Parables of Life, Pt. 9: "So Near, Yet So Far"

SO NEAR, YET SO FAR (MATTHEW 25:31-46)
Shortly after the Pope had apologized to the nation of Israel for the treatment of Jews by the Catholic Church over the years, Ehud Barak, the leader of Israel, sent back a message to the College of Cardinals. The proposal was for a friendly game of golf to be played between the two leaders or their representatives to show the friendship and ecumenical spirit shared by the Catholic and Jewish faith.

The Pope met with his College of Cardinals to discuss the proposal. “Your Holiness,” said one of the Cardinals, “Mr. Barak wants to challenge you to a game of golf to show that you are old and unable to compete. I am afraid that this would tarnish our image to the world.” The Pope thought about this and as he had never held a golf club in his life asked, “Don't we have a Cardinal to represent me?” “None that plays golf very well,” a Cardinal replied. “But,” he added, “there is a man named Jack Nicklaus, an American golfer who is a devout Catholic. We can offer to make him a Cardinal, then ask him to play Mr.Barak as your personal representative. In addition to showing our spirit of co-operation, we'll also win the match.” Everyone agreed it was a great idea. The call was made. Of course, Nicklaus was honored and agreed to play as a representative of the Pope.

The day after the match, Nicklaus reported to the Vatican to inform the Pope of the result. “I have some good news and some bad news, Your Holiness,” said the golfer.
“Tell me the good news, Cardinal Nicklaus,” said the Pope. “Well, Your Holiness, I don't like to brag, but even though I've played some pretty terrific rounds of golf in my life, this was the best I have ever played, by far. I must have been inspired from above. My drives were long and true, my irons were accurate and purposeful, and my putting was perfect. With all due respect, my play was truly miraculous.” “How can there be bad news?” the Pope asked. Nicklaus sighed, “I lost to Rabbi Tiger Woods by three strokes.”

Are you a sheep, a goat or worse, a wolf in sheep’s clothing? Are you who you profess to be?

There is no stomach like a goat’s stomach. No lawn mower is as effective and can go where goats go. They are inexpensive, low-cost, and unsupervised. Goats, however, are a nuisance compared to sheep and a danger to combat. According to news reports, the Galápagos Islands has been for many decades the scene of a war and a battle between man and goat. Park officials kill tens of thousands of goats with their rifles because goats in their feeding frenzy destroy a prized environment and threaten native species like tortoises by competing for food, scientists say.

Whalers from New England are thought to have left the first goats on these islands almost two centuries ago as a food source. By the late 1990s, there were more than 140,000 wild goats there in contrast to the roughly 30,000 residents there. (“War in the Pacific: It’s Hell, Especially if You’re a Goat,” The New York Times, May 1, 2007)

In Palestine, sheep and goats are often seen together in the same grounds. Farmers, ranchers, and herdsmen usually allow them to graze and roam in the same field. Jesus did not say that observers cannot “distinguish” between a sheep and a goat, but that as long as they can remember, they have seen the animals run together. It is pointless, redundant, work and money for the owners to place them in different fields. Sheep and goats are free to wander and mingle unless they are separated. Also, they do not fight, envy or avoid one another.

Why is separation of sheep (followers) and goats (frauds) needed? When does it happen? What does it accomplish and what are we to do now?

Shun Inactivity – Recognize the Burdens
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' (Matt. 25:31-36)

Miss Jones, an elderly spinster, lived in a small Midwestern community. She had the distinction of being the oldest resident of the town. One day she died, and the editor of the local newspaper wanted to print a little caption commemorating Miss Jones' death. However, the more he thought about it, the more he became aware that while Miss Jones had never done anything terribly wrong, yet she had never actually done anything noteworthy.

While musing over this, the editor actually went down to have his morning coffee and met the owner of the tombstone establishment in the little community. The tombstone proprietor stated that he had been having the same problem. He wanted to put something on Miss Jones's tombstone besides her birthday and death date, but he couldn't think of anything of significance that she had ever done.

The editor decided to go back to his office and assign to the first reporter he came across the task of writing up a small article suitable for both the paper and the tombstone. Upon returning to the office, the only fellow around was the sports editor, so he gave him the assignment. He wrote:
“Here lies the bone of Nancy Jones,
For her life held no errors.
She lived an old maid.
She died an old maid.
No hits, no runs, no errors.” (James Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited)

Sin, according to world religions, is doing what is wrong or bad. The Chinese argue, “I have not kill people or set fires. How have I sinned?” According to the Bible, sin is not merely doing what is wrong, but also failing to do what is right or good. Sin is not merely a bad deed committed but a right thing omitted. Theologically, the practice of wrongdoing is the sin of commission, and the failure to do right is the sin of omission. James 4:17 explains, “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.”

