“Nobody gets to heaven without a letter of reference from the poor”

This weekends Gospel reading.

“Nobody gets to heaven without a letter of reference from the poor” is a quote attributed to James Forbes, a former pastor of Riverside Church in New York City. Forbes was an interdenominational pastor. Think about the quote; what are your first thoughts?

Now imagine Jesus saying that to the people of his time on an afternoon at the temple. He was surrounded by people like you and me, along with the Sadducees and Pharisees. 

See the patterns in what Jesus is teaching.

Judge the patterns in our own lives and in the community.

Act on what brings about change for the greater good.

We have talked about the importance of understanding the situation in time. When we reflect on Cardijn's work and Nolan’s work, the men and women of labor and student movements, understanding what they said in the context of their lives and culture is essential for us to grasp the meaning driving the words. This is true of what Jesus said to his followers during his time and what Forbes said to the people in the pews of Riverside Church.

Now, think about Riverside Church. Riverside Church is a church in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. It's on the Upper West Side, overlooking the Hudson River and 122nd Street. The church is open every day from 9 AM–5 PM. 

Now, think about Pat Branson’s reflection on Wednesday. “Rejected by his own people”…what would it take for the people in this church when they heard their pastor saying: “Nobody gets to heaven without a letter of reference from the poor.”

The Upper West Side is a neighborhood in New York City with roughly 190,000 people. Upper West Side is in New York County and is one of the best places to live in New York. Living in the Upper West Side offers residents a dense urban feel, and most rent their homes. The Upper West Side has many bars, restaurants, coffee shops, and parks. Residents tend to be liberal and include: 

• Young professionals

• Retirees

• Celebrities like Jerry Seinfeld, Tina Fey, and Steve Martin

Jesus is talking to you, me, and the upper west side of New York, Point Piper, Vaucluse, Windsor, Elwood, Denver, Hamilton County, IN, and other neighborhoods where we might find ourselves and friends living. In Matthew 25:31–46 ~The Parable of the Sheep and Goats strongly encourages Christians to take action to help those in need. In this parable, Jesus clarifies that a life worthy of the reward of the Kingdom of Heaven here and now must involve actively helping people in need. The gospel on the feast of Christ the King is packed with complicated questions when we consider our modern lifestyles. This is a parable where our See-Judge-Act method comes into play. The parable divides “sheep from goats” according to whether they have fed the hungry, provided drink for the thirsty, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked, tended to the sick, and visited the prisoner.

The last judgment is of "all the nations." The Jewish people understood that when you are dead, you are dead. You stay dead until the last judgment. There were no in-between “redos” or “let's work this out in purgatory ideas. " There is language about eternal reward and punishment, and both the blessed and the cursed are surprised by their destinies. 

“Nobody gets to heaven without a letter of reference from the poor.”

Jesus asked the people a few questions. Now take a moment and think about that first conversation you heard Jesus have at the beginning of his ministry; people like you and I were sitting on the grassy hillside on a warm sunny day, listening to Jesus tell us how to live on this planet and bring the kingdom of God into reality. We listened to what is called the Sermon on the Mount. Now, we have been following Jesus around the area, listening to his stories, and today, he is talking about the end and what that means to you and me; he is talking to us about something we understand very well: sheep and goats. (Remember the situation in time) Who are the sheep and goats in our work-a-day world today? At the place we work? At the church we worship? Down the street from where we live? Jesus poses questions such as "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…. 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.” 

Christ separates the sheep from the goats.

See-Judge-Act. 

See the beginning- start at the Sermon on the Mount- see the end- see the sheep and goats standing there- and what is going through our minds?

Judge ourselves as to how well we followed Jesus’ teachings, which means to care for the vulnerable. There's no other way. Jesus says that our judgment in the next life will be based on how we treat the poor in this life.

Act, what steps do we take to improve the world? Understanding that our mission is to provide a preferential option for the poor in all walks of our lives. Where we live, where we work, where we pray, where we party. 

We studied Cardijn, Nolan, the leaders of YCS, YCW, CFM, and many others, and we see this preferential option for the poor in their work and writings. They all rejected the common "explanations" for why so many people are so poor. "It's not nobody's fault or it is just how things are.” 

We don’t see poverty as a result of accidental forces of history. The gap between rich and poor isn't inescapable or necessary for the kingdom of God to be real here and now. Instead, it results from human agency, what we humans do regarding our structural violence towards the world's economy, economic policies of our countries, and corporate strategies where we work. Some people are poor because of the choices other people have made. And yes, some people are poor because of their own poor choices. Jesus, sitting on the hillside talking to us, didn’t separate these people into it is not their fault, and in this group, it is their fault; nowhere in any parable do we Jesus do this; some fifty years ago, people who serving the poor in various countries, some of the poorest countries in the world, this team of workers, doctors, nurses, coined the term "preferential option for the poor.” What does this say about our human choices and God's character? This is what Jesus was trying to tell us in the Sermon on the Mount, and when He explained judgment with the sheep and goats, Cardijn understood this and acted. He saw the poverty in the workers' lives, including his family. Cardijn practiced what we call today the theology of liberation, and he did this through his lifelong dedication to social activism and working towards improving the working class, the people of his day who were the working poor.

Go read  Mark 12:42-44 and Luke 21:1-4. And let that assist you in what actions we can do to bring about the greater good.

Cardijn asks us to Act and not just sit in our churches and be neutral or impartial or write a check. Cardijn and his followers understood we care for the poor not out of guilt; instead, we care for our souls by imitating God's character in serving the poor. We are made in the image and likeness of God. Living the likeness of God is what Jesus was laying out in the Sermon on the Mount, and in this weekend's Gospel, Jesus talks about sheep and goats; St. Paul says that  care for the poor was “the only thing” that the leaders in Jerusalem asked of him, and that it was “the very thing I was eager to do.” 

What are we eager to do?

"On the Day of judgment, Christ's sentence will not bear on your assistance at Mass, reception of Holy Communion, your fasts, and abstinence, nor will good intentions be of any avail; these are a means to an end, but it will call for your concrete acts of love." ~ Lous J Putz CSC

Looking for something to read? 

Father Gutiérrez is a Dominican priest and theologian who, in 1971, published a game-changer book called A Theology of Liberation, which established his reputation as the "father of liberation theology" and made famous the notion of a "preferential option for the poor.” This is the heart and soul of the Cardijn movement since 1919. 

I often imagine when Gutiérrez crosses over to the other side, Joseph Cardijn, Albert Nolan, and Louis Putz will be there to welcome him with open arms.

A new edition is out now:  A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics, and Salvation 50th Anniversary Edition with New Introduction by Michael E. Lee) Published by Orbis Books and edited by Robert Ellsberg. 

The mosaic Christ Separating the Sheep and the Goats is located in the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna, Italy.