One of the disturbing questions that
Christianity struggles with is what you need in order to be saved.
Way back in the beginning the controversy existed – you can find it
in Paul and James and all through the New Testament. Augustine
believed that humans could contribute nothing to their salvation
because of original sin; we were so bad that even our good actions
were bad. And another preacher of that time, a monk named Pelagius,
preached that we were basically good although soiled a bit, and we
could work our way into heaven. The Mormons believe that everyone
will go to heaven except for a handful of people, Judas being one.
But the highest heaven will be for those who live according to the
revelation given to their founder; in other words, you could work
your way into the best heaven. And the Presbyterians would say that
your eternal fate has already been determined, before you were even
conceived. And there isn't anything you can do about it.
The gospel you've just heard is
another one of those hard gospels. There are places in the New
Testament that seem to indicate that salvation depends in some way on
faith in Jesus. Martin Luther said it was faith alone that mattered.
Our church is a little more nuanced, saying that faith is where
salvation begins, and those who have faith demonstrate this through
their works. The Catholics and Lutherans decided that they weren't
that far apart.
But then Jesus throws a monkey wrench
into this. Here he seems to say that the only thing that matters is
works, is what we do. Because the sheep and the goats have one thing
in common, they don't know that what they do for the least of their
brothers they do for Jesus. Where is their faith?
And when I measure myself against what
Jesus is saying, I'm not sure where I am. I do know that I could do
a lot more for the least of my brothers than I do. How much is
enough? How little is too little? Hard questions.
Sometimes it helps to look at the
whole Gospel. Matthew is always emphasizing God's mercy and
generosity. When Jesus gave his new commandments during the sermon
on the mount, they were not “Thou shalt nots” like the ten
commandments. They were the beatitudes – How blessed are the poor
in spirit, for they shall see God. What a promise! And all the
beatitudes are like that. Matthew talks about the person who sold
everything he had so that he could acquire a field with a treasure in
it – and a merchant who sells everything so that he can buy a very
expensive pearl. Maybe these figures are not meant for us to emulate
– maybe they tell us how God is willing to give up everything to
find us, maybe we are the treasure, we are the pearl. And remember
the parable of the king and the wedding banquet? The king threw the
banquet for everyone, not just his friends. Everyone was welcome.
And then it helps to think of the two
parables just before the gospel we've just heard. Two weeks ago we
heard about the five wise and five foolish virgins. We focus on the
foolish virgins, and lose sight of the fact that there is a great
feast being held. It is ours for the taking and all we have to do is
be alert. And last Sunday it was the story of the three servants who
were given talents – huge sums of money. We focus on the man who
buried his talent, but another message might be that God gives us
everything we need in order to hear those words, “Well done, good
and faithful servant, come share your master's joy!”
Jesus will tell his disciples at the
end of his time on earth, according to Matthew, to go to all nations,
baptizing them and teaching them. “Invite them to the party!” he
says. “You are being given everything you need to do this”, he
says.
And todfay it is as though Jesus is
saying, “I know not everyone will ever hear the good news.” And
we know that's true. It isn't that someday everyone on earth will
have heard the good news, it's that billions of people have never
heard the good news, through no fault of their own. And perhaps
even they have a shot at the party.
These are the people Jesus is
referring to – the human beings who never have the good news
preached to them and never will. Even they are held in God's mercy.
Jesus is saying, “Here is how I am going to judge them. If they
see in even the least of their brothers and sisters someone to love,
someone to be served, someone to not be stepped over and ignored,
that's enough. But if they see each other as things, not worth their
charity or love, well, they've lost themselves. And the apostles
might have remembered the parable from Luke about the rich man whose
only recorded fault was that he stepped over Lazarus every time he
went out of his house, and didn't even see him.
If we read the Gospel of Matthew from
the beginning to the end, it can be seen as a training manual for
Jesus' followers, who are on this earth not for themselves but for
the rest of mankind. They are given the knowledge they need, the
graces they need, to spread his message; they are given the promise
of someday participating in the great banquet. But God's ways are
not like ours. God wants everyone there, and even those who never
have the good news preached to them are still invited. And if they
haven't heard the good news, they will be judged worthy by Jesus
himself as long as they act with love toward their neighbors. Those
of us who have heard the good news, however, will be held to a higher
standard, for we are conscious of the fact that we are adopted sons
and daughers of the Father and brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ,
and as such we are meant to build his kingdom here on earth.
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