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Exegesis of Matthew 25:31-46

Some websites where you can find detailed exegesis of this week's gospel passage:

"The Sheep and Goats," Gospel Analysis, Sermons from Seattle, Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle, Washington. Detailed background and exegesis.

Exegesis, Christ the King/Reign of Christ, by Richard Donovan at lectionary.org

Exegetical Notes by Brian Stoffregen, at CrossMarks.

"Come, You Who Are Blessed," Jerry Goebel, One Family Outreach. "Focus on scripture from a justice perspective." Exegesis, study, and teen study and activities.

Also, don't miss "The Image of Sheep and Goats in Matthew 25:31-46," Kathleen Weber, The Catholic Bible Quarterly, 1997 for background on the sheep & goats image.

Psalm 100

Don't miss Dan Clendenin's essay on Psalm 100 at The Journey with Jesus:

"The source of confident joy and joyful confidence originates in the fundamental acknowledgement that "the Lord, he is God. It is He who hath made us and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture." Turning from divine praise to human dignity, the Psalmist celebrates the good news that we are neither alone nor autonomous. He confesses that God fashioned every single person, and that therefore every human being enjoys an inherent worth that can never be earned or even lost, and that therefore we enjoy His bountiful care. Many people, of course, do not view the world or people this way, and herein lies a great divide between two very different ways of experiencing life itself."

Preaching Peace: Matthew 25:31-46

From Michael Hardin at Preaching Peace:

"Can it in fact be said that America, as a nation, both right and left, has failed to recognize Jesus? What would the church look like if it did not scapegoat? The church needs the gospel as much as the world!"

"Christ the King" Sunday

Paul Neuchterlein, Girardian Reflections on the Lectionary, reflects on "Christ the King" Sunday:

"We don't often think in terms of kings or kingdoms anymore. The PC way of talking about it is to talk about a "Reign of Christ." But I'm not sure that catches it, either. In this democratic, capitalist age we don't talk about either kingdoms or reigns. Even "nation" is becoming less of an issue. What is it that we talk about the most these days when it comes to social constructs? Isn't it "culture"? Everything these days is about "culture," isn't it? So how about the "Culture of Christ" Sunday?"

John J Pilch on Matthew 25:31-46

Don't miss John J. Pilch's article about the Historical Cultural Context of this week's gospel text at St Louis University's Center For Liturgy site for Christ the King Sunday. Pilch provides background on the honor and shame aspects ot this text, the theme of sheep & goats, ingroup and outgroup, and hospitality.

"Ultimately, in the Middle Eastern view, it boils down to a matter of honor. Any Middle Easterner—Israelite, Christian, pagan—is expected to treat strangers hospitably. Whoever does so has treated Jesus hospitably and will enjoy companionship with God in the kingdom. How can a contemporary believer translate this into American culture where honor does not count for very much?"

Lectionary Podcasts

I'm starting a list of podcasts at The Text This Week. If you know of or are hosting a current, consistently updated lectionary-related podcast, please let me know! If you have a sermon site, please not that I'm only linking those lectionary-based sermons recorded in advance of the lectionary date. I'm especially looking for readings of the Revised Common Lectionary texts. Please remember copyright regulations for both the RCL itself and the version of the Bible from wish you read! (Remember these also if you include your reading of scripture in your sermon/commentary podcasts!)