The end is coming for all of us. We cannot avoid it. However, we can prepare for it. How do we do that? By living our life well, making sure we contribute more that is good than what is bad in the world. What we do, what we have made of ourselves during our lives, will be revealed in the eschaton, which will show us the character we have made for ourselves for eternity. However, we can and do have help coming to us from God, from God’s grace, so that when we go astray, when we do something wrong, we can overcome our mistakes and not have that become a part of our eternal character – so long, that is, we allow such grace to come into our lives and we strive to cooperate with it.
As Christians, we know we are called to follow after Christ, taking the grace he has given us to help bring healing and justice to the world, overcoming the pains and sorrows which sin has brought to it.
We should put love at the forefront of our actions, realizing that, as God is love, that love is found in the deepest heart of our nature, for we are made in the image and likeness of God. We should follow the two-fold path of love, loving both God and our neighbor, recognizing the two go together, making sure in this fashion we do not pit love of God against our neighbor, or love of our neighbor against God. We certainly cannot justify ignoring our neighbor in their time of need by saying we are focused on God: Jesus, in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, showed us the error of that line of thought, because among those who did not help the wounded man on the road, and were criticized for it, were those who felt their religious obligations were more important. Jesus showed that the Samaritan, helping the wounded man, did what was right, demonstrating how fulfilling our obligation to our neighbor fulfills our obligations to God.
Thus, to prepare for the end, let us listen to Christ, paying special attention to the way he says we would be judged at the end of our life:
“When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. Then the King will say to those at his right hand, `Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?’ 40 And the King will answer them, `Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.’ (Matt. 25:31-39 RSV).
We will be judged for what we have done or not done for those who are in need. What we do for them, or to them, Christ says, is something Christ feels is done to them. He not only in solidarity with them, he has a personal connection with them in their need. If we oppress people, if we make their lives miserable, full of all kinds of suffering, adding injustice upon injustice, we are oppressing Christ, who suffers with those whom we persecute. Jesus made it clear, those who call him Lord, but do not do what he said to do, but ignore what he said, put their salvation at risk. Those, however, who welcome the needy, who show them care and compassion, who fight for their rights against their oppressors, are doing so for Jesus, allowing them to form the relationship with Jesus they need for Jesus to know them and welcome them to the kingdom of God – even if they did not know that is what they are doing connects them with him. This is why many who thought they rejected him, because they did not believe the Christian faith (due to no fault of their own), will find they did not truly reject him, and as a result, he will not reject them either. It is what we do, and not just what we say, think, or believe which matters, though, because it is best to act with wisdom, the more we can apprehend of the truth, and with it, the implications of that truth, the better equipped we will be to live out the truth through our lives, but only if we are willing to act on which we have learned.
If we say we should create some sort of order for our love, establishing how we are to give out our love, and who should get it first, saying we should focus on God first, then ourselves, then our immediate family, then our physical neighbors, then those who live in our community, our country, we have not truly understood the love which Christ says we are to give. He cut through the way many use this kind of distinction to ignore their responsibility to others by saying those who are in need, those who are oppressed, be it family, friend, someone from our community, our country, or someone we deem to be an outsider, are his representatives. If we are to love God (and so Christ) above all others, then we are to love those in whom Christ said he is to be found above others. Thus, we have the preferential option for the poor and the oppressed coming out of the way Christ said he is to be found in and with the poor and the oppressed. Similarly, if people wanted to use their family as an excuse, saying they need to focus on the desires of their family over the needs of the oppressed, Christ said: “If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple” (Lk. 14:26 RSV). Through these words, he is telling us our focus should be on him, and his ways, and if we pit our family above those whom Christ said we should engage, we are not truly his disciple. Paul, recognizing this, warns us “Thus, sinning against your brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ” (1 Cor. 8:12 RSV). What we do matters. What we make of our life matters. How we deal with evil, and help those hurt by it, matters. We must deny ourselves and follow Christ, no longer seeking to find excuses to do so, for, when the time comes, Christ will look at us and tell us there was no excuse for what we did to him.
