One day each of us will stand before the Christ, the 'Just Judge', and He will ask each of us, "What have you done, with all the daily gifts I gave you?" God will get the answer not so much from our lips as from the totality of our lives for 'all things are open to Him' in time and space. 'Actions speak louder than words' for God as well as for men! St. Paul made it clear that "Those who spent their life doing what is right will inherit eternal life while those who did what is wrong will inherit eternal damnation'. WE determine where we will end up - heaven or hell - by choosing to do either good or bad in our lives.
Francis tells us to consider the 'periods of tribulation', RIGHT NOW. This is a meditation subject that Saints often use to motivate themselves to try harder to live lives of Godly love. St. Paul said, 'Make good use of the time you have left for the end is near'.
St. Francis said: "My brothers who are led by curious cravings for knowledge will find their hands empty on the day of retribution. I would rather have them growing strong in virtue, that when the periods of tribulation came they could have the Lord with them in their distress. For tribulation is going to come, such that, useless for any purpose, their books will be flung out of windows and into cubby holes."
These 'brothers who are led by curious cravings for knowledge' are those who study scripture primarily to scratch an 'intellectual itch' or with the desire to get worldly honor rather than to learn about God or how to live good lives. If, after learning something new in scripture, we ARE NOT renewed in our desire to do good to others and seek God more fervently in prayer, then this knowledge is temporal (therefore 'earthly') and has little spiritual value.
Reading scripture prayerfully, should CHANGE YOU and your life. St. Paul said, "We know only in part . . . but all partial knowledge will be done away with." Temporal knowledge's usefulness is limited to this life. God wants us, through His Word, to get that which is eternally useful.
This translation of Latin quotes Francis as saying, 'Curious cravings.' However, curious can also be translated as 'strange'. Strange (curious) also means unusual or unreasonable. Temporal knowledge, if it distracts us from the the most important knowledge, - the knowledge of Christ - is 'unreasonable' since there is nothing more important or valuable than knowing Christ and His will.
Most of the Apostle's Letters were originally written in Greek and the phrase 'knowledge of Christ' should be understood to actually mean personal life experiences with Christ that give us knowledge of Him. In other words the way to truly KNOW Christ is to actually EXPERIENCE Him in your daily life. Scripture gives us a valuable, but very limited, idea of who He. Jesus said, "You search the scriptures thinking that in them you find life. But they point to me and you won't come to Me." Scripture is designed to 'point' us in the right direction and once it does that we strive to interact with Him so that we can come to fully know Him.
St. Francis says the brothers "will find their hands empty on the day of retribution". What Francis meant was that it is our good deeds (not our knowledge) that makes Christ fill our hands with blessings on that day. Our good deeds are also the spiritual 'talents' He gave us to make profit on His behalf and now we hold them in our hands to offer Him when he calls all of His servants to account!
St. James said, "If one of you sees his brother or sister is in need of clothes and has not enough food to live on and says to them, 'I wish you well; keep yourself warm and eat plenty,' without give them these bare necessities of life, then what good is that? . . . faith without good deeds is dead." Jesus gave us the criteria for how He would judge and reward us: "When I was hungry you gave me food, when thirsty you gave me drink, when naked you clothed me and when sick and in prison you visited me. When you did it to them . . . you did it to me". It is only those who do as Jesus did that will 'find their hands' full on that Day!
Listening to Jesus and then DOING what He says MUST be our focus. Jesus said, "Why do you say to Me, "Lord, Lord!" but then don't DO what I say?!" He also said, 'You draw near me with your lips but your heart is far away.' Doing what He says is proof that He truly is your Lord and calling Him "Lord" is not enough.
Francis mentions "periods of tribulation" that will come on the brothers. Whether Francis is talking of the final judgment or the daily trials we regularly experience, the truth he relays applies across the board: God will ONE day ask us (literally or in the context of being 'tested' in trials) to show (by what we have done/how we have acted) what impact His love has had on our lives. We should ask ourselves the same question everyday so that we have the right 'answer' on the day of the 'test'.
Jesus said, "The Father is always with me for I always do those things that please Him". St. Francis tells us that the brothers, during trials, "could have the Lord with them in their distress" if they focused their lives in serving those in need of God's love. That man can be confident that God will stand by him in his trials. St. Paul said, "There is no trial that you experience that most men of the world do not also experience . . ." The only difference for believers is that, in our sufferings, we have the loving support and help of the living God. Jesus said, "I will always be with you, even to the end of your lives." St. Paul said, Give the worries of your life to God for He will always take care of you." The man who has knowledge (scriptural) or a title ('Theologian' or 'Catholic/Christian') BUT doesn't have the works of mercy 'in his hands' that so characterized our merciful Savior (who 'went about everywhere doing good to all men' as St. Peter said) will be out of luck on that 'Day'of trials and of judgment.
Francis paints an interesting picture of what the 'learned brothers' will do on that day, "For tribulation is going to come, such that, useless for any purpose, their books will be flung out of windows and into cubby holes." If there is a sudden flood or a fire what use will 'books' be to you!? When You stand before Christ do you think quoting from the Bible is going to save You - knowing a lot of scripture will help you? That is why Francis says these books will be thrown out as useless (they could, as well, be proof that the 'learned man' spent most of his time READING rather than DOING what Christ said!)
Saul of Tarsus is a good example of the ineffectiveness of 'book learning' to truly prepare one to know and serve God. He was a learned and zealously religious man who outstripped other religious scholars in his knowledge of all things spiritual. However, despite the fact that all the scripture Saul read pointed to the Messiah (Saul knew all of those scriptures very well!), he didn't recognize the Messiah when He came! In addition, in his self-righteous religious zeal, he actually went about attacking and killing those who DID truly know the Messiah - early Christians - trying to make them blaspheme (curse and disrespect) Jesus Christ!
God eventually knocked Saul off his 'high horse', 'Saul, why are you attacking me?!' 'Who are You Lord?' Saul asked. "I Am Jesus who you are attacking." God blinded Saul's eyes so that he would realize that he was also spiritually blind and didn't know God at all. Saul's book knowledge was useless when it came to recognizing the Christ he longed for. Only when he had a faith experience with Jesus was he given a true understanding of scripture and it's proper use - then he finally understood what he had spent all of his life 'learning'. We know Saul now as St. Paul, the Apostle.
Reading scripture is something that both God and our Church encourage us to do. Jesus said, "If you remain in my Words and my Words live in you then you will truly be my disciples." He also said, "Happy are those who hear the Word of God and . . . do it!" Doing it is the key! Francis wanted us to know that learning from scripture is good IF we read it with the idea that we want to learn to live a life of brotherly love. At the end of our lives we won't take a scriptural reading comprehension test but will be judged on how well we carried out what our Lord, simply and plainly, told us to do.
The one who follows Jesus in works of mercy will be welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven and will also be richly rewarded. The person who didn't do anything but learn interesting scriptural facts will find himself thrown out with these words of Christ to ring in his ears forever, "Get out of here, you who did evil things, for you are not welcomed into the place prepared for those who were good and faithful. You say you know me but I NEVER knew you!" What a terrible day that will be!
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, we want to know You. Help us to come to know You by reading, meditating and praying with scripture. We know we must, as soon as we finish reading and praying, set about doing what You have taught us. Teach us to love like You loved. Help us to not read solely out of curiosity or to impress others with our knowledge. but because we need to know You and learn how to please You. We know that You stand by us, help and support us, in our trials because You've told us You would but also because we have experienced Your loving support in the past. Help us to always focus, in all things, on You, our Lord and our Savior and never forget the good work You've given us: to love all men in the same way that you've loved us. Amen.
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