One of the things a righteous person wants is the salvation of others; the more righteous one is, the more their desire that others, and not themselves, would be saved. They are willing to sacrifice themselves for the salvation of others. They will share with Paul the sentiment of being damned if it meant others could be saved. “For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen by race” (Rom 9:3 RSV). This desire, of course, is found in Christ, who himself died and went to hell so that we can be led to heaven. He took on the curse of sin in order to free us from its bondage. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us — for it is written, ‘Cursed be every one who hangs on a tree’” (Gal 3:13 RSV). The righteous do not rejoice when someone is lost, but rather, mourns that loss, and will do anything so they do not have to be lost. They suffer when they see others suffer. They would never curse anyone, they would never say “go to hell,” but rather, they would follow Christ into hell if it meant someone could be saved. And it is because they are righteous, because they follow the path of love, God can and will work through them, and people can be and will be saved because of their intercession before God.
We can see this point made clear in the writings of St John Chrysostom when he discusses Noah. What does Chrysostom think of Noah’s reaction when he is told by God about what was to happen on the earth? Was it happiness and joy that all those who mistreated him, all the wicked people around him, would perish and be sent to their doom? No. His heart was grieved:
Consider, I ask you, the kind of spirit this good man was probably in at that point as he head this from the Lord. I mean, even if he was aware of his own great virtue, nevertheless he did not receive the news without sorrow. After all, good people are a kindly lot, and they would readily put up with anything for the sake of other people’s salvation. So how could it be otherwise than that this remarkable man was distressed at these words to ponder already in his mind the universal destruction and annihilation of the whole of creation, perhaps even without a suspicion of some brighter prospect for himself.[1]
Noah obeyed God, but his heart was for the rest of humanity. This, again, is what we are to expect of those who follow God. God himself loves the world – and Jesus died because of that love. How can we say we love God if we do not follow him with similar love for humanity? When ruin came to the earth, Chrysostom tells us that God protected Noah by having him closed in the ark, unable to see the suffering around him:
I mean, if he brooded over the destruction of the human race, the complete annihilation of all brute beasts, and the disappearance, as it were, of people, animals and the earth itself, he would have been disturbed and upset. You see, even if it is the wicked who perish, nevertheless the souls of good people are likely to show compassion when they see people being punished; and you will find each of the good people and the inspired writers making earnest supplication for them, as for example the patriarch did for the Sodomites, and the inspired writers all continue to do.[2]
Nonetheless, Noah did not survive all by himself. Chrysostom points out that he was the one judged righteous, not his family, but his family shared in salvation because of his righteousness and the Lord’s mercy. Through Noah, their wickedness had been curbed, and through Noah they were able to survive the deluge:
You see, even if these people were much inferior to the good man in virtue, nevertheless they did not show the excessive wickedness of others. They enjoyed the benefit of salvation on two grounds in particular. Firstly, for their esteem for the good man: it is the loving God’s way to show regard for his own servant and in many cases to grant them the favor of other people’s salvation, something he did also in the case of blessed Paul, the world’s teacher, who spread everywhere the rays of his own teaching. […] Do you see how the man’s virtue had the effect of achieving the salvation of those associates of his? However, it was not merely virtue but also the Lord’s loving kindness. In just the same way in the present case also this happened on one account; but it was also on another account, as God wanted some leaven and root left of the race that would exist in the future – not because it was impossible for God to fashion humanity all over again and build up the race from a single person, but because he decided in this direction out of fidelity to his own goodness.[3]
Here we can see how the righteous, the saints of God, are the means by which God brings salvation to the wicked. Their heart for their fellow humanity, so respected by God, allows their heart’s desire to be fulfilled. Those who show esteem for the saints, even if they have not the righteousness of the saints themselves, can find themselves joining in with the saints and be saved in and through them. This is because the saints are the pillars which hold up the church, being mediators of Christ’s grace into the world. The friends of God find their love for humanity as being of benefit for humanity; their desire does not go unnoticed, nor unfulfilled.
Christ tells us to pick up our cross and follow him. We are called to die to the self, so that we can help others find salvation. We are to love our neighbors, love our enemies, to bless those who would curse us, because we can through such love help redeem them and turn them into friends. The Christian hope is not merely a hope that we, ourselves, will be saved; it is that even our enemies will be saved. Let us too hope that even the worst of sinners can be saved; let us pray “lead all souls into heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy.” Let us pray it and hope that it will be done all for the glory of God.
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