19 February 2024 Matthew 25:3-46
According to the Pew Research Forum, about a quarter of Americans (27%) identify as “spiritual but not religious,” up 8 percentage points in just five years. The increase is broad-based, occurring among men and women; Whites, Blacks and Hispanics; different ages and education levels; and among Republicans and Democrats.
What does it mean to be “spiritual but not religious”? Mostly it appears to mean acknowledging that God exists, acknowledging that Jesus is an excellent example of how to live, and that we should try to be nice. It does not require any specific religious observance. Of those “spiritual but not religious,” 49% have low levels of religious observance (compared to 33% of the general public); 44% say that religion is “not too” or “not at all” important in their lives (compared to 25% of the general public). “Spiritual but not religious” recognizes no consequence for not being spiritual. If people are neither spiritual, nor religious, nothing really happens.
For a rapidly growing number of Americans, “spiritual but not religious” is good enough.
Jesus says that is a formula for hell.
“Truly I tell you, as you did it to one of the least of these, who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40). Jesus says that the minimum expectation is that we minister to the needs of those who are unable, or unwilling to repay us, and to recognize Jesus Himself in them. And if those people were to ask why we are doing this, we are to say that it is because we have a King, crucified and risen, who is alive in us, and loves them. That’s what it means to recognize Jesus in the “least of these.” The consequence for those who acknowledge that God exists and that Jesus is who He says He is, and who do not recognize Jesus in the “least of these” is hell: “Depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (25:41). To see Jesus, and know who He is, and know where He is, and then to look the other way is to receive only, and forever, just the “other way.”
Jesus isn’t messing around.
“Spiritual but not religious” is messing around.
Religiously observant people, it turns out, are pretty important to the poor of the world. Over 91% of those who are religiously observant donate money to charity (compared to 66% of those who are not observant), and they donate far more, on average $2210 annually, compared to $642. Only the federal government of the United States gives away more to aid the poor than the Catholic Church, and the U.S. government has the advantage of being able to tax and print its own money.
The poor and suffering of the world would be in a whole lot more trouble apart from the witness of those who are religiously observant.
Religiously observant people aren’t messing around.
“Spiritual but not religious” is messing around.
In Victor Hugo’s magnum opus, Les Miserables, the bitter runaway convict Jean Valjean is famously turned around by the Bishop’s unexpected gift of silver candlesticks, and then Jean Valjean spends the rest of his life risking his life for his fellow man. Of course we always hope our generosity turns out that way – the poor recognize Jesus in us, and turn their lives around. But that isn’t what God requires. God requires not that the “least of these” recognize Jesus in us, but that we recognize Jesus in them, and that in turn enables them to see Jesus in themselves. Having vision like that requires that we look for Jesus all the time – in prayer, in scripture, in worship – so that we recognize Him when He turns up, because sometimes His presence is pretty subtle.
That’s the expectation, if you don’t want to be just messing around.
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