Sheep and Goats - justice, relationship, reconciliation

Scripture: Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 and Psalm 100  • Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 and Psalm 95:1-7a  • Ephesians 1:15-23  • Matthew 25:31-46

As we end Lectionary Year A on Reign of Christ Sunday, we also finish up Jesus' apocalyptic, or, as Paul Tillich and Rudolph Bultmann characterize it, his eschatological vision and fulfillment in Matthew 25. For Bruce Epperly, Christ turns us toward justice and relationship. God experiences the world and responds to bring about structures of justice and reconciliation. Enjoy reading the dynamics of the loving Creator God, in relationship with his Creation in his "Adventurous Lectionary- - The Reign of Christ."

The Rev. Kate Matthews always brings so much to the discussion. In her Reflection on The Reign of Christ,Christ is With Us, she considers, along with the authors she cites, judgment, freedom, and the "sheep and goats" of Jesus' parable. As Barbara Brown Taylor writes, "We are called to look at each other and see Christ."