The Last Judgement

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand,

Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

It is a humbling and sobering thought, and has always been so to me. When the day of judgement, even the hour of judgement, is at hand: every act of charity that I considered but failed to do; each homeless man I passed by on the street; each needy person I could have helped help but didn’t – each and every one of these shall be present there with me. And I, who lived a life of comfort and little good (certainly none which I can call my own), will not be able to give an answer to them. My own sins of commission and omission will already have answered for me. The Least of These, the Blameless One, the Lamb of God crucified – the only truly complete human being – stands in silent judgement.

But that way lies Lent. That way lies Golgotha. That way lies the Resurrection.

The Last Judgement is not preached so that the already self-righteous can feel good about themselves. If I consider that Hell is only meant for those ‘other people’ and not for me, then I have missed the point at my own peril. It is preached to afflict Dives for his own sake, and make Lazarus visible to him. If the Last Judgement shows a harrowing vision of Hell to us (and it does to me!), then it is only so that the final word, the Harrowing of Hell and the resurrection of the dead, can be seen and felt with that much more hope. And so that the condition of ‘the least of these’ can be felt with that much more pity.

When You, O God, shall come to earth with glory,
All things shall tremble
And the river of fire shall flow before Your judgment seat;
The books shall be opened and the hidden things disclosed!
Then deliver me from the unquenchable fire,
And make me worthy to stand at Your right hand, righteous Judge!