A lot of people think they are good people merely because they are law-abiding, tax-paying citizens. Some assert that they have not as much as hurt a fly in their life. Jesus met a ruler who asked Him, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered, “You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.'“ The ruler responded, “All these I have kept since I was a boy.” Jesus then said, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he became very sad, and did nothing (Luke 18:18-23).

Goats are people who have perfected the art of doing nothing. They won’t hinder, hurt or harm anyone but they won’t help others to survive or succeed either. They won’t endanger people, but they won’t enable, encourage or empower them either. By doing nothing, they are worse than the minimalists, who do the barest minimum or exert the least effort. Goats say, “There are too many needy people in the world” and ask “Why me? Why not others?” and “What can one do?”

The sheep, on the other hand, are proactive, positive and practical. They are a balm to people’s pain. Their motto is, “If I cannot help all, I will help one.” Notice Jesus used the singular “stranger” (v 35). He did not ask for a lot from caregivers, just to serve, support or strengthen one lost individual.

Jesus was described as hungry only three times in the Bible. The first record of His hunger was met when angels served him at the end of his forty days and night fasting (Matt 4:2, Luke 4:2). The only other record of Jesus’ hunger, besides this parable, ended with him depending in vain on a good for nothing fig tree for food (Matt 21:18). In this account, Jesus did not ask the disciples to feed him or give him food even when he was hungry (vv 35, 42); instead, the favor should be transferred in His name to the destitute, the downtrodden and the disadvantaged.

Stop Indifference – Remove the Barriers
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 40 “The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' (Matt 25:37-40)

When freshly unemployed 26-year-old Chinese-American Austin Chu decided to travel through all 50 states to “record what he heard and see from real people all over the country” during the recession, he convinced his brother Brian quit his job to shoot a video of their adventure (http://therecessends.com). With a Toyota mini-van and a $4,000 budget, they relied on strangers via Facebook and Twitter for accommodation.

The limited resources turned out to be an advantage. The Chus confide, “It forced us to talk to people.” During the trip the brothers relied on donations of money, food and lodging from family, friends and strangers. In the course of three months of touring around, they only slept in the van around 10 nights. Austin shares, “At 26 years old, I’m making a lot less money than I thought I would be. But these days I take conversations, ideas and friendship to the bank. If there’s one thing I learned from this trip, it’s the importance of getting to know your neighbor.” (“Long Distance Call” Post Magazine, South China Morning Post, November 22, 2009)

Jesus’ compassion for people is well attested to in Matthew, where the word “compassion” occurs five times – more than any gospels or New Testament books. Other than an occurrence of the word “compassion” in a parable (Matt 18: 27 – the master of the unforgiving servant), the other occurrences of the word “compassion” all refer to none other but Jesus’ compassion - for the crowd (Matt 9:36, 14:14, 15:32) and two blind men (Matt 20:34). Jesus’ compassion for the multitudes is noteworthy. Twice he fed a crowd because He had compassion on them. He taught and fed the 5,000 because they were like sheep without a shepherd (Matt 9:36). Jesus fed the 4,000 because the crowd had already been with Him three days and had nothing to eat. He did not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way (Matt 15:32).

Feeding people was not Jesus’ full-time job; His mission was to preach the gospel (Luke 4:43). However, His compassion moved him to act. Surprisingly, compassion is not a word in the Bible; it is an activity or a movement. There are concrete Greek words for mercy (Mk 5:19), but no specific term for compassion. There are familiar Greek words for pity (Rom 9:15 - twice) and sympathy (Heb 10:34, 1 Pet 3:8), but none quite captures the word “compassion.” The word for compassion is bowels (Matt 9:36, 14:14, 15:32, 18:27, 20:34, Mark 1:41, 6:34, 8:2, 9:22, Luke 7:13, 10:33, 15:20). Compassion is an urging of the bowels, the yearnings of the bowels - the got to go, got to go right now feeling, as if something is eating, paining and kneeing you inside to cause you to take action. You cannot walk, stand or sit unless you do something!

The needs in verses 37-39 are from the lesser to the greater – the first four (hungry, thirsty – internal needs; stranger, clothes – external needs) refers to people without hospitality, and the next two without health (sick) or hope (prison).

