This morning's lesson from Matthew's Gospel is about a sort of final exam. It's a powerful story, one that we need to take very seriously. It is a story about, among other things, judgment.

Like it or not, judgment is a fact of life. That is true whether we are talking about the histories of nations or the events of our own personal life. If we break the law, then society will judge us. If we live immorally-drink too much, engage in sexual promiscuity, live a lifestyle of constant stress--then our bodies will judge us. We simply cannot escape judgment in life.

Jesus rarely spoke about the final judgment, but the Bible does teach that there will be a day when each of us will give a reckoning to God for our lives. A final moment of having to be accountable. This God who gave us life will ask for an accounting of how we used the life that we have been given. What did we do with the gift? Did we use it selfishly or did we look to God for how to use it?

One of the things that Christian faith proclaims is that none of us will be able to give a sufficient accounting for our lives such that we will gain entrance into eternal life. We've all fallen short of the mark. Our sin has separated us from the hope and goal of heaven, but praise be to our merciful God who sends to us His Son, Jesus, to be our perfection where we have only been sinful.

This gift of grace is here and now available to anyone who hears and to anyone who in faith receives this gift. And as people who receive the gift, we are called to put everything else aside and live for the gift.

The problem is that not only in Jesus' time but also in our time, people have continued to miss the mark, even with this unearned gift. People too often have turned Jesus into a personal Lord and Savior who nothing at all to do with anyone else. People have too often made Jesus into a private affair, without ever seeing or sharing the gift of love with those others whom Jesus came to serve.

The result, says Jesus, is there will be a lot of people who stood by in life looking for him, but never saw him as he came near.

A shepherd divides the sheep from the goats, said Jesus, so too shall their be a great division on the final day. Those on the right hand will be allowed entrance into the kingdom, while those on the left will be denied it. And the great surprise is that those who thought they were religious turn out to be not as good at it as they thought, and those who were oblivious to who they were serving, discovered it was their Lord.

I would like to suggest three points that this story makes.

I

First, the story invites us to view each individual as though he or she was Christ himself "Lord, when did we feed you, or clothe you, or visit you in prison?" was the question that was asked? Caine the response- When you did it unto the least of these my brethren, you did it unto me."

There is an old children's story, one that perhaps most of you have heard. The Knight's aide advised the mayor of a small village that his majesty was going to be making a visit to their humble little village. With great fanfare the mayor began to make the appropriate arrangements. On the day of the arrival the mayor, dressed in his finery, waited in joyful anticipation. The hours slowly ticked away but no one ventured into the village. No one, that is, except a lonely lame beggar who asked the mayor for a drink to quince his thirst. Irritatingly he brushed him aside. He had no time for dredges such as this, for he was waiting for the King. Yet, at the end of the day the mayor stood alone; the King had never arrived. Furiously he wrote the King's aide asking what had gone wrong, only to be told that the King had indeed passed through his village that day. The aide said, "He was traveling incognito." He had come in the disguise of a lonely lame beggar.

Who is Christ? Christ is every person in need. And there will be those who say, "But master if we had only known that it was you we would have responded." That is precisely the point. If the Bethlehem innkeeper had known that Mary was carrying within her womb the long awaited Messiah, no doubt he would have made room for them on that fateful night. If the Sanhedrin had known that it was God they were arresting on that fateful night in the Gethsemane garden, no doubt they would followed him. Our goodness must be uncalculating. And our motivation must simply be to love--love the one who is in need.

II

Secondly, the story suggests that in the end the criteria by which we shall all be judged will be simple, yet profound acts of life-giving kindness. In the story the King allows entrance into his kingdom not by affiliation with any particular religious group, or fame, or fortune, or credential that might be listed in an obituary. Nothing about correct doctrines or right belief. No, the final judgment is based upon how kind an individual was: feeding those who were hungry, showing concern for those in prison, taking care of those who did not have sufficient clothing.

Who would ever have thought that such simple acts would carry so much weight on the final day? Who would ever believe that a person would be judged for what we view as slight oversights? When we think of divine judgment we think of a few life-making decisions, but according to this story judgment comes every single day in the little commonplace things that we do or we do not do. Piety, orthodoxy, sound theologies do not count for everything. Jesus is saying that the main business that we are in is the business of life-giving kindness, and it is this criterion by which God will view our life, Ignore the law of kindness and we perish.

