right?
But what about that eternal punishment stuff? We didn’t finish with that. You’re right, and I wasn’t trying to get away from it. So, “eternal” or Ah-Yo-Knee-Os, is an unknown duration of time. What about the punishment part of it? Again, the Greek word here for punishment is more accurately recognized as being for a reformative rather than a vindictive sense. How long will it last? We don’t know. Will it be painful? We aren’t sure. Some think that the acceptance of this suffering as reformation may ease the discomfort, but its impossible to say. What we can say is that this “punishment” is corrective, not abusive, and temporary, not forever.
Now, here’s the deal. It may not be burning forever and ever and pain and misery and all that stuff, but it’s not what God wants for us. That much is clear.
When we look at the passage and try to decide whether we want to be a sheep or a goat, its ridiculous to go well, it’s so much easier to be a goat. You might be right. It might be easier to ignore the poor and the suffering and the hungry. But its not the kind of life God wants for us.
Can you imagine what the world would be like if 1 in 10 people really lived out this kind of life? Heck, 1 in 100. It would be like heaven right here on earth, which is what we pray for every week – Thy Kingdom come, thy Will be done – On Earth, as it is in Heaven.
And that would be worth becoming a sheep for, wouldn’t it?
In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen
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