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Each small stone is a small piece
that provides a bigger picture together.
They provide the bigger picture but alone they are just stones.
This is a the beauty of a mosaic.
We are like that, we are all members of a community.
In this community we all are different:
different colors, different shapes, different sizes,
different ages, different backgrounds, different strengths.
And yet each one of us play a role together.
We show the face of Christ not only to each other,
but to the whole world around us.
That is what we are called to do.
That is who we are as the body of Christ.
We are the image of Christ
We become what we receive, the body of Christ to others.
Christ is our motivation, he sustains us,
and in the end, he completes us
if we agree to be part of the icon,
if we agree to be part of this larger picture.
Now we can agree to do it.
But also we have to allow someone else who is very different than us,
who may be younger, who may be less skilled,
but as equally as important to this icon.
If any one piece is missing from the picture is not complete.
That is true of every single one of us,
even the ones we do not see, the people who are at home,
who are only able to watch on the television.
They are equally part of the icon that is all of us here.
Everyone is called to be part of this.
Maybe the most insignificant ones
are the ones that need the most attention
because they sometimes think that they are not part of the picture,
that they are not wanted or needed,
especially if they are people are already disparaged groups
like LBGTQ, immigrants who are here, illegal or not illegal,
many divorced and remarried people,
a lot of young people will feel that they do not belong.
They are all the more importantly part of this image of Christ,
even though they themselves may not feel like they are part of it,
but they are part of this image of Christ.
It is our role to care for them.
It is our role to make sure that they know
that their piece is equally as important as our piece.
That there is no difference between any of us,
even though we all have different gifts and styles,
each just play a role, and none of us is more significant than the next.
That sort of level playing field is what Christ said time and time again.
In particular, when we celebrate this feast day,
the Solemnity of Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe.
We celebrate that Christ is king of all the universe,
all time, of all places, and of all peoples.
That means that the icon is not just represented
in our own little community here at St. Simon,
but the entire world, even those who do not feel like they belong,
even those who we may not want them to belong
because they say or do things that we do not like,
but we do not get to make that call.
Christ is the king of the universe.
I am sure that all of you would agree with that intellectual argument.
But then how do we live it?
How can we live this really in our own daily life?
Today's overarching metaphor is a different one than the mosaic.
The one that we hear today is Christ,
who is the good shepherd who separates the goat from the flock.
Notice that separation happens in Ezekiel
and it also happens in the gospel.
The separation is not those who did something wrong,
but what they failed to do something good,
what they failed to recognize those
who are broken or wounded and needed help.
So that is our role.
We need to make sure that it is not that we do something,
but that we do not fail to do something.
We to be active. How are we to do this?
I am reading this really fantastic book by David Brooks,
the New York Times columnist and author.
It is called, “How to Know a Person.”
In it we learn how to see a person deeply and to be deeply seen.
He asks so many deep, deep questions.
One of the things he says is that the human persons are a mystery
because we are all so vastly different.
That is very true.
We are all so vastly different.
He suggest that before any mystery, such as the human person,
we ought to ask questions and listen for the answers.
That is how we get to know somebody.
If we ask a question and we willingly listen to their story.
Part of the problem is that we do not see the needy.
If we do not see the needy then we will not know them.
We need to ask questions so that we can come to know people.
It is my firm conviction if we know truly somebody
it is very hard to not serve their needs.
Once we know them and we know their needs,
then out of our own human compassion, we will serve them.
But first must need to know them and see them.
If we never see them and we do not know them,
we are never going to serve them.
Those are the goats in the gospel today.
I do not want disparage goats because I kind of like goats.
They are wild creatures.
But let's not be a goat.
Rather let’s see the people around us,
the people who are in need in this community
and beyond the community.
Let's get to know them by asking questions.
You have heard me say this over and over,
these last several months about smiling at one another.
And then the next step is not just greeting one another and smiling,
but then asking a question and not soft questions, like,
“Hey, how is it going?”
That is not a question anyone really answers.
I am talking about deeper question.
“How was your Thanksgiving and who were you with?
Was it a good Thanksgiving?
What was the most meaningful part of your weekend?
What was the highlight of your visit with family and friends?”
And then listen, listen, listen to their story
so that we can come to know them and then we could serve them.
We are all part the mosaic.
Every single one of us and all those who are not here.
Let's testify to the mosaic, the a icon of Christ,
the image of Christ that we are called to be.
And may we listen to one another.
May we come to know one another,
and then may we serve each other's needs in Christ.
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