Monday, March 7, 2022 (today’s lectionary)
A view from the fence
In Sunday School class there were eggs to be had, and we had them. More eggs than our farmer-teacher’s family can eat, more eggs from more chickens, more eggs for Bunter’s asparagus omelets, Margaret’s ham and cheese quiche, Jasper’s strawberry torte, Alexa’s double chocolate tarte with dulce de leche, and our amazing one-eyed sandwiches. Above all, those one-eyed sandwiches.
These eggs sparked an imagination in me: Chauntecleer the Rooster, perched above the stockyard where all the sheep and goats are gathered. What does he see?
Dun cows, to be sure, and longhorns from Johnson City, but what else?
Then the Son of Man comes in his glory, and he will sit upon his glorious throne, and he will separate them one from another. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Yes, Jesus is talking about himself. And the rooster seems to know it. The animals are quiet in the night. Then dawn arrives, and as the sun rises, Chauntecleer raises his shining head to crow.
Wake up, you sleepyheads. The Son of Man, look up, see him come? He has business here with us today.
And the king will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
Oh, heavens. This is not just a preliminary sorting. This is the real thing. I wonder if being on the fence like I am right now is such a good idea. But not knowing what else to do, Chauntecleer crowed again.
I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was ill and you cared for me, I was in prison and you visited me.
What is Jesus talking about? Was he hungry and thirsty, was he a stranger and naked, was he ill and in prison? When was he? Jesus is well-known; wouldn’t we have heard? Chauntecleer felt confused and spread his wings. He fluttered for a few seconds an inch or two above the fence.
The goats milled around, waiting their turn. And the sheep, they too were confused.
When did we, Lord? When were you a stranger, and when did we welcome you?
All creatures, great and small, listened to what Jesus said next. Chauntecleer settled back down on the wood of the corral. He gripped the fence and listened. As he heard Jesus, his claws relaxed. He smiled in grateful wonder.
Amen, friends, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least of my brothers and sisters, you did for me.
And in one great swoop of freedom, Chauntecleer took to the sky. Not very high, of course, being a rooster and not an eagle. But he swooped, and he crowed, and all the hens looked up and began crowing too, and there was a burst of applause from the angels, and all the sheep bowed and rested. Peace in the valley.
Of course the judgment continued. The Son of Man spoke also to the goats.
Depart from me. What you did not do for one of these little ones, you DID NOT do for me.
Later on, C. S. Lewis added his own thoughts to the scene. “We know much more about heaven than hell, for heaven is the home of humanity, but hell was not made for men. It is the ‘darkness outside,’ the outer rim where being fades away into nonentity.”
Imagining himself as first a goat and then a lamb, Lewis continued: “They enjoy forever the horrible freedom they have demanded, and are therefore self-enslaved, just as the blessed, forever submitting to obedience, become through all eternity … more and more free” (Problem of Pain, p. 130-131).
You shall love your NEIGHBOR, as yourself. I am the LORD.
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Rooster from The Book of the Dun Cow by Walter Wangerin
Michelangelo, detail from “The Last Judgment,” from Sistine Chapel wall in the Vatican
(Leviticus 19, Psalm 19, 2 Corinthians 6, Matthew 25)
(posted at www.davesandel.net)
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