by Fr. Ed Liptak, SDB

At the root of our faith is the conviction that we are created for salvation, that God wants His human beings to be saved and to spend eternity with Him. The disobedience of our first parents blocked entry to His presence for themselves and for their descendants. However, God out of love for His creation, cloaked his Divine Son in true human form, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by his obedience restored God’s plan of Salvation. It was as if God were insisting, ‘I want you to be saved. Have faith in Me, your Creator, in Jesus, your Redeemer, and in the Holy Spirit, your Help.’ We beg the Lord to give us and preserve in us the gift of this Faith. ‘IF’ we do believe, we are on the way to Salvation.

There are other aspects of the ‘Big IF.’ Isaiah urges us to keep in mind that our time to prepare for eternal life is limited: “Seek the Lord while He [may] be found.” Who knows how long that is? Psalm 145 stresses, “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him … He is gracious and merciful.” ‘IF’ we trust that He is ‘near’ and ‘merciful,’ we also understand that He has no desire to be angry with us, ‘IF” we stay united to Him. 

St. Paul urges that we stay near to Christ on our spiritual journey. To stay close to him during life on earth ensures that we will be close to him at death. Paul’s doctrine is simple: ‘Whether I die or live, I do so in the Lord.’ The ‘Big IF’ for us is whether alive or close to death we have kept our friendship with Jesus. Like Paul, we seek what is best for our salvation. Whether we live or die we want to say, “Thy will be done,“ and we leave that to God. All will be well ‘IF’ we heed Paul’s advice, “Conduct yourself in a way worthy of the Gospel of Christ.”

In the Gospel Jesus was on his final trip to Jerusalem near Jericho down by the Jordan. Before he would pay the final price of our Salvation, he offered one more Kingdom of Heaven parable. Quite clearly, he wanted his sacrifice to be effective for many, not just a few.

In the meaning of the parable, God comes across many who want to get into the Kingdom of Heaven and sets them to work at about dawn, 6:00 AM, for the usual daily wage. The same about 9:00 AM. God finds others and hires them too. Again, at noon and 3:00 PM, promising to pay what is just, and even at 5:00 PM, an hour before the workday ends, he finds some standing around and invites them too. At pay time all receive the same reward, a place in the Kingdom, and God does not tolerate any jealousy. He saves whom He wills. Let us not be disturbed.

“Are you envious because I am generous?”                                                                                                                               (Jesus)