No religion, non-Christians, non-Catholics, non-practicing Catholics, non-daily Mass goers, non-rosary sayers, non-adherents to this or that devotion, non-devotees of this or that saint or pope, non-supporters of this or that worthy cause: there are lots of ways we draw the Kingdom’s boundaries ourselves. There are lots of ways we can say “they are not us”. And it seems that this problem, and it is a problem, appears also in the struggle we have to give terms to coalitions which might form up. There’s the awkward term “co-religionist”, which is an attempt to say non-atheist but more positively.
The problem with all of those “nons” is that we’ve placed ourselves at the centre of humanity; we’ve given ourselves the knife to carve up humanity. What we need instead is a Christ-centred taxonomy, a new way of categorising people which allows us to relate positively to one another by reference to him, the Son of God who is perfect Man.
The Lord provides such a taxonomy in our Gospel reading: “Anyone who is not against us is for us.” There are regimes which are anti-Christian. The Bible is banned in 52 countries. There are places where new churches have to look like factories from the outside, lest the local population be drawn away from the dominant religion. There are hundreds of Christians right now in prison for their faith. Our brothers and sisters are being snatched off the streets: their captors are against us.
But if we place the captors, abusers, and tyrants of Christians on one side, even the indifferent would be on the other. The indifferent, the curious, the searching, the interested, the obsessed are all for us. Why? Because that group, that much larger group, allows us to be ourselves and so to grow – to grow in number and to grow up in Christ.
The Lord is teaching us, therefore, about our perception of others. This isn’t about who can receive the sacraments or which faith claims are true: those questions have been answered in their proper contexts. There will come a time when all humanity will take its place in eternity and the gates of heaven will be shut. But this is not that time, and we are not heaven’s gatekeepers: Christ is the gate; he is the shepherd; he is the way, the truth, and the life. Remember that St Monica told her son Augustine that she would like to see him a Catholic Christian before she died, that is, in the fourth century, long before Protestants or Muslims were invented. Ours is a church for all nations, and we welcome any who are not against us. We hope that they discover what we know, that they are for Christ, that they are for us.
So, the borders of the Kingdom of Christ are still firming up; they’re not yet set. This is why the Lord speaks too about the causes of sin. When we sin, that’s the moment that we have set ourselves against God, against his Kingdom, by thought, word, deed, or omission. We have the responsibility to leave aside anything which ruins our souls and to seek purification in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. And then, once we have turned towards the Lord and received his mercy, we shall be aligned on him again and hope to help others to receive the same supernatural help.
The New Israel has been summoned; a new Kingdom of God is on the rise, with Christ at its centre. There’s still time for others to join him, to make their allegiance to him. We are ready to welcome and to work with all who show no sign of opposition or hostility towards us. We shall be as Christ to them.
Fr Paul Rowse, OP Parish Priest
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