To Know Him

The scriptures referred to are Matthew 25:31-46.

It's a topic that frequently comes up in the jail: just how many final judgments are there? Is there one for Christians or are we exempt? Are we judged on what we do in this life or just on our faith in Jesus? Quite frankly, you can cite scripture and argue for either side. Some say there are 5 to 7 judgments, depending on which people are being judged—believers, non-believers, Old Testament people, today's Israel, Satan and his angels, etc! Part of this is due to the fact that in the Bible these truths come out along the way as we read of the unfolding, epic saga of God's love for us and his efforts to save us, not in the neat, categorical way you would find in a scholar's book of systematic theology.

So in today's gospel as well as in other places Jesus does say we will be judged on what we do or do not do. He even says that we will be judged for every careless thing we say! (Matthew 12:36-37) He says, “Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father in heaven...” Which makes it sound as if it is what we do that saves us. But Jesus goes on, “On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many great works in your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'” (Matthew 7:21-23) Which seems to say that salvation is not dependent on specific works or even if they are done in his name but that it is a matter of knowing him.

Well, it's not hard to think of people who have built big churches and launched big ministries in the name of Christ who have turned out to do things that indicate they were far from the mind and heart of Jesus. Con artists and hypocrites and molesters and crooked politicians are always lifting high the cross, as well as wrapping themselves in the flag. Jesus called them wolves in sheep's clothing. (Matthew 7:15) Anyone can say they are doing something in Jesus' name but only some of those things are actually done in his Spirit. For instance, persecuting or mistreating or killing someone in Jesus' name is a contradiction in terms. It would be akin to starting a Jewish orphanage in Hitler's name. It would show that you knew nothing at all about the real person.

And then we have this saying by Jesus: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment but has passed from death to life.” (John 5:24) This sounds more in line with what Paul says explicitly about our being saved by God's grace through faith and not by works. (Ephesians 2:8-9) But even Paul says, “For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, 'As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.' So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:10b-12) And “He will reward each according to his works: eternal life to those who by perseverance in good works seek glory and honor and immortality, but wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition and do not obey the truth but follow unrighteousness.” (Romans 2:6-8) So are we saved by faith or by works?

One thing that is clear is that what we do in life and our faith in Jesus are both essential. And the way I reconcile them is through the book of James. He writes, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can this kind of faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, keep warm and eat well.' but you do not give them what the body needs, what good is it? But someone will say, 'You have faith but I have works.' Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by my works.” (James 2:14-18) He adds, “For just as a body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” (James 2:26)

The point is that true faith manifests itself in what you do. If you ask me will a footbridge hold you up and I say “Yes” and you still won't walk on it, you really don't have faith in what I said. If I say I trust my doctor and then don't follow his orders to stop smoking and start exercising, I really don't trust him, no matter what I say. These are like the people saying, “Lord, Lord,” to Jesus but who really don't know him. You can't trust someone you don't know. If they did know him, they would also know that following Jesus isn't just about prophesying or casting out demons or doing great works in his name. After all, those are also great ways of advertising yourself and feeding your ego. No wonder big ministries like to draw attention to themselves by doing such things. Maybe in their case Jesus wants them to do less flashy things, things that are harder and that call for humility, like taking care of the unfortunate.

That is the crux of Jesus' parable this week. This is really the only description Jesus gives us of the last judgment and it is interesting for several reasons. First of all people are judged not only on what they do but on what they don't do. In fact, it is the people who actively help the poor and disadvantaged that inherit the kingdom. Those who neglect the same people get punishment instead. So, at least in this parable, sins of omission are particularly evil. It's what you don't do to help others that gets you into trouble.

Also notice that it is social action that is rewarded. It is not the person who improved himself by quiting swearing who is commended but the person who helped someone else, someone who desperately needed aid, someone who can't offer anything in return. Jesus says elsewhere, “...when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:13-14) Paul quotes Jesus as saying, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)

But we are not to help the poor and needy just because it is noble. It is a crucial part of being a follower of Christ. Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, just as you did to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:40) Conversely when we ignore the poor and unpopular, the help we withhold from them we in fact withhold from Jesus. (Matthew 25:45) How is that possible?

We make much of how Jesus Christ is divine. We often forget that he is fully human as well. As such, he reveals the image of God in which we are all created but which is marred in us by our sin. But that image is still there in all of us and so how we treat others is tantamount to how we treat Jesus, the exact image of God. Jesus is in essence challenging us to see him in everyone, especially those who are often regarded as less than fully productive members of society. We do not treat those who are dirty, sick, hungry, half-naked, asking for a drink, talking with an accent, or imprisoned in the same way we treat clean healthy well-dressed people. But if we trust Christ, we will endeavor to treat everyone as if he or she were Jesus, even if it takes some effort to do so.

To underline this truth, Mother Teresa would sometimes give shift report in one of her shelters for the sick and dying thus: “Jesus in room 501 had trouble keeping his breakfast down this morning. Jesus in 308 is running a fever of 102. The bedsore on Jesus in 415 is healing.” By serving their patients, the sisters were serving their Lord.

