Tuesday, November 22, 2022

Memorial of Saint Cecilia, virgin and martyr

(Revelation 14:14-19; Luke 21:5-11)

Today’s passage from the Book of Revelation describes the judgment at the end of time.  It is depicted as a double harvest.  The first, performed by “ä son of man” who is probably Christ, cuts and gathers good fruit, which is to say, the righteous of the earth.  The second harvest cuts down the grapes that are associated with the ungodly.  They will be crushed, and their remains will be burned.

The harshness of the imagery need not be taken as a completely negative judgment on the whole reality.  Not all people involved in evil are fully responsible for their actions.  Yet a verdict of guilty for some should not be dismissed as outmoded.  Even though Jesus continually warns of judgment in the gospels, people knowingly persist in doing evil. 

The scene is intended to comfort those who try to live moral lives.  Equally, it is meant to cast fear into those who do what they know to be wrong.  In the end we cannot escape judgment.  It is as inevitable as the setting of the sun.

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