There’s a particular paragraph in the Bible
that can really send shivers down the spines of people -- even pastoral
workers, priests and preachers. Rev Fr Bobby Jose OFM (Cap), a well-known
preacher and writer, says these verses exerted considerable pressure and
influence on him, and prompted him to think deeply about it again and again.
Mathew
7:21-24 says: “Not everyone who says to
me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does
the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on
that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive
out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then
I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”
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| Rev Fr Bobby Jose |
“Does Jesus whom I claim to know almost daily
really know me? Or will He tell me at the end of the journey that ‘I never knew
you’. When I think of these verses I get shaken up. If Jesus doesn’t know you,
won’t our fate will be tough?” he says. When I heard Rev Fr Bobby’s message on
this topic, I also got jitters.
If this is the case, what we are doing and
acting is meaningless. We pray on a daily basis, go out and preach the Good
News and bring up children. However, if the Lord says “I don’t know you”, what
will we do? “Where did it go wrong? I was thinking about it these days,” Ref Fr
Bobby says.
He says there are five things to understand
or digest these verses.
Firstly, there’s a mistaken belief that spirituality
is equivalent to activity. When somebody asks you what’s spirituality, you will
say… going to the church, family prayer, social service, tithing, observing
lent and preaching. But sitting and doing nothing is also spirituality. Jesus
once told Martha, “Martha you should learn how to sit quietly doing nothing.”
Jesus then described this selection as a good activity. ‘Sometimes I feel that
people who don’t do anything have made a good selection or activity than those
who did many things,” Rev Fr Bobby says.
Secondly, when we do many things spiritually
for a long time, we do lose love, or act without love. When people list the
table of things done or not done, that’s when we lose love. We start listing
our activities – that I did this for the family, I suffered this much for the
family etc. – when love is lost. In fact, the absence of love is something that
we can easily detect. Yes, in Bible we see Jesus lovingly showing us our loveless
approach.
The third aspect is “I, me and myself’, the
most obscene words in this world which denote selfishness. “The first word that
a person should get rid is ‘I’,” Rev Fr Bobby says. You can read in Mathew
16:24: “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If any of you wants
to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross,
and follow me’.” It’s not easy to get
out of this “I, me myself” attitude. “The main reason for all the crises in our
lives is this selfish attitude,” he says.
Fourth, the belief that whatever ‘I’ do is for
others. “Many people say that ‘I live for others’. Then what are other people
living for? Father says he lived for his children. Teacher says he lived for
students. Priest says he lived for parishioners. If you can’t live for
yourself, it’s of no use. If you’re a singer, your life should also turn
musical,” Rev Fr Bobby says.
Read
what St Paul
says in 1 Corinthians 9:16: “Yet
preaching the Good News is not something I can boast about. I am compelled by
God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn't preach the Good News.” Rev Fr
Bobby says his sermons have been helping him over the last many years. “I have
to think deeply about the subject. I have to remain in silence for some time.
These sermons helped me to sharpen my mind and life… and stay focused,” he
says.
Fifthly, Jesus says “evildoers, go away from
me.” Yes, you have to be a righteous person. Bible keeps on telling about the
need to remain righteous till the end of the life. All of us must be righteous.
This righteous way of life will banish cruelty, corruption, moral degradation
and greed from the world. You should be just and right. Give everyone his due. For
example, your ageing father or mother deserves good treatment. Are you able to
give it to them or left them to fend for themselves? There are also people who
spend their evenings in a bar drinking liquor till late in the night while his
children and wife are waiting for him patiently at home.
So think, what will happen to us after 30,000
days? “These 30,000 days are one’s life span. I don’t want to be melancholic.
Yes, we will see the face of God. When the devil comes to you to befriend you,
ask him to show the stigmata… the five wounds of Jesus Christ. He will flee,”
Rev Fr Bobby says.
“Are we speaking His language? His language
is Bible. But the language that our children and youth use today is audacious. As
St Paul said in
Philippians 2:5, “you must have the same
attitude that Christ Jesus had.” If you have the attitude that Jesus had,
then you will see His face after 30,000 days.
