EZEKOKA
PETER ONYEKACHI
THE
REWARD OF SELFLESS SERVICE: A REFLECTION ON MATT 25:40
In a world berated by selfishness and pea-cock
lifestyle, where people exult themselves as gods, and lord it over those they
think are of lower grades, a society troubled by fear to help one another due
to certain abuses (witchcraft bewitchment, theft avenue, implicit inquiry of
the wealthy) that have been witnessed by people, an era where individualism
seems to be taking the upper hand over collective interest, an age where
service appears to be relegated and those who serve are under-rated, there
comes the necessity of a discourse on selflessness and service, and the rewards
there-from; a greater emphasis on the virtue of selflessness, and when combined
with service, selfless service. I call Selflessness a capital virtue (just as
capital sins are so called because of the numerous sins that flow from them)
because it gives way for many other virtues: humility, sobriety, temperance,
prudence, etc. It also drives away many vices: envy/jealousy, slander/calumny,
pride, etc. Our services make meaning only when they are selfless. The virtue
of selfless service is indeed a remedy to the selfish inclination of man; it is
an antidote to the current humanity that strives after self-enrichment,
individualism, and an inordinate tussle for kingliness.
Matthew 25:40 states: And the king will reply, I tell you the
truth, whatever you did for one of these brothers of mine, you did for me
(translation by the New International Version of the Holy Bible, 1973). This verse surely has a context under
which it can be holistically understood. It falls under the eschatological
sermon (cf. Matt 24:1-25:46) of Jesus the Christ as recorded by Matthew. This
eschatological sermon has its highpoint in the enthronement of the son of man
as the master of judgement, judging the sheep and the goats (cf. Matt 25:31-46).
Hence, the passage presents the son of man in the apocalyptic context of the
judgment of the world. Christ is the universal judge; and in verses 40 and 45 we
see the place of service to the needy in the divine judgment and our eternal
livelihood with God. It is in this sense that one can grab the intent of our
topic on the reward of selfless service. The coming of the son of man would
bring about a separation of the sheep from the goats, whereby the sheep
represent those on the right (the righteous) who obey the commands of God and
are to inherit the kingdom, and the goat are those on the left who disobey the
commands of God and are to be sent to eternal punishment. There is in this
separation a form of dialogue with both parties concerning their placements
either on the right or on the left. In it, the king enumerates the conditions
of his judgments, and the people express their bewilderments over the moments
they did all of those. It is at these moments that the king utters those words
which express that charity done to our fellow humans is charity done to God: I tell you the truth, whatever you did for
one of these brothers of mine, you did for me (v. 40), and in v. 45: I tell you the truth, whatever you did not
do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me. So, the king by
virtue of the selfless lives and services the people rendered had to reward or
punish them according to their deeds.
We notice that in v. 45, the word
brother is dropped. It is on this ground that scholars debate on whether the word
‘brother’ refers only to Christians or to any one in need. We must comment that
in this sense, adelphos (brother)
refers to any human being as the object of ethical duty, not just as a member
of the Christian community. It is in this broader sense of adelphos that we see the limitlessness of the selfless service that
we are called to render. It is not only to one’s religious
inclination/belongedness, or to one’s friends, or to one’s ethnicity or nation,
but to all peoples. There should be no discrimination in this; otherwise, the
service turns into a selfish one, rooted in self aggrandizement. In selfishness
is no reward, but punishment. So, we may be thinking that we are serving the
people, while we are incurring punishment on ourselves because we are not
serving with the proper intention, model and goal. It is in selflessness and
universality of our selfless service that we can locate the proper intention,
model and goal of Christian service. The king’s reply in v. 40 which is the
knot upon which the pendulum of our write-up oscillates is a great answer which
identifies service to the needy with love of Christ; for whatever good or bad
you do to your fellow, you do to Christ. If you say you love me, keep my
commands (John 14:15). And the implicit command he gives through this passage
is to attend to (serve) the needy in a selfless manner. This is the practical
manifestation of our love of God and neighbour, which assures us of eternal
life. It is in this line that Fulton Sheen in the address delivered on February
4, 1945 defines heaven as “a place where charity is externalized. In heaven,
there will be no faith, for then we will see God, in heaven there will be no
hope, for then we will posses God; but in heaven there will be charity, for
love endures forever.” (Sheen F., You,
St. Paul’s Press, India, 1998, p.71).
