We May Know God, But it Were Better if He Knew Us
SUNDAY BREAD
FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING
Ezekiel 34:11-12. 15-17; I Cor 15:20-26. 28; Matthew
25:31-46
A friend of mine believes she can bribe her way to
heaven – being a Kenyan of course. And I am beginning to think she has a point.
She has never stepped into any church. She spends her weekends wildly, prefers
hard drinks and does many strange things. But she seems to have such a soft
spot for humanity. She is so compassionate and tender even with stones. She
believes that altruism is her greatest weakness. She also runs an orphanage. In
fact, I have noticed many similarities between her and George, another atheist
friend from France; also a Catholic in childhood who keeps saying that if there
is a God, then he will merit heaven because of the many orphans he sponsors
their education. These two friends and others like them, methinks, may make it
to heaven.
Listen to what the son of man, sitting on his glorious throne will tell the sheep on his right; ‘Come you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning… For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me…’ (Matt 25:35). These are the kind of things that take place in the Kingdom of God. It is a Kingdom in which love rules, a love demonstrated in fraternal charity and genuine concern for the needy.
There are countless dutiful Christians who say Lord! Lord! Who hold big positions in churches; who preach and heal and drive out demons in Christ’s name, but who will be told, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers’ (Matt 7:21-23). No wonder, St Paul is so emphatic that regardless of what great miracle we may showcase, without love we are NOTHING (I Cor 13:2).
Come to think of it; are you likely to be allowed into the gates of State House because you know the president, or you would be more readily ushered in with dignity if the President knew you? In the same vein, it is not those who will claim they know Christ the King who will be allowed into the heavenly abode, but rather those who will stand KNOWN by the King.
When we reach out to Christ in the suffering, he meets and knows us. But when we remain at the level of being merely religious without reaching out to the needy, we can know God so deeply, lead Praise and Worship with all our energies, preach him eloquently and even touch many – when he DOES NOT KNOW US AT ALL.
This is the explanation for the paradox in which
even those who may never worship God conventionally may be known to God in
their charity and so merit heaven without knowing. The Kingdom and the power
and the Glory belong to him after all. His criteria for choosing the faithful
sheep fall squarely on him who is also the good shepherd who knows his sheep
(Ezek 34:11; John 10:14). There are other sheep that do not belong to the fold
(Church), but he knows them and they hear his voice (John 10:16). This is where
I would place my two friends and other compassionate atheists. They belong to
Christ like anyone else, and will be part of the Kingdom that Christ will hand
over to ‘…his God and Father’ (I Cor 15:24).
Let us learn then to generously channel what wealth we might have to the service of God, reaching out in charity to the poor, the disabled, the vulnerable especially widows and orphans. Many people leave millions of shillings in bank accounts and soon have to face the King of Kings, having assisted not even a single person while they lived. “What you did not do for one of these least ones…’ they will be told, ‘…you did not do for me.” And these will go off to eternal punishment (joining the club of the rich man who could not help Lazarus despite his lavish existence [Luke 16:19]), ‘…but the righteous to eternal life’ (Matt 25:46).
WE PRAY THAT WE MAY WISELY USE OUR TEMPORAL GOODS TO
WIN ETERNAL LIFE, AND THAT WE MAY LIVE EVERY MOMENT OF OUR LIVES IN THE
PRESENCE OF CHRIST JESUS, OUR LORD AND KING.
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