Cleaning Out the Fridge

Matthew 25:31-46

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me. ’Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you? ’And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me. ’Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me. ’Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you? ’Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. ’And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

There are a few traditions we’ve started in my house for Thanksgiving over the past few years since moving into our new home. I’m not the cook in the family, so instead of planning menus or going shopping for the dinner ingredients I get to design the table decorations and create a personal gift for each individual plate setting. In the past I’ve gotten some great ideas from Martha Stewart like making construction paper cutout Turkeys on which family members could record what they are thankful for. Sometimes I just shop for little Thanksgiving or harvest related chachkis at the dollar store or Flower Factory. This year I am filling these cute little tins with candy. I know, I know…I’m copping out this year. But these are not the traditions I want to talk about this morning. No, the tradition I’ve been stuck with every year is…vacuuming and dusting the house and…cleaning out the refrigerator.

 

Now some of you might be thinking, that’s not a tradition…that’s just a chore. But according to Wikipedia, a tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes (like lawyer wigs or Kentucky Derby hats), but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings. The word "tradition" itself derives from the Latin tradere literally meaning to transmit, to hand over, to give for safekeeping—and new traditions continue to appear today. For me, cleaning out the fridge before Thanksgiving is quite a ritual.

Those of you who get to host Thanksgiving dinner for the extended family know good and well that cleaning house from top to bottom is a very important part of the holiday preparations. Amen? The fact is, since I clean-up all the dirty dishes after the cooking and eating is over, I also get to put away leftovers. And there is never, never enough space in the refrigerator to store them all. So, I’ve learned to clean out the fridge in advance in order to make room for the leftover turkey, stuffing, corn casserole, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, marsh mellowed yams and delicious gravy. And in order to make sure I have enough room for all the leftovers, any containers that are expired, in plastic or nearly empty are taken out of the fridge and sorted to be cleaned and recycled or thrown away.

In many ways, Matthew’s depiction of the last judgment in the Gospel reading today is like this process of judgment and separation. Its purpose is not to condemn or scare but to provide a glimpse at what habits and ways of life are inconsistent with the realm of God. This particular parable of the sheep and goats is a narrative tale about the last judgment and criteria that the Son of Man will use in this sorting. The criterion is simple; has the person shown mercy to the oppressed? This parable is the answer to the questions asked in earlier parables in Matthew about how to be ready for the coming of God’s kingdom; by showing mercy and caring for the least. Our contemporary metaphor of this sorting is cleaning out the refrigerator, throwing out the food that is rotten or expired, and making room for the good food that will nurture our bodies, and souls.
(2002 Lumicon Digital Productions exegesis for the Gospel text - www.lumicon.org)

So why do poor old goats always get the bad rap? I mean, have you ever had goats milk or goat cheese? It is delicious…and is considered a delicacy in many places since it’s more difficult and expensive to obtain. But this metaphor would speak loudly to the agricultural society of the ancient Near East. Mixed herds of sheep and goats are typical in Palestine. These herds have to be sorted in the evening because goats need to be kept warm at night. Sheep are placed on the right because they were more valuable than goats. They were better meat and their wool could be sold for cash. The audience that Matthew is writing too would also remember the texts in the Torah, specifically Leviticus 16:21-22. It says that Aaron laid his hands upon a goat and symbolically placed all of the sins of Israel upon the head of the goat and sent it off into the wilderness. The term Scapegoat comes from this action; the idea of letting someone else take the blame. In these rituals, the goat was sent out into a field symbolizing that the Lord would remember their sins no more. In Christian contexts, the sheep are depicted as the meek and gentle followers of Christ (the Lamb of God). While goats are symbolized as unruly and outcasts, and have even been widely used as the basis of portraits of the devil. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_in_the_Bible_are_goats_considered_bad

And even today we often use the reputation of goats in negative terms. For instance, "Look at the old goat" refers to an old fool or curmudgeon. "You get my goat!" applies to a person who irritates another. Anyway you look at it; goats tend to be seen in a negative way. Perhaps it is because of the natural tendencies that a goat displays. Whereas sheep are gentle, quiet and easily led, goats are pushy, self-sufficient, and headstrong. Most goats are naturally horned, but many sheep breeds are naturally hornless. Those goat horns can be used to bring harm to another. Alas, goats are naturally quarrelsome and have short tempers. They rear and butt in order to establish dominance. Rather than being a passive animal like the sheep, they have more aggressive tendencies.

How do these goat characteristics relate spiritually to the shepherd or leader? If a "goat" is part of a fold, you may see some of these characteristics displayed. Goats are often pushy and can cause undercurrents and dissension. Turmoil and agitation are part of their nature. I believe this is because the goat has a dominating and controlling temperament, rather than a passive and submissive one.