And let's face it: it takes faith to look at some people, say, “Somewhere deep in that person is Jesus” and then to act on that realization. People who merely give intellectual assent to beliefs about Jesus but don't actually live like those things are real are not spiritually alive in Christ. They are dead to the Spirit of God who should be living out the divine life in them.

We are saved by faith, not our works, but as James points out, it is impossible for you to have genuine faith in God and not have it change how you think, speak and act. As he put it, “You believe that God is one; well and good. Even the demons believe that—and tremble with fear.” (James 2:19) There is no virtue in merely believing God exists. I believe that subatomic particles exists. It makes no difference whatsoever in my life.

The problem is that we compartmentalize our beliefs and our lives. We assent to a lot of things on Sunday that you could never deduce about us should you observe our life outside these walls. And I am not merely talking about our sins of commission, though it says in 1 John that those who live in Christ and really know him do not keep on committing the same sins. (1 John 3:6) We should see some progress. And that progress should be especially evident in our love for others. As 1 John says, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother or sister in need but has shut down his compassion for him or her, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with word or tongue but in actions and in truth.” (1 John 3:16-18)

What Jesus is judging in the parable is not the actions or inactions of people but the truth of their convictions. If they really believe Jesus, if they really trust him, if they really know and love him, they will look for him in everyone they meet and look out for those in need. If they don't recognize him in others it's because they don't really know him.

It is rather like King Solomon's most famous decision. 2 prostitutes were living together and they had babies within days of each other. One baby died in the middle of the night and one woman contended that the other had switched babies, so it would appear that hers was still alive. Both women claimed the living child. So Solomon proposed bisecting the remaining baby and giving half to each. One woman thought that was fair; the other pleaded for the life of the child and that he be given to the other woman. That reaction revealed the real mother, the one who cared enough that she would give him up to save him. (2 Kings 3:16-28) Our actions betray how we really think and feel.

Let's face it: The largest religious group (31.2% of the earth's people or 2.3 billion folks) claim that they are Christians. That should mean that nearly 1/3 of the world's population is following Jesus. Which means they should be treating others as they would like to be treated, loving their neighbors as they love themselves and loving even their enemies. Do we see that? Or do we see so-called Christians mistreating others? Do we see them saying hateful rather than loving things about others, including fellow Christians? Do we see them refusing to feed the hungry because it causes homeless people to gather in their “backyard”? Do we see them resisting giving the thirsty drinkable water because it is more expensive? Do we see them restricting access to healthcare for the sick because the poorest people tend to be the sickest and use more and therefore cost more? Do we see them shun the alien because they fear him and think he is a totally different kind of person than them with different needs and desires? Do we see them write off those in prison and make it increasingly difficult for them to get out and rebuild their lives because they do not forgive others as they ask God to forgive their sins?

If we see those who say they are Christians, not acting in any way like Christ, I think we have to conclude they could very well be the people who will say “Lord, Lord” at the last judgment and hear Jesus say “I don't know who you are.” And the problem won't be that they didn't do sufficient good works to save themselves; it will be that their works will reveal that they really weren't saved by Jesus because they didn't put their trust in him and that they neither know nor love him. There is no evidence of Jesus in their lives. They are at most like people who claim they are "big fans” of this actor or that genre of music and yet you would be hard pressed to prove they were anything more than casually acquainted with the subject. These are people who would like to be followers of Jesus the way a lot of folks would like to be rock musicians or movie stars but not so much that they are willing to put in the practice and long hours and to make the sacrifices necessary to make that a reality. They are definitely not going to disown themselves and take up their crosses and follow Jesus along the narrow way that leads to the kingdom of God. They are Christian wannabees.

Does this make you nervous? Does this make you wonder if you are really putting your whole trust in Jesus Christ? Good. I think that is what Jesus intends this parable to do. Just as the opposite of love is not hate but indifference, the opposite of faith in Jesus is not so much lack of trust as not caring enough about him to make a decision either way. If you don't care about the things Jesus cared about, like helping those who are sick, hungry, thirsty, aliens, or prisoners, you have to ask yourself about your relationship with him. How deep is it? How well do you know him? To know Jesus is to love him. To love Jesus is to become like him.

To be a Christian is to embark on the journey of being Christlike. And that means reacting to sin and injustice and suffering as he would, that is, by forgiving, healing, feeding, comforting, and making things right. In the very first chapter of Mark, it says, “A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, 'If you want to, you can make me clean.' Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. 'I want to,' he said. 'Be clean!'” Jesus helped all who came to him, everyone in need he encountered, because he wanted to. That was the core of his being, to reach out in love and make people better. And I pray God we get to the point where we don't need stories or rules to tell us to reach out and help, but we just do it. Because it is second nature to us. Because it is Christ's nature. Because we are in him and he is in us and because we just want to.