“Lord, will only a few people be saved?”

          Two thousand years later, many of us have the same question. Whenever I teach on the necessity of Baptism for salvation, or the other means established by Christ to help us get to Heaven like Confession and the Eucharist, and the necessity of using those means, people young and old naturally wonder: What about all the people who aren’t Catholic? Or who aren’t even Christian?

          Our Lord’s response likely confirms the suspicions of today’s questioner, but challenges our own presumptions that everyone who isn’t Hitler or Stalin must of course have gone directly to heavenly glory as soon as her eyes were shut: “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.”

          However, He quickly turns the question on its head: “After the master of the house has arisen … then will you stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ … Then he will say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.” Wait, I thought we were talking about all those other people! How did this become about me all of a sudden?

          Our Lord’s questioner presumes that salvation comes from being Jewish, from belonging to the Chosen People. He has good reason to think so, because God has made clear in the Old Testament that being marked as a member of the Chosen People is essential for salvation. (Remember the blood over the doorposts of the Israelites the night of Passover: being marked as belonging was their ticket out of Egypt, to safety. (Salvation literally means, “to make safe.”))

          Is Christ throwing that all out the window? No. Belonging to God’s chosen people is still essential for salvation. The question is really, “Who belongs?” Those who seem to belong on the outside, do not on the inside belong to the chosen people. They eat and drink in His company, but in their hearts, they are far from Him. Meanwhile, peoples of other races and nations belong inwardly to God’s kingdom, even if by appearances it is not obvious.

          Christ’s response could be summed up: “Before you worry about all those other people, what about you?” Are you under the illusion that a casual acquaintance with Christ will be sufficient for salvation? You’ve probably heard that cringe-inducing phrase: “I was raised Catholic.” We seem to think that Catholicism is a value system, a way of raising children, like a kind of schooling, rather than something that we are at our very core.

          But Christ’s challenge is not just for the casual Christian. The man who cares enough to ask this question is likely a pious and devout Jew. He is probably well-read in the Scriptures and their interpretation, and fulfills all his religious obligations. Now, he has been following and listening to this new Master, eager to learn more, excited for the new teaching and challenge that He brings.

          But it is not enough. Christ insists that this casual acquaintance with Him will not be sufficient for this man’s salvation – and it will not be enough for yours either. You too must ask yourself whether your relationship with Christ is that of a casual acquaintance, or that of a real friend.

          We abuse the word “friend.” When Christ says that the Apostles are His friends, He is making quite a statement. In traditional societies, “friends” are not people you’ve just met, or people you’ve been hanging out with lately. A friend is someone you’ve known your whole life, who has earned your confidence. A friend is someone you trust with your life, whose advice is critical to knowing the path ahead in difficult times. For the ancients, a God who wanted to be friends with His subjects was a shocking scandal, a God who seems to lack all sense of decorum.

          Sadly, even as we appear more and more connected to more and more people, most people report having fewer and fewer friends. We settle for the appearance of friendship. A real friend is someone to whom you devote a significant amount of time. Of course, that time as friends of the Lord is built up primarily in prayer.

          You can also tell if someone is really your friend if your relationship makes you a different person. I’m a better man, because of my friendship with him. You make sacrifices for that friendship. You give up other opportunities to spend time together. You put your own life on hold to help her out, or just to listen.

          Are you a different person because of your relationship with Christ, outside of the time that you spend with Him in prayer? If not, that relationship might not be a real friendship.

          Christ has established the means for growing that friendship, or for transforming that casual acquaintance into a real friendship. He is constantly available to us in prayer. While we can pray anywhere – and while we should pray everywhere – He waits in the Tabernacle in this and every Catholic church to welcome us into His real presence – granted a private audience by the King of the Universe.

          When your life has not been changed by your relationship with Him, He waits to forgive your sins in Confession, and to give you the graces you need to begin to live differently. Freed from sin, He desires not only to be your friend, but to dwell under your roof when you receive Him worthily in Holy Communion – not just to spend the night, but to dwell there as the constant friend of your soul.

          One of the greatest joys in friendship is telling others about your new friend. When you make a new friend, you want everyone to know what a great person he or she is. Think of the joy of the person at the wedding who introduced the bride and groom. They’re excited to tell everyone – not just because they want the credit, but because they have a unique happiness that day.

          When you bring others to Christ, when you introduce someone you care about to your greatest friend, you get that joy over and over again. Not many people will ever be the person at the wedding with the honor of having introduced the bride and groom, but you can have that joy an infinite number of times over by introducing them to the One who can bring even more joy to their souls than their spouse, the One who will be their closest friend for all eternity, when even the bond of marriage will cease.

Concern for our salvation, then, does not absolve us of responsibility for the salvation of others. In fact, your desire to introduce the other people in your life to Christ is an essential part of being a real friend of the One upon Whom your salvation depends: whether they are practicing Catholics whose lives aren’t yet different because of their friendship with Him, “grew up Catholic” as casual acquaintances with Lord, or have yet to even meet Him. Would they guess that He is really your friend?

The Rev. Royce V. Gregerson

Parish Church of Our Lady of Good Hope, Fort Wayne

XXI Sunday through the Year, A.D. MMXXV