20141125 FACING THE INEVITABLE FINAL JUDGEMENT WITH CONFIDENCE AND JOY
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First reading
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Apocalypse
14:14-19 ©
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In my vision I, John,
saw a white cloud and, sitting on it, one like a son of man with a gold crown
on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel came out of the
sanctuary, and shouted aloud to the one sitting on the cloud, ‘Put your sickle
in and reap: harvest time has come and the harvest of the earth is ripe.’ Then
the one sitting on the cloud set his sickle to work on the earth, and the
earth’s harvest was reaped.
Another
angel, who also carried a sharp sickle, came out of the temple in heaven, and
the angel in charge of the fire left the altar and shouted aloud to the one
with the sharp sickle, ‘Put your sickle in and cut all the bunches off the vine
of the earth; all its grapes are ripe.’ So the angel set his sickle to work on
the earth and harvested the whole vintage of the earth and put it into a huge
winepress, the winepress of God’s anger.
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Psalm
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Psalm 95:10-13 ©
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The Lord comes to
rule the earth.
Proclaim to the
nations: ‘God is king.’
The world
he made firm in its place;
he will
judge the peoples in fairness.
The Lord comes to
rule the earth.
Let the heavens
rejoice and earth be glad,
let the
sea and all within it thunder praise,
let the land and all
it bears rejoice,
all the
trees of the wood shout for joy
at the presence of
the Lord for he comes,
he comes
to rule the earth.
The Lord comes to
rule the earth.
With justice he will
rule the world,
he will
judge the peoples with his truth.
The Lord comes to
rule the earth.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Lk21:28
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Stand erect, hold
your heads high,
because your
liberation is near at hand.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Rv2:10
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Even if you have to
die, says the Lord,
keep faithful, and I
will give you
the crown of life.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 21:5-11 ©
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When some were
talking about the Temple, remarking how it was adorned with fine stonework and
votive offerings, Jesus said, ‘All these things you are staring at now –
the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another: everything
will be destroyed.’ And they put to him this question: ‘Master,’ they said
‘when will this happen, then, and what sign will there be that this is about to
take place?’
‘Take
care not to be deceived,’ he said ‘because many will come using my name and
saying, “I am he” and, “The time is near at hand.” Refuse to join them. And
when you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened, for this is
something that must happen but the end is not so soon.’ Then he said to them,
‘Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be
great earthquakes and plagues and famines here and there; there will be fearful
sights and great signs from heaven.’
FACING
THE INEVITABLE FINAL JUDGEMENT WITH CONFIDENCE AND JOY
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: REV 14:14-19; LK 21:5-11
As we
come towards the end of the liturgical year, we cannot but also anticipate
the end time. Like the disciples, we also speculate, “when will this
happen, then, and what sign will there be that this is about to take
place?” Besides trying to guess the end time, there are also related
questions of curiosity as to how the world actually would come to an end or
whether it would even end at all. Will it be a transformed, or a new
world, or will this world be destroyed? There are different views, depending whether
one wishes to adopt the apocalyptic or prophetic, both of which are found in
scriptures. Hence, there are some theologians who prefer not to speak of
the end of the world but rather the end of this world or the transformation of
the world. How the world would come to its end remains
ambiguous. Even Jesus was not definite about the specifics of the New
World.
Nevertheless,
the scripture is clear that God will come as judge as reflected in the
responsorial psalm and the first reading. The first reading speaks of the
son of man sitting in the clouds carrying a sharp sickle to gather in the
harvest and the grapes. In the responsorial psalm, the psalmist declares
that the Lord who is King will come to judge the earth. “Before the Lord,
for he comes; for he comes to rule the earth. He shall rule the world with
justice and the peoples with his constancy.”
Instead
of indulging in such vain speculation, more importantly we must be ready for
the end time in whichever form it takes. This means that we must
consider the seriousness of the final judgment. Before the end of
this old world, the coming of the new world must be preceded by judgment.
The justice of God demands that the truth of all that we do and say with all
its ramifications for the individual and for the whole of humanity must be
revealed. Judgment implies the need to clarify right from wrong, truth
from falsehood, love from hatred. At the end of the life of each
individual, we must give an account of ourselves before the Lord. That is
why Christian eschatology speaks of the last four things, namely, death,
judgment, heaven and hell.
What then is our
response to the prospect of a final judgment? For many of us, the talk of judgment
sends shivers down our spines. We are terrified at the thought of
judgment before God. Such negative attitude towards judgment is so
different from the saints in the Old and New Testament. For them,
judgment is a time of liberation and vindication. It was with great joy and
exultation that the psalmist looked forward to the judgment of God. He
said, “Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; let the sea and what
fills it resound; let the plains be joyful and all that is in them! Then shall
all the trees of the forest exult.” So too St Paul in his writings often
wrote about his desire to be in union with the Lord. The early Christians
were singing unceasingly, “Maranatha”, “Come, Lord Jesus”.
