Now they lay on the inner edges of a volcano,
waiting for the end to come,
knowing that they do not have the strength to keep going.

They have come to the end of all things, and it appears that death is waiting.

Today, we too have come to the end of all things,
or so it seems, in Matthew's gospel.

Jesus is in the middle of his apocalyptic discourse,
In which he tells his followers the events leading up to the end of the world.

This is, indeed, his farewell discourse to his disciples -
he will go from here, and in a few days, be brought to trial by the religious leaders.

You know the rest of the story.
But today, we concentrate on a future end, as Jesus tells his disciples of the great Judgment.

It is a scene that hearkens back to the first reading we heard today
- Ezekiel's prophecy, in which God says to his people,
"As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep.
I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered…
.I will bring them out…and gather them…and I will feed them…."

Jesus is describing the day that great Shepherd of the Sheep will gather all the nations before him - a day when Jesus, who endured pain, suffering, hunger, and betrayal, is crowned King, and the reign of Christ begins.

On this day, the end of all things, the Shepherd separates those that come before him according to one decisive factor
….whether or not they have fulfilled the "Deeds of Lovingkindness"
that was such an important part of rabbinic tradition,
and indeed can be found in all ancient texts throughout the world
- to feed the hungry,
give water to the thirsty,
- care for the needy,
visit the sick,
- care for the imprisoned.

Thse acts can be considered representations of all acts of mercy that we are called upon to do as Christians.
- Perhaps we don't personally visit those in prison…but we may take care of aging parents,
- or volunteer at a pet shelter,
- knit sweaters for the homeless,
- or take food to the sick

The call to acts of mercy was part of Rabbinic literature.
And no doubt Jesus drew on this wisdom often in his teaching.
In one of these texts, it is recorded that God said,
"My sons, whenever you give food to the poor, I impute it to you as though you gave me food."
It was understood that to show mercy to others, was to show mercy to God.
Here, Jesus reminds his disciples of this truth.
It is all parts of a greater whole - unconditional Love.

Tolkein's heroes Frodo and Sam awaited the end, but the end was just a new beginning.
They were rescued from the fires,
healed in the hands of the king,
and honored for their deeds before the entire Kingdom.
In what appeared to be the end was the start of a new life.
And so it is with us.
Here, at the end of all things, is a new beginning -
In which the grace of our shepherd brings us into heaven to abide with him always.
This is echoed in our own cycle of life and faith.

Today we are at the end of the cycle of the church year.
We proclaim Christ as King,
we rejoice in his Lordship over earth and heaven.
Like Frodo and Sam,
We have completed the quest to follow Jesus from beginning to end.
But it is only the end of one thing and the beginning of another -

We end this year of sojourn with Matthew, and begin next week to tell the stories of our faith through the eyes of a different writer - Mark. Like a great circle dance, we come round again through the cycle of Advent, Christmas, the Baptism of our Lord, the calling of his disciples, Lent, Holy Week, Easter -
We will relive with Jesus his walk his triumphs and his betrayals.
We will be there when others show him friendship and love in unexpected places, and a hot meal on his way to the cross.
And on the day of Pentecost, we will once again be sent out to do the work God has given us to do

Until we end with this same Jesus who was crucified, made King, Lord and Christ, as all the nations file before him, with one criterion -
The fulfilling of the Great Commandment to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength,
and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

The question is, as we face the end of this season, and the beginning of a new church year…
As we evaluate the year that is past, and the year that is to come…
Can we say that we have done these things?
Have we served Christ in our neighbor?

Can we echo the words of Mother Teresa, who said,
: "We serve him in the neighbor, see him in the poor, nurse him in the sick; we comfort him in his afflicted brothers and sisters."

IS Christ enthroned only in the stories,

Or is Christ enthroned in our hearts?

There is a prayer that many theatre-goers would recognize as a song from the musical Godspell -
The prayer was actually written by St. Richard of Chichester:
Day by Day
O dear Lord,
Three things I pray:
To see thee more clearly,
To love thee more dearly,
To follow thee more nearly.
Day by Day -

The wonderful thing about new beginnings it is gives us a chance to do things differently.
Day by day, week by week, season by season,
We have new opportunities to draw close to God
and follow Christ more perfectly -
We ourselves are products of his mercy -
Let us give generously of what we have been given to others.