Jesus did not say that we have to give till it hurts. He is not asking us to suffer huge responsibility, great guilt and noble sentiment for others, but to feel touched, moved or prodded inside by the plight of others in need, to be troubled enough to do, offer or attempt something. The Lord is not asking you to show love and affection for them, but enough concern and thoughtfulness to quiet the stomach of others and to quench their thirst. He is not seeking for name brand or custom design clothes, just the old ones. He is asking you to care, not heal. He is not asking you to stay in prison with them. You don’t have to feel loving, you just have to feel uneasy! Jesus is not asking for selfless acts or bleeding hearts, just to lift a finger or lend a hand.

Spurn Inattention - Receive the Blessings
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' 44 “They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' 45 “He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' 46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (Matt 25:41-46)

Believers have no lack of opportunity to serve with the right knowledge, attitude and skill of mobilizing, managing and maximizing resources entrusted to them.

The average UK household needlessly throws away 18% of all food purchased. Families with children throw away 27%. The Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) found that salad, fruit and bread were most commonly wasted and 60% of all dumped food was untouched. (“Food waste on ‘staggering’ scale” 8 May 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7389351.stm)

According to Greeners Action, more than 80 per cent of Hongkongers do not finish their meals and 63 per cent admit they waste food. On average, each Hongkonger produces 500 grams (1.1 lb.) of food waste a day. In Singapore the figure is 300 (0.66 lb.) grams and in Taiwan it is 240 grams (0.53 lb.).

Patrons of a popular food court in an upscale mall (Festival Walk) leave 1,200 kilos (2,645 pounds) of food on their plates every day. (“In Hong Kong, diners fined for leaving leftovers” April 18, 2007, Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0418/p01s02-woap.html

The biggest benefit is reserved not for the beneficiary but for the benefactor; not for the provided but for the provider; not the sufferer but the sharer. What we do we do for Christ because we are His messenger, His mouthpiece and message.

Those who do not search their hearts, see a need or serve when needed will surely suffer rebuke. In the only other instance in the Bible where Jesus’ hunger was mentioned, he was let down by a fig tree. When he saw the fig tree, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. The Greek text for Matthew stated that Jesus found “nothing but leaves” and for Mark that Jesus found “but leaves.” Jesus proclaimed to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered (Mt 21:18-19, Mark 11:12-13).

The Lord is not asking us to see the world, a nation, a city, a society or a neighborhood in need; He is pleading for the small fry, the forgotten person and the little man. A Christian need not be bighearted or brave in every way, but he should not be blind in all ways. A Christian can even be unsuspecting and unsentimental to every one but never unseeing to one soul’s need. He cannot close his eyes, draw the blinds and put on sunglasses to the needs of the least. They may be homeless but not faceless or nameless. The word “least” (v 40, 45) has been translated elsewhere in the NIV as “very little,” (Luke 12:26, 16:10, 1 Cor 4:3) “very small,” (Luke 19:17, James 3:4) and trivial (1 Cor 6:2).

Those who do not see a thing have missed the opportunity for ministry (v 44). The word minister is the same word for the ministry of angels to Jesus at the end of fasting 40 days and nights (Matt 4:11, Mark 1:13) and the tender loving care of women to Jesus - from Peter’s mother-in-law who served Jesus after she had recovered (Matt 8:15, Mark 1: 31, Luke 4:39) to the women that followed Jesus to care for his needs (Matt 27:55, Mark 15: 41). These women were helping to support them out of their own means (Luke 8:3).

Finally, ministering to Jesus is doing what he is doing: ministering to others. Jesus said the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45, Luke 22:27).

Conclusion: Who is a sheep, who is a goat? The Lord knows, deeds do count and time will tell. End things will speak for themselves and sort themselves out ultimately. Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand (John 10:27-28). A goat is one who does nothing, feels nothing, and is nothing. You can fake watches, handbags, software, and even currency and signatures but you cannot fake salvation. You can repeat things and imitate faith but you cannot fool God. One thing is sure: we do not have the freedom or luxury to do absolutely nothing. Are you a disciple or are you an impostor and a hypocrite? Is your Christianity a relationship with Christ or a religion without Christ? Are you a practicing believer or are you merely a professing believer? Do you go through life not doing a thing, not feeling for others or seeing their need?

Discussion Questions (Contributed by Daniel Hung)
1. In this parable on the final judgment, what criteria are used by the king to judge if a person is righteous or not? Why are these criteria chosen?
2. Who are ‘”the least of these brothers of mine” (v 40)? Besides providing food, drink, accommodation, clothing, caring and visitation, what else can we do for the needy ones?
3. Very often, we know and see other’s needs but seem to be hesitant to act. How can we be more willingly to offer our helping hand?

Reflection Question
1. Jesus taught that “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Do you concur with this teaching and how have you been putting it into practice?