Have Faith And Live

𝐍𝐎𝐕. 𝟐, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝐖𝐢𝐬 𝟑:𝟏-𝟗

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟐𝟑:𝟏-𝟔 “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐝; 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭”

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐈: 𝐑𝐨𝐦 𝟔:𝟑-𝟗

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐉𝐍 𝟔:𝟑𝟕-𝟒𝟎

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “…𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭.” (𝐯.𝟑𝟗) 

         There are two words that we can associate with this Gospel passage for today the commemoration of all the faithful departed and it is imperative that we try to understand what we need to do in life because these are the only two choices we have especially when we reflect on what it would be to be raised on the last day. I also suggest that you pull out from your book shelves your Thesaurus to be able to comprehend what these choices are.

         One of these two words is punishment which is associated with chastisement, retribution, torture, suffer, beating, flogging, scourging, and judgment referring providential punishment. The other is the term righteous which refers to those who are virtuous and godly. Those who are virtuous act with moral rectitude, saintliness, godliness, right-minded. They can also be described as good persons, respectable, pillar of the church and society. Godly persons are those possessing purity of heart, spiritual-minded, good-natured, and unworldly.

          It is important for us to know these so that we may be able to prepare for our final destination while there is still time. We need to prepare so we can be clothed with the righteousness that God requires so we can avoid the punishment that awaits those who will fail in their final exams.

         While Jesus says that our God the Father in heaven “wants to make certain that none of the ones he has given me will be lost. (v.39) it doesn’t mean we can live our lives in wild abandon and the key to living a righteous life that would qualify us to claim our heavenly inheritance can be seen in the last verse of the gospel passage: “𝑴𝒚 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒂𝒚.” (𝒗.40)           

          The effect of being raised by Jesus on the last day results from the cause which is to have faith in Jesus. To have faith means more than just believing in Jesus. It means obeying all what Jesus requires of anyone who would like to be his disciple and this means living the kind of life that Jesus lived which is to love God by loving your neighbor even those whom you may view as unlovable in utmost humility.

          I look at life as an educational system that I go through and as I go through the preliminary exams (trials, challenges, frustrations, persecution, loss of jobs) and, the mid-term exams (sickness, loss of loved ones, failed relationships, spiritual dryness, indiscretions, among others), I know that there is a final exam that I need to hurdle and it is not as easy as it may seem to be.

         The good thing with this final exam that will determine how we will be graded by Our Lord is that we already know what are in the questionnaire and we also know that we will pass this final exam by simply doing what are being asked of us. Granting that we may have missed these opportunities, Our Lord who is the final arbiter provides us with the time we need to reorient our priorities in life and align it with the terms specified in our final exams.

         This final exams has only six questions and we can see these in 𝐌𝐭 𝟐𝟓:𝟑𝟓-𝟒𝟔 and these are: 𝟏) 𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲? (𝟐) 𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐲? (𝟑) 𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫? (𝟒) 𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫? (𝟓) 𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐤? 𝐀𝐧𝐝, (𝟔) 𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧?        

         What is amazing with this exam is that we can bring home the questionnaire and ponder on it as well as on the answers that Our Lord Himself has already provided and all we have to do is to just be honest with our answers.

         On the other hand, granting that we come up short of the answers required in the questionnaire, Our Lord Jesus out of the generosity of his heart still gives us the opportunity to work on it so that when he comes we will have completed the answers to the questionnaire.

         This Gospel passage on being raised on the last day (v.40) should ring clear in our ears in that there is no doubt there is a day of judgment when we will be classified either as goats or as sheep. The Lord used this example and this may have shocked his listeners because to the Jews any referral to goats represent evil and Our Lord will judge us not only for the wrong we have done but even for the things we failed to do.

         In reading this gospel passage today, it would be good for us to again read the previous parables on the wedding feast, soil, sower, vineyard workers, and talents among others, because these will show that there is indeed a time when we will be judged and made to atone for how well we lived our lives in accordance with the two greatest commandments that Our Lord had specified – love of God and love of neighbor.

         There shouldn’t be any doubt that we will be judged when the time comes. The only variable that still isn’t clear is whether we will be made to stand on the right hand of God as sheep and inherit the Kingdom prepared for us or on his left as goats and be left out. But God is merciful and we should be able to take advantage of his love for us that should compel us to address the six scenarios specified in the questionnaire.

         These acts that we may also term as corporal acts of mercy are things that we can do everyday and such acts are not dependent on wealth, talent or intelligence as these are actions that we can give for others to receive. These are acts that are exclusive to us and we are responsible for these and should not pass on the responsibility to either the government or the church because the men running these two institutions also have their own set of questionnaire.

         To treat others and or our neighbor as if they are Jesus Himself is not easy because we have our own human biases to contend with. But this gospel today requires that we rise about our prejudices driven by our faith in Jesus so that we will be able to see Jesus in those around us especially the hungry, thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and those in prison. Then and only then will we be prepared when Jesus comes to raise us up on the last day.

         Today as we remember the faithful departed let us spend a few moments of prayer for them that God may grant them a merciful judgment and bring them to eternal rest and peace in his heavenly kingdom. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 – 𝘕𝘰𝘷. 2, 2025)