In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

     Where would you look for God? That question has haunted many people throughout the ages-so much so that books have been written, plays have been staged, people have set out on quests just to find the answer-God. They have gone to mountaintops in Tibet, to caves in the deserts of northern Africa-they have even looked into the inner workings of the atom, to find God. And still, there are those who haven't quite seemed to come up with God. Still, there are those who conclude that God must be hiding, not wanting to be found. Is God hiding? Is God so far off that He may not be found? Funny that people would think so, given the fact that the one true God has incarnated himself-has taken on flesh and blood, so that He may be found, by anyone and everyone who wishes to see Him. That's, really, what Jesus is saying in our gospel lesson for this Festival of Christ the King.

     As I said a couple of weeks ago, this Sunday concludes our reading from the Gospel of Matthew as our primary gospel text for the church year. Next Sunday is the First Sunday in Advent, which begins the new liturgical year, and our reading through the Gospel of Mark. But if we've learned anything at all about the Gospel of Matthew this year, I hope we've learned that Matthew can be read from the perspective of catechumens-from the point of view of those who are preparing for Baptism, preparing to commit themselves to Christ, learning from Jesus, through Matthew, the good news of Jesus' death and resurrection, and then how it is that disciples of Jesus are to live. We have said again and again that Matthew's gospel is "catechesis"-instruction for new believers. From that perspective, then, these words of Jesus in our reading today are powerful-because one of the first things a new believer wants to know, is where to find God! Jesus keeps proclaiming the nearness of the Kingdom of Heaven; He keeps telling his followers that the time has come to repent and turn to God. It's only natural that one of the questions of new disciples would be-where do we turn? To whom do we turn to serve God?

     Certainly, Jesus has already been teaching His disciples about His sacramental presence, through the feeding of the five thousand, and the feeding of the four thousand, and His teachings about the marriage feast, all culminating in His celebration of the Passover meal with His disciples, when he broke unleavened bread with them-His Body, and shared with them the cup of His sacrificial blood. Jesus had already made it clear to His followers-and Matthew has already recorded these teachings, that God is to be found in Jesus' Body and Blood, on the Lord's Table, whenever believers gather for the anamnesis-the remembrance of Jesus. But even more, Jesus wants His followers to see God-not just on the altar on the Lord's Day-Jesus wants us to experience God's presence with us day by day, out on the street, at work, at school, wherever our day to day activities take us. But-- where will we see God there? Evidently, there are a lot of people who don't see God-there-out on the street, at work, at school. Evidently, there are many who trudge through life and cry out, "Where are you, God? Why are you hiding? If only I could see you, I would serve you!"

     To which Jesus' words in Matthew 25, are His reply. Here, in our gospel lesson, near the end of Matthew's gospel, Jesus tells us all that there will be a time when He will come, and all will see Him and recognize Him-at the last judgment, on the last day of earthly history, when Jesus returns, as Christ, the King. Then, Jesus says, "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-the throne of judgment." And at that time, Jesus says, He will separate the sheep from the goats, so to speak.He will separate people one from another, and the sheep he will put at his right hand, and the goats at his 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." 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." That, according to Jesus, is how the judgment will happen. And bear in mind, this is no parable or allegorical presentation. This is as concrete and real a description of the final judgment by Christ the King as we get anywhere in Scripture-provided to us- by Christ the King, himself! And what Jesus is teaching us, here-is that in our daily lives, He is to be found-God is present, in every face, in every body, in every being we meet, from the greatest to the least-from the richest to the poorest, even and especially those who are hungry, those who are the stranger, those who are sick, those who are in prison. We might think to look for God, in mansions, or palaces, or mountaintops or thundering seas-but truly, Jesus says, God comes to us in the faces of those we meet, and perhaps even fail to greet, every day. And isn't it interesting, at the judgment, neither sheep or goats, neither those blessed or cursed, realize they've been seeing God! Suggesting that you can't look into a person's eyes, and see, "Oh, there's God in this one-but God isn't in that one!" God comes to us in every person we meet-we are to greet God in every person, and serve God in every person, without trying to figure out if Jesus is here or there, in this one, but not that one. For those who are Jesus' followers; for those who are His baptized children; for those who are, themselves, claimed by God and redeemed by His only begotten Son-Christ, our King tells us, we are to seek Him, and serve Him, in every person-regardless. Without regard for how irritating, or bothersome this person might be, without regard for how they might smell, or look; without regard for the number of piercings, or tattoos; without regard for the kind of home this person lives in, or the color of their skin, or their native tongue, or nation of origin. We are to seek Christ and serve Christ, in the Arab as well the American; the child as well as the adult; the Hindu as well as the Mormon. We are to seek Christ and serve Christ in the Democrat as well as the Republican, the homeless as well as the humanitarian, the strong as well as the weak. Because in each person we meet, we will see Christ! Christ comes to us, as our incarnate Lord, in flesh and blood, not just on the altar-but in daily life. And it is for us, also as Christ's incarnate Body in the world-it is for us, as His own flesh and blood, to love all people, and care for all people, and serve all people, as Christ has loved, cared for, and served, us. It is for us, as Christ's risen presence in the world-to love our neighbor, as ourselves, and even more, to love our neighbor, as Christ has loved us. That is, indeed, the new commandment Jesus has given to His disciples-to love our neighbor as He loves us. And He loves us, without restraint-without condition-loving us, even unto death-His death, on the cross. And we are to strive, at least, to love no less. Not because we are afraid of what will become of us on Judgment Day-but simply because we have been loved-because we have been redeemed, saved, reborn, by the Lord of love, for--love! We have been blessed by the Father, and by His Son-we have inherited the kingdom prepared for us-now, we are sent forth, to be a blessing to others-to feed the hungry, to welcome the stranger, to clothe the naked, to visit the sick and imprisoned-to care for all of Jesus' brothers and sisters, in His name-with His love! For that is how we serve, Christ our King!

     In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.