Goats tend to be more self-sufficient than sheep, choosing to browse rather than graze in the pasture. They don't enjoy the green pastures in the same way as the sheep. They are not always satisfied with what the shepherd (leader) gives them. They will nibble on the Word of God, a little here and a little there, yet they love to be seen in the high places. The goats walk with their tails held high, spiritually indicating pride, and they emit an offensive odor. There is something distinguishing about the goat, and that is the odor, or "air" about them. http://www.watchmanbiblestudy.com/Documents/SymbologyofSheepGoats.htm

So, in light of this evidence I guess we can understand why goats are given such a bad rap. And if we will scrutinize our bad behaviors in light of this goat metaphor, then we also see the good news of the gospel in this text. We can be assured that if we engage in an exercise of “spiritual sorting” we might understand the value of separating our sheep and goat tendencies. We might value the opportunity to inspect our refrigerators of the heart and begin throwing out our rotten behaviors, the stuff that smells with the odor of our pride and self-righteousness, our stinky sense of superiority, our leftovers of unforgiveness.

As we prepare ourselves for this time of thanksgiving I really believe that in order to truly be thankful, we must first practice forgiveness. Forgiveness is the path to healing; not just the healing of our hurt and pain, but a healing of our lack of compassion for one another. And let’s face it; we all have those hardened places in our heart where we have neglected or ignored this call to forgive; hardened, frozen, leftover emotions of hurt, or disgust, or resentment, or even hate. Jesus said “just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” It’s not just about welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, or visiting the prisoner. It can simply be about closing yourself off from whomever Jesus calls you to love. And sometimes family can be the hardest of all.

About 15 years ago my brother and I became estranged for many years due to disagreements over religious beliefs, and judgments we made about each other. While the reasons for those differences are not so important now, the pain and resentment I held onto for many years tore at my heart over time. I decided to write a letter of forgiveness to my brother a few years after our separation so that I could be healed from our estrangement. I didn’t expect any changes to happen in either of our beliefs or perceptions about each other, and I never intended to even mail the letter to him. But I needed to clean the rotten leftovers of anger and hatred from my heart and mind. I had too. They were poisoning me.

It didn’t take long for God to work in me, and in him. In just a short time after I wrote that letter my brother called me, invited me to lunch, and apologized for the things he said that had hurt me so. I asked for forgiveness for the resentment I had held in my heart against him, and together we repaired our relationship while God healed our hearts. It was the most liberating experience of my life, and I understood from that moment on how the power of forgiveness is central to the story of Jesus and the Good News of God’s love for all humankind.

You see, God created the world out of an abundance of love. Like a bubbling fountain, God is love and overflows with love. In sending Jesus and the Holy Spirit, God repeatedly and generously pours love out upon all people, showing us God’s own self as well as who we are. Created in this image of this freely giving God, we are empowered to also freely give. And when we embody that creativity, we can’t help but give thanks for all that God does. Because love is for giving. And for that I am truly thankful. But you won’t have much room for what God has to give if the old fridge needs cleaning out. (Lindsay Armstrong’s thoughts on the Gospel text in “Feasting on the Word,” Year A, Volume 4 for Proper 29, p. 335.) 

I invite you to clean out your refrigerators this week. In fact, I challenge you to make the week prior to Thanksgiving a new tradition of cleaning out the old behaviors, or feelings, or resentments that inhibit you being filled with thanksgiving. It’s kind of like Lent, but before Advent instead of Easter. Let’s call it “AdLent.” In your bulletin is a formula for cleaning out the refrigerator of your heart. It’s a “Thanks-forgiving” exercise; to prepare you for healing through forgiveness. And if you have the courage to write that letter of forgiveness, no matter how long the pain or hurt has been rotting inside of you, I guarantee your life will never be the same. Who knows, you might even pardon that turkey in the family! Amen!

Thanks-forgiving Exercise: preparing for healing through forgiveness

Begin by relaxing, center yourself, and take a look at your life, remembering someone (living or dead) whom you have never been able to forgive for some hurt you experienced in relationship to them. Write a letter to the person you want to forgive through these steps. (Note: this letter is for your personal process and not a letter to send to the person.)
 

1)     Describe the event – how it hurt you, what was painful, what your feelings were, and how it is still affecting you. (i.e., it hurts me when…, I feel sad about…, I feel angry that…, I resent…, I was afraid that…, I’m still feeling…, I feel held back in my life now because…)

2)     Identify the part you played – did you participate in the situation in any way? Are there any learnings or insights that you have from the experience? (i.e., I realize my part in this was…, I am sorry that…, I didn’t mean to…)

3)     Say what you really wanted – write about what you would have like to experience and how that affects your life and desires now. (i.e., What I really wanted is…, I deserved to…, I would have liked…)

4)     Letting it go – Write down your release from this hurt and offer your forgiveness.

(i.e., I understand now that…, I forgive you for…, I am releasing this now…)

5)     I am grateful now – acknowledge the contribution this experience gave to your life, through what you understand now, or what you have learned. (i.e., I appreciate that…, I am grateful for…, What I gained from this experience is…)

6)     Give Thanks – to complete you letter, give thanks for the person and the experience in your life. (i.e., in appreciation…, with love…, sending you many blessings…,) and sign your name.
(Exercise from the “Healing through Forgiveness” exercise from the Center for Spiritual Living Foundations Student Workbook.)