Recent court cases in New Zealand have shown the importance of an effective justice system. People must take responsibility for the decisions they make and they must be held accountable when they overstep the mark.  The alternative is chaos.
Few of us would disagree here. We may differ in the sorts of law we believe a society should have, and the consequences for wrongdoing. But we share in common a belief in a judicial process which is fair for all people, victims and law-breakers.
So, with this in mind, I find it a little strange that when it comes to the religious sphere, to matters eternal, we cringe at the thought of God as our judge.
Certainly this is true for many of us Anglicans.
We like the idea of a God who is all-loving and kind, and forgives the wrongs we do. But we find offensive and unhelpful any reference to God’s anger or wrath.
We find it agreeable to envisage heaven, whether as a place, or a state of being, where God is fully known. But the thought of hell, even for the worst, is for many inconceivable.
And I have to say I can empathise with those who think this way. I too struggle with the idea of God’s judgment and find it difficult to conceive of a place where God is not. Even in the worst of human offenders, I believe a glimmer of God’s life can still be found.
And yet, there is no getting round the fact the Bible is full of language about judgment. Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden for overstepping the mark. The people of Israel often received a short sharp rap across the knuckles for their chameleon-like behaviour. And Jesus was not one to mince with words; sometimes even he rammed home his point with a fiery end.
I know there are some who would like to rid the scriptures of such language, or at least have them not read at church. They say they’re not helpful. They say they breed a sense of guilt and fear, the very things a living faith is suppose to free us from.
And yes it is true: a bible free of judgment would make more palatable reading. It would also take less time to get through. But I can’t help think it would be a bit like leaving Shakespeare out of the school curriculum; a watering down of our tradition.
Without doubt we shouldn’t be motivated by fear or by guilt. But such passages do say something important. That is, they remind us not only are we accountable to each other and to our legal institutions for our actions; we are accountable ultimately to God.
However all this needs to put into context. Judgment is not the message of the Bible. God’s wrath is not the defining quality of God. Instead it is this: God, the author and sustainer of our lives, loves us, and is continually reaching out to us with that love.
Let me say it again…
This truth was brought home to me the other day. I sat with Joan Baker the night before she died. ‘God is loving me,’ she said. Her words made a connection. ‘This is the gospel in a nutshell,’ I thought; the Good News spoken of by Jesus, and proclaimed by the church.
The Gospel of John puts it this way: ‘God loved the world so much, that he gave his only Son, that everyone who has faith in him may not die but have eternal life.’
We are loved, John says. And this is more than a nice idea. It is truth; given flesh in Jesus Christ. And God desires for us fullness of life, eternal life. As Irenaeus said in the 3rd century, ‘Jesus became what we are that he might make us to be what he is.’ 
But just because God loves us and desires us to live full lives, doesn’t mean we can ignore the demands of the religious life; we are responsible to God for how we live.
This was a mistake the Israelites made in the wilderness and during the time of the kings. They took God for granted and lived as though God was not there. And it was what St Paul warned the young church against. The Christian life is an ethical life, but more than this it is a life lived each day in the presence of God.
Being Christian is about allowing God’s love for us to shape our lives.
This brings us to Matthew’s gospel.
Matthew begins with the news of a child to be born. Emmanuel, God is with us.
He goes on to tell us of a remarkable life; the life of a man who lived each day in God’s presence; who revealed to those who knew him, the fullness of what God is like; and who taught the people that they were responsible for God in the world.
Then he speaks of our hope; the message not even death can conquer God’s love.
And it is the context of this story, we are to hear today’s parable.
Several chapters earlier, Jesus tells the crowd words are not enough. Coming to church, saying one’s prayers, having the gifts of prophecy or healing, baptizing a child is not enough. What matters is doing the will of God.
And here Jesus continues this theme. In the parable, the last Jesus tells before he is dragged before the courts, the king looks out over the gathered nations and surprises those present by saying what matters most is our response to human need.
Clothe the naked. Feed the hungry. Shelter the homeless. Visit the prisoner. Respond to the cries of a cold and desperate child. And in doing so we are serving Christ.
So how do we measure up? How do you measure up? Does your life reflect God’s love for all people? Do our actions put flesh on the words we say? Are people drawn to God by the decisions you make? Do we live each day in the presence of God?
These are the questions today’s reading asks of us.
This is the life we are called to live; eternal life, a life open to God and expressive of the One loving us still.
Stir up, O Lord, the wills of your faithful people that, richly bearing the fruit of good works, we may by you be richly rewarded, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
A sermon preached in St Alban’s Anglican Church, Eastbourne, on Sunday 23 November 2008, by the Ven. Damon Plimmer.