Love, expressed in our selfless service
is the criteria here for heaven. It is
Christ’s command that we love one another; and no one has greater love than to
lay down his life for his friends (cf. John 15:12-13). The pericope exposes the
ways through which we can bit by bit lay down our lives for our friends: for I was hungry and you gave me something
to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and
you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you
looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me (cf. Matt
25:35-36). These are the corporal works of mercy. It is in these corporal works
that the spiritual works (admonish sinners, instruct the uninformed, counsel
the doubtful, comfort the sorrowful, be patient with those in error, forgive
offenses, pray for the living and the dead) find their enrichment and proper
meaning; for how can one practice the spiritual works without an in-depth exercise
of the corporal works. Both go hand in hand, and must be employed in the rendering
of our selfless service. Barclay William helps us further to grasp some lessons
from the passage with reference to the help we render. It must be help in
simple things and one must not be so rich; a case of giving help to people we
meet every day. It must be a service which is incalculable, and must flow from
ourselves just as those who helped never knew that they did all those for
Christ. When we render assistance to people, it is Jesus himself we do them
for. If you want to delight God’s heart, then help his children (cf. Barclay
W., The Daily Study Bible on the Gospel of Matthew, pp. 325-326).
The eternal livelihood with God as
evidenced in the verses 34 and 46b give us a clear eschatological reward of
selfless service, as juxtaposed with Verses 41 and 46a. The implication is that
selfless service is decisive in our eternity with God. But there is also the
reward for selfless service here on earth. Selfless service can turn enmity
into friendship; can soften the heart of one’s oppressor; can help to destroy
the plans of one’s assailants; can be a practical manner of teaching. But,
remember, all this must flow from the love of Christ and tend towards the
conversion of persons to embrace the life of selflessness in service. How do
you think Christ would have instructed the disciples that the greatest among
them must be their servant if there is not really any reward that await for the
selfless servant (cf. Matt 20:26)? More so, the son of man did not come to be
served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matt 20:28). So,
we must be like our master and not inflate or puff up ourselves, but to deflate
so that the air becomes a source of life for others we meet. St. Paul further
enjoins us to serve one another through love (cf. Gal. 5:14).
As
a Christian, how many times have you given food to that hungry person that
lives near you; given a cup of water to the thirsty person passing you; rejected
or acted mechanically to someone just because he is a stranger to you; given
out your clothes to those who cannot afford them; visited the sick and the
dying in the hospitals; gone to the prison to see those whose freedom has been
limited for either what they have done or the corrupt system of our governance?
These are ways we practice our Christian ideals. Never believe that your
selfless services can bring you insults and degradation. Never subscribe to the
rumour that your selfless arms to the poor will reduce or dry your purse. Never
accept the insinuation that your donation for the good of the Church or state
can create problems for you. Go with the conviction that ihe ọma gi agaghi egbu gi. Charity opens doors of favours, makes us
light and happy, and creates the spirit of togetherness. Start today to be
selfless for in it is many benefits. You can even render help to the government
through the formation of non-governmental unions that care for the oppressed
and the needy. You can visit the motherless babies’ home. We must believe that
in selfless service is our pride. It is in the selfless assistance that we
render to persons that we become truly Christians, who will be worthy to hear
those words of the king: come, you are blessed by my Father; inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from time immemorial (Matt. 25:34). They are blessed
because they have aligned themselves to the commands of God and have
co-operated with the operative grace of God.
