Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when...?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.' Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ... Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”  

Optimus Prime began the presentation of the movie "Transformers" speaking of the importance of the final resting place of the All Spark, namely, on Earth. Even though they had powers that surpassed even the most sophisticated technology of the Earth, the good Autobots did not want to harm the people of Earth. As the movie closes, having fought incredible battles against incredible odds, having formed friendships with some wonderful earth people who risked their lives for them, now with no place to go in the universe, Optimus philosophically considers his new home: "Fate has yielded its reward," he says, "a new world to call home. We live among its people now, hiding in plain sight, but watching over them in secret, waiting, protecting. I have witnessed their capacity for courage, and though we are worlds apart, like us, there's more to them than meets the eye."

In the movie "Transformers," Optimus Prime and his good Autobots were not given a specifically Christian presentation on what should be and what should not be. But they sensed the possibility. They sensed that the people on the Earth that they fought with against Megatron and the Decepticons had something that they admired. As Optimus remarks, "there's more to them than meets the eye."

What is that possibility, the "more than meets the eye"? It could be called many names, but perhaps the best way to label it is simply "Christian care." The aliens were saying that the people who inhabit this planet have the possibility of really caring about others. At the foundation of their being, there is something that moves them to feed the hungry, to satisfy the thirsty, to welcome the stranger, to help those who need help. Jesus wanted to implant that into the Christian's life. Perhaps, he was able to do it.

When Jesus spoke about the final judgment, it is significant what Jesus did not mention. Jesus did not mention God, his Father. He did not mention the Mosaic Law. He did not mention tradition, he did not refer to the prophets, the patriarchs, religious practices and prayers, synagogue, church, none of these. Instead, when it came down to the final analysis of a person, when judgment had to be made concerning what a person had done with his life, at that moment—the most sacred of all moments in a person’s whole life, Jesus says that everything depends on how much the person has cared for others. The whole after-life depends on giving to people in need.  How a person gives to others will be the measure that a person will be measured with for all eternity.  It was an absolutely incredible statement for a Hebrew religious leader to make. It is the "more than meets the eye" that even fantasy aliens sensed among the people of Earth.                  

THOUGHT
 
PRAYER

Good and gracious God, your Son called us to care for others. In fact, he made the criterion of caring for others to be that which determined eternal life. Help us be the truly caring people he wanted us to be. Be with us, we pray.

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America