Reflections on Ps 14 (Br Cornelius Ching)

No one goes through the Pearly gates
Without St. Peter’s holy nod.
Nobody is allowed access
To the Heavenly Throne of God.

So he was stopped at Heaven’s gate
And told that to atone for sin,
He must name good things he had done
To earn enough points to get in.

He said that he had been married
To his wife for fifty years,
And had been a faithful husband
Through times of strife and sometimes tears.

“That’s worth three points,” St. Peter said,
And entered it into his book.
The man complained, “Only three points?”
And gave St. Peter quite a look.

“Well, I have always paid my tithes,
And always given to the poor.
And when a stranger needed help,
I always had an open door.”

“Well, that’s good for another point.”
St. Peter wrote it as he said,
“And I will add another point
For all the hungry souls you fed.”

The man asked, “How am I doing?”
How many points to enter in?”
St. Peter said, “One hundred points
Are needed to atone for sin.”

The startled man said, under breath,
“Well that would take the Grace of God!”
“Bingo!” St. Peter told the man,
And then gave him the holy nod.

Who is worthy to come face to face with the Lord? Who is worthy to go into heaven into his heavenly presence? Who can qualify? No matter how much we do, we can never earn our way into heaven (but it does not mean we should stop being a good christian).

As we come to the close of the liturgical year and prepare for the coming of the Lord in the season of Advent, let us be reminded that this is the ultimate testament of the love of God in sending his only begotten son to be our Saviour. It is only through his grace that we can be admitted to his tent. It is with the tickets purchased with the precious blood of Christ that we can gain admission through the gates of heaven, can enter our eternal home.

"His grace is sufficient for me!"

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Stay tuned for the next post by Br Gabriel Wong on 25th Nov 2010.