Standing in the Gap - Matthew 25:31-46

This Gospel reminds us of the important role that we have as the disciples of Christ the King, as humble and valiant ambassadors for his people, who welcome, feed, care for, and free from bondage our fellow brothers and sisters as if they were Jesus himself. In living out this role of what I will call “standing in the gap” for Jesus, we’re more likely to ultimately hear those words, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”

We who live in Pittsburgh are accustomed to encountering bridges. We have around 450 of them in our city, the most of any city in the world - from the large bridges that cross over our largest rivers to wee little bridges that we hardly even notice because they only cross over our creeks. Without bridges, we could only drive so far and then would be forced to detour, walk (in the case of a ravine) or take a boat to get to the other side. The function of a bridge is to “close the gap” between two destination points.

In the spiritual realm, this is what we are called to do as Christians, stand in the gap, and close it. We are to provide a direct link to God for those who are unable or unwilling to stand on their own.

Some natural examples: Anyone who has done anything to assist a newborn baby has stood in the gap. What the baby could not do for himself, you did it for them.  If the baby was hungry, the baby had no means of feeding himself, so he cried. You, understanding the needs of the baby, came forth and fed the baby. Feeding of the baby was you standing in, and filling, the gap between the baby’s hunger and the food. How many of us have gone shopping for an older person who was unable to leave their home?  Their gap was that they had a need that they could not fulfill themselves. When you went shopping for them, you stood in the gap and closed it.  How many of us have ever prayed for someone else, whether they requested you to do so or you were led to do it? When you stood or kneeled before God in prayer for someone else, you were standing in the gap. You were fulfilling a need for someone who may have been unable or unwilling to fulfill it themselves.
                       
Standing in the gap is our calling as Christians. God is looking for those who are willing to stand for those who cannot stand for themselves. We know that things happen when we stand in the gap. When we welcome a stranger (the least of our brothers), things happen. When we pray for a loved one, or pray for someone who has no one else praying for him or her, things happen. And when we offer an encouraging word, things happen.
             
I was reading a reflection written by a woman named Sharon Jaynes who really painted the picture of what standing in the gap means through a story she told. She said, “One night, I was in the restroom touching up my makeup before teaching a Bible study to a group of women. I was having one of those moments when I looked in the mirror and thoughts began swirling in my head. What am I doing here? What do I possibly have to say to these women that could make any difference in their lives? I’m not capable of walking to that podium tonight.”

She continued, “Have you ever felt like you weren’t capable of doing what God called you to do? I’m thinking you answered yes, so stand in the ladies room with me for a moment, and let’s see what happened.
While I was mulling over the lies the devil was telling me about not being good enough, my cell phone rang. It was my friend, Mary.”

Mary says to me (Sharon), “I want you to know God interrupted me while I was cooking dinner and told me to pray for you. Not only that, He told me to call you and tell you I was praying for you.”

Sharon said, “I imagined Mary standing in her kitchen with spaghetti sauce simmering on the stove and stopping mid-stir. Maybe she argued with God and asked Him if it could wait until dinner was done. But He persisted, and she (Mary) obeyed.  God wanted me to know I was not going into battle alone. He prompted Mary to stand in the gap for me — to struggle in prayer for me and strive together with me. In that one moment, Mary and I locked our shields of faith through words and marched into battle together. And it made all the difference in the world.”

The prophet Ezekiel in a few chapters before our first reading today, recorded these words from God: “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one”.
  
Here’s where the expression “stand in the gap” comes from:
In those days, cities had walls surrounding them to provide protection from enemies. When the wall was breached, the city was vulnerable to destruction; the only way to secure it was for people to risk their lives by literally standing in the gap in the wall and fighting the enemy.

Agreeing to pray for someone isn’t simply a nice platitude, letting them know we’re thinking of them or a pat on the back to cheer them on. When we tell someone we’ll pray for them, we agree to put on God’s armor and head to the front lines of battle on their behalf. Just like Mary did for her friend Sharon, that’s what we can do for each other.

Has there ever been a time in our lifetimes when so many of our brothers and sisters need our outreach, who need to be cared for, who need to be validated, who need to be encouraged, who need to hear that they matter, who need to feel connected, who need to hear that God will sustain them through this time of isolation, who need to know that we serve a gracious and loving God who forgives our sins, and who can heal them in their suffering? How blessed we are that we can be God’s soldiers, his ambassadors and his disciples who can serve on his behalf to stand in the gap, and make a difference in people’s lives.

We learned from last week’s gospel that we are to use our talents well for the benefit of the kingdom. We all have some ability to go beyond, to look beyond ourselves so that we can stand in the gap for others. In the most modest ways we can make such a difference. Is there one person, maybe a fellow parishioner, who is elderly and can’t get out, who would love to hear their phone ring from someone who isn’t selling them an extended warranty on their car, but is someone who can connect with them and be their buddy if only by phone?

We have a prayer ministry called the Prayer Chain where we take in prayer requests from people in our community and then package those requests into broadcast emails that go out 2-3 times a week to its 700+ members. I refer to it as a repository of prayer. It is a great thing to witness a team of prayer warriors standing up for others in prayer. If you’d like to be a part of it, you can find my contact info in the bulletin.

Back to the metaphor that I started with: every bridge has utility if it serves its mission of closing the gap between two destination points. We have utility, we are fruitful, if we serve our mission to stand in the gap and lock our shields of faith with others for the glory of God. We don’t have to be like the Fort Pitt Bridge that serves 150,000 people a day. Maybe we can do our part by being like one of less voluminous bridges like the couple that cross the Parkway North in the East Street Valley. You know the ones that I’m talking about – I look up at them and say, you know, I never seem to see anyone on those bridges. But boy, those who do use those bridges really need ‘em. We don’t need to be the healer of all that ails everyone. We just need to stand with one person to let them know that they are not fighting their battles on their own.

And so we pray, dear Lord, we wish to be among your sheep, not among the goats. Help guide us in fulfilling your mission for us to be the face of your Son, Christ the King, by standing in the gap for others, while seeing the face of the King in all those who we encounter. Amen!