If there is fear in
awaiting our final judgment, it is because most of us tend to give emphasis to the
negative dimension of judgment. This is because as the first reading
warns us, two groups of people would receive their due differently. For
the first category, it would be a harvest symbolizing reaping of a
reward. Such a lot belong to the saints and martyrs who have been
purified by the blood of the Lamb and who have shared in His victory over Satan
and his angels. For the second group however, they are described as ripen
grapes harvested and sent to the winepress to be crushed. The wine and the
cup often symbolize the wrath of God poured out against humanity for the sins
committed. Indeed, the grapes are “put … into a huge winepress, the
winepress of God’s anger.”
Consequently, one should
face the judgment with fear only if it brings about our condemnation but with
joy and expectation if it brings about our justification. This is true in
everyday life. If we have studied hard for our exams, then we look
forward to the day of our examination because it is D-Day for us to give proof
to all the days of hard work we have given to our studies. If we are
preparing for a project, then when that day comes, we feel happy to show forth
all the painstaking efforts and hard work we have put into it. When we do
well, we cannot but feel a sense of worthwhileness and satisfaction for all the
sacrifices we have made. But if we have not worked hard and have
not been responsible, then shame and guilt will meet us instead. So if we
have lived our lives responsibly, there is no fear but only joyful expectation.
Your attitude towards the final judgment reveals the true state of our soul
even though many of us might not consciously remember the sins we have
committed but our soul tells us how unworthy we are!
Truly, at the final
judgment, it will not be God who will cast us into hell but we will be the ones
to cast ourselves into hell for our pride and shame will forbid us to
approach God who is all holiness and all love. We would not be able
to face Him knowing how ungrateful we have been towards Him despite all the
love He has given to us, all the blessings and gifts He has showered on us; all
the opportunities He has made available to us and, most of all, His patience in
waiting for us to repent. Yes, we will be so filled with utter
embarrassment that we will not know where to hide our face from His love, the
way Adam and Eve hid from God after they committed the sin of disobedience.
Yet should we wait till
the final judgment? Isn’t
the final judgment already brought before us every day and every moment of our
lives? In every decision we take and in every attitude we adopt, aren’t
we creating the judgment in our heart. The final judgment is but the
cumulative acts and thoughts that we make at every moment in our lives.
Good or bad habits, love or hatred, truth or falsehood will be reinforced in us
according to the way we respond to our daily life situations. So
judgment, strictly speaking, is taking place existentially at every moment and
then finally at our death and collectively at the end of time.
Indeed, the trials and
tragedy of life are not signs that the end is near. As Jesus said,
“Take care not to be deceived, because many will come using my name and saying,
‘I am he’ and, ‘The time is near at hand.’ Refuse to join them. And when you
hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened, for this is something that
must happen but the end is not so soon.” Rather, such signs, whether
catastrophic or personal disasters, are opportunities for us to repent of our
evil ways and to awaken us to the transient nature of life lest we think that
we can cling to this life forever. No matter how great our achievements
are, no matter what human technology can do, they will pass away just like
Temple of Jerusalem!
Yes, Jesus warned us,
“Everything will be destroyed!” What then would not be destroyed? The
Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World in Vatican II, No 39
teaches, “We do not know the time for the consummation of the earth and of
humanity, nor do we know how all things will be transformed. As deformed by
sin, the shape of this world will pass away; but we are taught that God is
preparing a new dwelling place and a new earth where justice will abide, and
whose blessedness will answer and surpass all the longings for peace which
spring up in the human heart. Then, with death overcome, the sons of God will
be raised up in Christ, and what was sown in weakness and corruption will be
invested with incorruptibility. Enduring with charity and its fruits, all that
creation which God made on man’s account will be unchained from the bondage of
vanity.”
So until the fullness of
the Kingdom comes, it is important that we start living out the vision that
is set before us in Christ. We must begin to live the life of the
future here and now. Let us not think of going to heaven, rather, let us
bring heaven to this earth by living a responsible and holy life. Instead of
worrying like the Jews about the destruction of the Temple on earth, we should
instead be concerned about transforming ourselves into the Temple of God.
What cannot be destroyed is the love of God in us and the holiness of life that
we acquire through the grace of God. In the final analysis “after we have
obeyed the Lord, and in His Spirit nurtured on earth the values of human
dignity, brotherhood and freedom, and indeed all the good fruits of our nature
and enterprise, we will find them again, but freed of stain, burnished and
transfigured, when Christ hands over to the Father: “a kingdom eternal and
universal, a kingdom of truth and life, of holiness and grace, of justice, love
and peace.” On this earth that Kingdom is already present in mystery. When the
Lord returns, it will be brought into full flower.”
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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