CONTEXT – Our lesson falls in the larger pericope of chapters 21-25 and includes such themes as God’s judgment meted out to Judah by Babylon, the glimmer of hope via repentance following judgment, and a withering indictment of false prophets.

KINGSHIP AND JUSTICE – Notice the relationship between leadership and justice in this lesson. God unequivocally purposes to remove negligent and those "who destroy and scatter the sheep. As NIB states,

This whole literary complex is dominated by the relationship between kingship and justice. That the two are mutually interdependent so that one cannot survive without the other is a central claim of these oracles . . . The judicial structures, including the appeal to the king, are the locus of justice, but the content of it rests in the treatment of the weak.

. . . There is a claim here that the leader(s) of the people are responsible for the care of the stranger, the widow, and the orphan; their role in this matter is so fundamental that their own survival depends on how well they have carried it out.

. . . The community works better, and the social order enhances tranquility and well-being when "the least of these" is tended to, protected, given an economic base. We tend to turn the matter on its head and assume that the good society is one that allows those with economic means to hold on to them and not to worry too much about those who have nothing. [1]

connections

What values to you place a high priority on when considering a new spiritual leader? The president or ruler of your country?

How do the qualities of Jesus relate to some of the good qualities that you value in leadership? Can you recall any examples in the life of Christ that reflect such values?

gambits

A homily on this passage would certainly invite conversation around leadership qualities in the nation and in the church, but more narrowly focused on the life of Christ as the King par excellence on this special celebration Sunday.

Recover some of the backdrop to the lesson—suggest why national leaderhip in Judah merited God’s scathing indictment and prediction of removal.

Move to the question—what quality or qualities are necessary for a nation to live in safety and peace.

A final shift would focus on Christ the King Sunday—how is the way of Jesus and his teachings and followers provide an example of the kind of leadership that gathers rather than scatters people.

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[1] The New Interpreter’s Bible VI (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2001), p. 746