Christ's Judgment, or Reflection on Judgment Sunday

As we move closer towards Holy and Great Lent, we read on Judgment Sunday the passage concerning the sheep and the goats (cf. Matthew 25:31ff), where Christ will judge all people not just according to their faith in Christ, but according to what they've done. Or more particularly, how they showed their faith by what they've done. This is important to note, since a number of non-Orthodox, and particularly Protestants, would contend that faith, or proclaiming one's belief in Christ alone, is enough. Of course we start off with our faith in Christ--in the Protestant context, that would mean believing in Him. Belief though should not be merely by knowing Jesus, but a real life in Him by obeying Him. In the Orthodox view, this is the more complete faith--knowing Christ and following Him by obeying Him. So we see this then in the passage in Matthew. Interestingly, St. Paul echoes the same in Romans 2:5-8, especially in verses 7-8: eternal life to those who seek glory, honor, and immortality through perseverance in good works, but wrath and fury to those who selfishly disobey the truth and obey wickedness. He would repeat this in verses 9-10 to stress his point. In Revelation as well we find the same thing regarding Judgment: “Behold, I am coming soon. I bring with me the recompense I will give to each according to his deeds." (Revelation 22:12). We must then live our lives following His will, doing it with love. And above all, indeed, it should be with love, as St. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 13. Indeed, he writes that the greatest virtue is love, and good works in another sense is love in action, or faith working with love in action. As we move towards Great Lent this should be in our hearts, that we must do things with love for God and for our neighbor. All that we do is geared towards love, for we are here because of His love for us, and we are reminded of this each Great Lent, and indeed each day we are with Him.

The Publican and the Pharisee

Last Sunday we read about the publican and the Pharisee. This then starts our preparation towards Holy and Great Lent. The Gospel leads us to reflect on one aspect, often said but often not quite followed: humility. Often we are told to be humble. Often though, we fail to do so. Our world today calls us instead to brag on about what we've accomplished, on what we've done. But there is more to that than simply not telling what we've done--it is about obedience. It is about confronting ourselves and seeing ourselves as who we are--that we are sinners in need of Christ's love and forgiveness. So the Church reminds us of this, that as we go towards Lent, we must again go back and realize that we are sinners.

We are often reminded of this in our prayers. In Liturgy we say often, "Lord, have mercy". And again: O God be gracious to me a sinner and have mercy one me. And how often we are reminded of The Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner. Yet, do we reflect on these things? It is worthwhile to reflect on them, if we have not done so yet. For here we see something--a need for mercy, for forgiveness. We strive, and yet we fail. And yet there is hope--for in The Prayer, we appeal to our Lord to have mercy on us. And He shows us this mercy, if we really seek for it. He shows us that we are not hopeless, because He is always there waiting for us. So we must pray as often as we should, asking His mercy, and then doing His will, which is to live in Him, for then by doing so we then show that we are His. We must strive, to carry on, towards that perfection which the Lord calls us to do, and in the end He will reward us for our tears and our struggles.

New Year, New Life

Every start of the year, we see it as a new day. A new life for many of us. How do we start this new year then? Many of us make resolutions. If ever there is one resolution we must do, it should be that we must be faithful to our Lord and follow Him. Our new life then should be a new life in the Lord, living in obedience to Him and being faithful to His commandments. That should be the new life we must strive, each day, and that we must keep. It is a life that we should keep not just at the start of the year, but everyday for the rest of our lives. So as the celebration stops and the grind of daily life returns, we must keep this new life in Christ, really focusing on Him and obeying Him. Then our life will be one of joy and peace, knowing that we are with Him and that we live the life that our Lord desires for us.