Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25:40

Have you ever asked yourself: what do I do need to do to be saved? This question could elicit a great variety of answers. Have faith! Attend church every Sunday! Keep the commandments! Say your prayers! Live a good life! Read the scriptures! Follow Christ! All of these answers are good, but do they really tell us what Jesus requires of us to be saved?

In chapter twenty five of Matthew’s Gospel, the Lord spells out in great detail what we need to do to be saved. The parable of the final judgment (Matthew 25:3-46) states that the Lord will separate us into two groups, just as a Shepherd separates the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:32). The just will be at His right, the others at His left, and to the just He will say: “Come and possess the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world: I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me to drink, naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; in prison and you visited me.” (Matthew 5:34-37).These good deeds are called the corporal works of mercy and, in this parable of the final judgment, the Lord presents them as essential for salvation. Thus He concludes: “Whatsoever you did for the least of my brethren, you did it for me.”

St Paul says we are justified by faith (Rome 3:20) This is true. Faith is a gift from God; we don’t merit it; and no matter how many good deeds we perform, we must acknowledge, like the good servant in Luke 17:7-10 that we are only doing our duty. Still, St James reminds that the gift of faith without good works is dead (James 2:26) and the person who has faith without works is like someone who looks at himself / herself in the mirror and forgets what he / she looked like. We are justified by faith, but we are saved by faith and good works.

There’s a story about a man who wished to hand his business over to his workers. To achieve this, every worker had to sign an agreement. All did, except one man who would not sign his name to the agreement. The owner called the man into his office. He placed the agreement on the desk; gave the man a pen; and said: “Sign or your fired.” The man immediately signed the agreement. “That was easy” said the owner, “how come you gave in so easily?” “Well, said the man, “this is the first time it was explained to me so clearly.”

In the parable of the final judgment, the Lord explains clearly what we must do to be saved. We are saved by faith and good works. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about this in the parable of the final judgment. Whenever we help another person in need; whatever we do for the least among us, we do it to Christ, and we will be judged by this at the final judgment.

Fr. Hugh Duffy