If you’re happy and you know it!

In the Introduction to the Day that began today’s service, we heard that, “On this final Sunday of the church year our gospel is Jesus’ great story of judgment.” 

And then it explained Jesus’ “great story of judgment” like this. “In the end,” it said, “the faithful are those who served Christ by ministering to those who are poor, hungry, naked, sick, or estranged.”

From your oh-so-kind notes to me it’s clear that many of you know me well! And  so, it’s no surprise that I’m not a big fan of preaching judgment or hell-fire and brimstone sermons. And for good, Biblically sound, gospel reasons!

 But, I’m also obliged to be honest with you and to tell you the truth. So, how can I preach Jesus’ “great story of judgment” while still being true to myself and my understanding of the honest-to-the-gospel good news of Jesus?

Wait a minute! I think I’ve got it! … 

I’ll be back in just a moment with the solution to this dilemma of preaching Jesus’ “great story of judgment” while remaining true to my honest-to-the-gospel understanding of Jesus’ good news! (I go off screen or out of sight and return with a ukulele)

I want you to do exactly what I say. (And, remember, even if I can’t see you, God can!) 

Here goes! “If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands. If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands. If you're happy and you know it, And you really want to show it, If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands.”

And since Jesus’ “great story of judgment” is so important, let’s run a second test. Ready? Because of Covid I’m eliminating any tests that require shouting or speaking out loud. But here’s a test we can all do safely! 

“If you're happy and you know it, slap your knees. If you're happy and you know it, slap your knees. If you're happy and you know it, And you really want to show it, If you're happy and you know it, slap your knees.”

What have we just done? 

And, more importantly, why did we do it?

In all sincerity, that simple song reminds us of something absolutely true and utterly essential. The emotions and convictions we claim as being true for us in here (in our hearts) must, if true, be reflected and expressed in concrete actions out here!

If we’re happy, our inner happiness should be reflected and be expressed in our actions! We clap our hands in delight or slap our knees in joy!

Get it? Got it?

If so, then you’ve passed the test!

Every year, the last Sunday in the Church calendar (which is today) is marked by celebrating Christ as King and daring to confess—out loud—that Jesus is Lord! 

At our in-person service this Sunday that’s exactly what will be done by our Confirmands when they publicly confirm their faith in Jesus in the Rite of Confirmation.

For early Christians, to publicly proclaim that Christ is King and Jesus is Lord was both dangerous and radically counter-cultural!

Why? Because the message that Caesar is Lord was shouted from the rooftops! It was proclaimed on coins and chiseled into buildings and painted on murals. There’s even evidence that people were expected to greet one another in public, saying “Caesar is Lord,” much like people in Nazi Germany were required to greet one another with “Heil Hitler!”

Caesar was the glue that held everything together in the Empire (or so they thought). Whatever peace and security people enjoyed—whatever freedom and prosperity they found—ultimately came down to them (and were guaranteed) by Caesar in Rome.

So, for Christians to claim—and claim publicly—that no, Jesus is Lord and Christ is King was both dangerous and potentially life-threatening. Yet Christians did it! 

And, as our Confirmands are reminding us today, Christians are still doing it!

Jesus holds our fate in his hands (thank God!) and most definitely not some earthly ruler, government, or power. Jesus is the judge of what’s right or wrong, good or bad, essential or unimportant, and not how many “likes” you have on social media or how many crowds come out to cheer you or follow you on Twitter.

Jesus is Lord! Christ is King! And that’s the truth that no fake news can tarnish!

But, now, it’s time to go back to our song!

The importance of If You’re Happy and You Know It, I said, was that it reinforced the essential teaching that, what we claim in here (in our hearts) needs to be expressed out here, in our actions and gestures.

And that’s what Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats—or, as the Introduction to the Day put it, Jesus "great story of judgment”—says!

To state in here that Jesus is Lord and Christ is King means that what you say is true in here must also be true in how you act and in what matters to you and in what you do about it!

In other words, according to scripture, just as if you’re happy and you know it, you express it in your hands, your feet, and your face, so if you claim Jesus as Lord and Christ as King you feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, visit the sick and imprisoned, and clothe the naked.

Today’s Introduction to the Day gets it right, then, in describing the parable of the sheep and the goats as “Jesus’ great story of judgment”! As Jesus’ brother James famously puts it in his letter, “My brothers and sisters, what good is it if people say they have faith but do nothing to show it? …”

Jesus’ brother explains. “Imagine a brother or sister who is naked and never has enough food to eat. What if one of you said, ‘Go in peace! Stay warm! Have a nice meal!’? What good is it if you don’t actually give them what their body needs?”

How true! If you’re happy and you know it, express it! Show it! Be it!

And if you confess Jesus is Lord and Christ is King, then live by kingdom values! Pour out your life in service to the least of Jesus’ children.

In Jesus' name. Amen.