I'm back from Rome, after a very fruitful pilgrimage. We had good weather, good food, and good company. Now I just need some good rest to get past this jet lag...
Readings
Within the human heart,
the
North Country would be right in the middle
Roadblocks
and helicopters, bloodhounds and accomplices,
have
been the big story for a whole week now.
There
are a limited number of facts…
…but
everybody’s got an opinion.
And
there’s one opinion I’ve heard
pretty much across the board:
pretty much across the board:
I hope they catch those two
quick
and throw the book at them!
and throw the book at them!
We
want to make sure they get what they deserve.
Within the human heart,
there
is a clear, deep-seated desire for justice.
But
have you ever gotten a speeding ticket?
And
then desperately tried to wiggle your way out of it?
Or
have you been—shall we say—
a
bit “creative” when filing your taxes?
I’m
not at all trying to equate either one
with homicide or a jailbreak,
but
there’s a part of us that will go
to quite extraordinary lengths
to
avoid getting what we deserve.
Within
the human heart,
there’s
also a clear, deep-seated hope for mercy.
As
we return to the Sundays of Ordinary Time,
our
second reading is one frequently chosen for funerals—
containing
as it does the consoling belief
that
while we are at home in the body we are
away from the Lord.
But
it’s the ending of that passage which grabs my attention today—
although
it rarely, if ever, gets much attention at funerals anymore:
We must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ,
so that each may receive
recompense,
according to what he did in
the body, whether good or evil.
It’s
a conviction that’s echoed
in the
Prayer Over the Offerings of the Funeral Mass:
that
the faithful departed, who believed Jesus to
be a loving Savior,
may find in him a merciful
judge.
It’s
not a conviction, however, that I often hear echoed
in
the words of remembrance shared by family or friends;
those
generally sound more like the proceedings of a canonization.
I
understand the urge, in our hour of grief,
to
think of our loved ones as headed straight to heaven.
But
isn’t it a bit presumptuous to think
that
heaven is due us, regardless of our faith or actions?
Sure,
we expect the other guy—
especially
any really, really bad one—
to
be held responsible for his misdeeds.
But
what about ourselves? And those close
to us?
Do
we hope to be treated according to a different set if rules?
Do
we really believe in judgment?
I
should clarify:
Do
we believe in any judgment other than our own?
The
escape routes from personal responsibility
which
we so often devise
are
a whole lot more complex
than
the one dreamed up by two inmates at Dannemora.
The
kingdom of God,
while
grown from tender shoots and tiny seeds,
is
like a large, majestic tree
with
branches enough to accommodate
every
soul the Lord’s ever created.
But
just because a tree is very big
doesn’t
mean that all birds are going to make their home in it.
Yes,
God’s mercy is boundless…
…but
his justice is also perfect.
God
loves us enough to fully respect our free will—
that
way in which we are most like him
and
unlike the rest of bodily creation.
God
respects the choices we have made and holds us to them:
whether
for good or for evil, for him and his kingdom or against.
In
this life, we are to pray to the Father, Thy
will be done,
and
do our part to make it so on earth as it is in heaven.
We
must learn God’s law and choose to obey it;
we shall
be judged accordingly.
But
in the next life, it is God who says to us, Thy
will be done,
since
it will come to pass for us in heaven or hell
as
we passed our time in the body on earth.
(cf. C.
S. Lewis)
It’s
the Church’s ancient creed, repeated Sunday after Sunday,
that
the Only Begotten Son of God
will come again in glory to
judge the living and the dead.
Yes,
God is merciful—
but
we must not presume on that mercy.
And
God also is just, indeed—
and
there can be no escaping the divine justice:
we must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ.
As
we believe Jesus to be a loving Savior,
let
us live as men and women always ready
to
stand before such an awesome and merciful judge.
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