When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’
And the king will say to them in reply,
‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

My fellow subjects of Christ the King,

The veil will be lifted and we shall see God as He is.

This passage in the Gospel has always held a special place in my heart. It lets me look at the last days as a sort of observer. I’m watching the sheep and the goats from on-high. I’m watching Jesus in His glorious second coming. Jesus robed in gold, surrounded by angels, seated on a throne. Trumpets blast, paradise to the right, damnation and fire to the left. A huge sea of humanity before Him.

I wonder if anyone has ever captured this event in a movie? The Gospel lets us watch this movie in our minds.

But, the veil will be lifted,

The veil to be lifted is our veil of voyeurism. We will not be watching this event, but will be participants in it. We will not have the luxury of checking out all the cool sights and sounds; we will be shaking in our shoes.

Remember those small wrongs we have all done? We put them quickly out of our minds. Remember those small and sometimes big lies? We thought the passing of time would wipe them clean. Remember every sin you have committed? Remember those times you put yourself and your money ahead of the stranger, the naked, the sick or the imprisoned? Remember that time you —just couldn’t make it— to see mom or dad, your brother or sister, Aunt Susan or Uncle Tony? Remember that time you judged the person next to you? You’ll be in line thinking about those things pretty fast.

The veil will be lifted,

As we look upon Jesus Christ our King seated on the throne of glory we will also be looking at the rest of humanity around us. We will not be seeing Bob, Nancy, Jim, Mary, Tom, Hassam, Fatima, Manuel, Hilda, Miecislaw, Jadwiga, Juan, Hiroshi, or Kameko. We will be looking at Jesus Christ crucified in them. They will see Jesus Christ crucified in us. We will see the pain and loneliness we have inflicted upon others.

We will see very clearly that Jesus is within each of us. When we hurt another, when we criticize another, when we imply motives to another person, we do it to Christ. We drive the nails straight into Jesus’ hands right through the heart of the person next to us.

The veil will be lifted,

It is something that you and I will not be able to bear. Remember how Peter cried after he disowned Jesus? The old story is that the lines in Peter’s face were from the rivers of tears he cried for days after hurting Jesus.

Very few of us approach Christian perfection and frankly we are all headed to the left. It is pretty cut and dried.

But the veil will be lifted.

The Bible says that we all sin, we all fall short of God’s glory and righteousness. We do not and cannot earn God’s acceptance, nor do we need to. Jesus has purchased that for us by His death on that cross.

On that last day our hope is in Jesus Christ the true shepherd. The Bible tells us that when Jesus saw the crowds “He had compassion on them for they were helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Jesus let us press thorns into his head, beat him, whip him, and nail him to a cross. He carried that cross and died on it for our sin. Enduring enormous suffering, Jesus paid for sin on our behalf.

He died, but rose again, showing the world that He has complete power over death. When Jesus said he came to give us eternal life, he showed that he owned eternal life and he offers it to us as a gift. In His kingship we receive that gift.

This is God’s remarkable love for us. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him…might have eternal life.”

This is what our Church, the PNCC teaches. The road to the left is not the final curtain. We teach that repentance, sorrow for our sins and the desire for God opens the door to God’s everlasting love, a door that is never closed. Our Church preaches the hope of the Gospel. Not a false hope of happy times and the easy way, but a hope that comes from right belief. Give yourself to the shepherd and he will take you into His sheepfold. Desire Him above all else, repent and make amends.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in him…might have eternal life.”

Amen.