Based on a chapter called the Final Judgement in Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini’ s book “Piccolo Manuale della Speranza – Vivere con Fiducia il Nostro Tempo” [A Small manual of Hope – Living our lives in Trust]. Giunti Editore S.p.A. Milano, 2012.
Cardinal Martini found this parable very challenging. He confesses that he defended himself from it as he was afraid that it would lead him to choose actions that he could not be able to make.
I thought it would be better to include the parable so that we can easily refer to it when necessary.
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.
32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
35 For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick, and you looked after me, I was in prison, and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?
39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
42 For I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink,
43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Matthew 25, 31-46
[ Source: The NIV Bible].
One cannot draw any conclusions from this parable about whether one can be saved without knowing and being close to God. It does not address this issue. It would be however a mistake to conclude that this parable is some type of catalogue listing in an exclusive way the things one should do to save his/her soul. The list includes only what are usually termed corporeal acts of mercy. But it is clear from the gospels that other important things, like mercy, forgiveness, discrete prayer, are also essential.
The parable’s literary structure is quite simple. The son of man returns to earth in all his glory, sits on a throne with all the people who have lived in front of him. He proceeds to divide these people into 2 sections. This action is compared to that of a shepherd. He puts the “sheep” on his right and the “goats” on his left. [It appears that in practice shepherds in the evening really did divide their flocks, as while sheep love the outside life, goats need protection from the night cold. So, an everyday fact here becomes a symbolism].
The parable’s second part consists of a scene of dialogue. First the King address those on his right, asking them to come to him and explaining why they are being asked to do so. The “sheep” do not understand but the King explains that every time they had helped any little one, they had been helping Him. The scene is perfectly symmetrical when it is the “goats” turn. The command, the explanation, the question, and the answer.
The parable’s major thrust is to show us a fundamental truth: our relationship with the Son of Man is crucially dependent on our relationships with others. There are also some people with whom the Son of Man has a special relationship, the little ones. Who are these little ones? These are the poor, the powerless understood in a broad way. In this parable, Jesus is not telling us that our relationship with God is unimportant because it is the relationship with others that matters most. What he is saying is that these go together. One cannot have one without the other.
Up to now we have considered the parable from an external perspective. Shall we remain in this position, or shall we go in and participate? It is already a first decision to make. If we opt for participation, what role are we going to choose? Shall we identify with poor, who await someone else to help them? I may say: I am one of these poor people and I wait; I thank you Lord because you have put me in this situation so that my brother by loving me and accepting me is accepting you. I thank you Lord because I do not need to be accepted by others, I do not need to impose myself on others; it is You yourself that defend me, it is You who sustains me. I may boast of my poverty as St Paul does, boast that I am not an influential person nor am I particularly talented, often behind others, because You are with me.
Or I could see myself as one of the just ones and pray: “Lord, I thank you, because You allow me to live my life in the service of others, in a close relationship with You.”
Or I could identify with those that do not understand: “Tell me Lord, when did I see You?” Each time I (Cardinal Martini) meditate this parable I say: ‘yes, now I understand. But when I return to my daily routine, I do not see, I do not empathise, I do not understand. My spontaneous reactions are not these. They are at the Exercises, but the minute I am out, all my reactions to my neighbours are ones of conflict, defensiveness, aimed at establishing and keeping a distance, of establishing my privileges.’ It seems that most of us are like this. Unfortunately, we live in this blindness. Often this blindness is so bad that it also affects those who we love most; we are like the priest in the parable that passes close to the wounded man, but he is so set in his ways that he does not see him.
So let us accept this blindness voluntarily, that is authentically. “Lord, when did I see You poor, tired, ill, in prison and I felt pity for You? When did I, more often, feel an excessive risk, the need for defence, to establish clear demarcation zones, to insist on my rights? I think of myself first and although perhaps I do not crush others, I still put my interests first.” Here, you see, is the most important thing in our lives, our relationship with others.
All our existence emerges here. It emerges if we are sincere and admit to God our inability to change: “Lord, one more meditation will certainly not make me open my eyes. Instinctively, in situations that I deem aggressive I will still retreat.”
It is useful to ask: “Why did I fail to see and to hear the Lord?” Was it just a small misunderstanding, for which it is enough to say that the moment has passed and that now I understand? Or is it our hearts, something in us that renders us opaque, incapable of recognizing You? It is because we have not yet converted our hearts to the gospel, because we are always seeking our own justice and our neighbour is only an excuse for our good works, so that we can feel good about ourselves.
I do not see You where you really are, but where it is convenient for me to see You, where I am used to see You, where tradition tells me that I should see You but for the rest I am insensitive, and I cannot change it.
When we put ourselves in the parable, the question that springs to mind automatically is: ‘Lord, what do I have to do? Is it just a small extra effort that You want from me? Or do I have to listen to your word more attentively.’
It Is not just a question of adding some more bouquet to our old wine. But, to see if the wine skins are OK or if they need to be changed, or, even, to see whether we need a totally new wine?’