St. Vincent - Crookes, Sheffield at 40 Pickmere Road, Crookes, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S10 1GY UK - Homily for the 33rd Sunday in ordinary Time (B)
| Homily for the 33rd Sunday in ordinary Time (B) |
An old ‘fire and brimstone’ preacher was berating the people during his sermon about the four last things and telling them that ‘everyone from this parish will one day have to stand before the judgement seat of God. One man burst out laughing at the back of the church and said ‘thank God I’m from the next parish down the road’. For many, mention of the last things sends a shiver down their spine. One of them is Judgement after death which appears to be mentioned in the first reading. It may conjure up images of us standing before a rather grim faced judge who goes on berating us for all sorts of misdemeanours we've committed in this life. We are shaking in our shoes because judgement could go either way. Well, I can't see it being like that. Firstly the cards are stacked firmly in our favour because God is a merciful judge. St John Vianney used to say to his congregation that our faults are like a grain of sand compared to the great mountain of God's mercy. It is well known that Saint Augustine turned his back on God as a young man causing his mother, Monica, much heartache. Her prayers for her son were answered when he found God again at a later stage. However, it is interesting to note that towards the end of his life he is quoted as saying that he would rather be judged by God than his own mother even though for most of his youth he paid no heed to God. When God forgives us our sins in the Sacrament of Penance, the slate is wiped clean - the things we’ve confessed will not be dragged up from our past. And even if our CV appears to have some shady areas whereby judgement could go either way, my reading of scripture is that God will be looking for any loopholes He can find to let us 'off the hook'. When St Paul was speaking about the nature of true love he said: 'love is always ready to excuse’. Excusing a person however, never means condoning their sin. But if we, mere humans, are expected to make allowances for the mistakes of others, how much more will God who loves us to infinity. He knows us inside-out and when we appear before His judgement seat, He will have taken into account the times when our judgement was clouded and our ability to act as free human beings somewhat curtailed. We know that one of the sure ways to escape a harsh judgement is not to sit in judgement on anyone ourselves. Jesus said: 'blessed are the merciful, they shall have mercy shown them.' And in the Old Testament it says: ‘judgement will be without mercy for those who have shown no mercy’. So, spare a thought for people caught up in sinful situations even if it appears on the outside that they are at fault. Try and help them even though they may not be doing a lot to help themselves. Think of St Monica who never gave up on her son. So, let no one be outside the pale of our compassion. Scripture tells us that the merciful need have no fear of judgement. On the Day of reckoning the Lord will take the side of the lenient and have their names written in the book of life.