I always remember fondly the movie Sound of Music. At the beginning we find Baron Van Trapp ruling his household with an iron fist. Every time he blows a shrill whistle the children come marching out of their bedrooms like well-seasoned troops. He then turns to Maria, the new governess, and curtly informs her that her signal on the whistle will indicate thus and such. She very quickly informs him that she does not answer to whistles. She introduces a new mood and slowly the children begin to respond to her and the house is transformed from a military barracks into a home. Of course, you cannot miss the point. It is kindness that has won the day.

Of course, there is a drawback to kindness. Kindness means nurturing and nurturing takes time. Blowing a whistle will get you a more immediate result. But in the end shouting and ultimatums will never win the day. The Apostle Paul admonished the church at Ephesus: "Stop being mean, bad tempered and angry. Instead, be ye kind to one another, even as God has forgiven you because you belong to Christ Jesus."

III

Third, this story suggests that in the end judgment is not based so much on the bad that we do, but the good that we do not do. Those on the left hand of the King were denied entrance into the Kingdom. Why? Because he said, I was thirsty and you gave me no water, I was in prison and you never came to see me, I was without clothes and you never gave me any.

We think of divine judgment as opposite of this. We think that the thing that will get us into heaven is by refraining from certain sins. Making sure that we don't do whatever the, commandments tell us not to do. Conversely we think sin will send us to hell. A religious person is one who does not smoke, does not drink, does not curse. That, at least partly, misses the point.

There are many even in church who are fine, decent respectable people who are not doing anything for Christ. Jesus told the story about a man who took a thousand dollars and buried it, Why did Jesus condemn him? Not because he gambled it away, not because he frivolously spent it, but because he did nothing with it for the man. Those on the left hand side were kept out of the Kingdom of God, not because of what they did but because of what they failed to do. It was not sins of commission, but sins of omission.

I like the story behind a man named Henry Dunant. He was born to wealthy parents in Switzerland in 1828. A deeply compassionate man, he devoted considerable time assisting and encouraging young people, especially the poor. At about eighteen years of age, he founded a Young Men's Christian Union.

In 1859, at the age of 30, Dunant was traveling in northern Italy. He had only one object in view-to get the support of the Emperor of France for a business project in Algeria. But the Emperor, Napoleon III, was busy driving the Austrians out of Northern Italy.

Arriving on the day of the Battle of Solferino, Dunant could not believe what he saw. That day the French victory over the Austrians left 40,000 dead, dying and wounded scattered over a bloody terrain for the vermin and vultures to consume.

Dunant never did see the Emperor but what he did see changed him and the world forever. He joined in the work of relief, sent his horse drawn coach to bring supplies, and wrote to his friends in Switzerland for aid. He labored for three days at this horrible task. Then he returned home and he began writing. He made an appeal against the terrifying inhumanity he had witnessed. He hoped he could influence people to prevent or to reduce the suffering of soldiers. The result of his writings was a book: A Memory of Solferino (Un Souvenir de Solferino), printed in Geneva in October 1862. This famous book, mailed by the author to influential people throughout Europe, excited them beyond all expectation.

In the last chapter of his book he made some proposals on make-shift hospitals, trained volunteers, and the necessity for international cooperation. Finally, five years later, at the Geneva Convention of 1864 sixteen nations signed accords-modeled on Dunant's proposals, acknowledging the neutrality of medical personnel in times of hostility. For their banner and symbol they chose a white flag with a red cross. And so the Red Cross was born!

This morning, we catch a glimpse of what's really important to God. We stand under the cross of Christ which reminds us that Jesus has died once and for all for not only our sins of commission but also our sins of omission.

That is the gift of a God who wants to free us from selfish and therefore sinful living. This is the gift of a God who wants us to know what is most important in life. That is the gift of a God who wants us to know that our value in life is not judged by our successes or knowledge or right beliefs but by love.

I know that this text is not a grace-centered text. And I'm grateful that it's not all we know or believe about who God is to and for us. And, I hope that we each walk out of here taking seriously that these are the things that are important to God. Love. Loving others with the love that Jesus has loved us with.

That's what this is all about. Being loved and served with the full beauty and mercy of God. And loving and serving others with this same sacred, merciful, beautiful grace that is the hope and light of the world--Jesus Christ.

Amen.