Wednesday, November 12, 2025

 

Memorial of Saint Josephat, bishop and martyr

(Wisdom 6:1-11; Luke 17:11-19)

The Book of Wisdom was most likely written in the city of Alexandria, Egypt, around the time of Christ.  Today’s reading instructs earthy rulers on the need of wisdom.  The passage reverberates with gospel passages.  As Jesus told his disciples that more will be expected from those who are given more (Luke 12:48), Wisdom warns princes, “…the lowly may be pardoned out of mercy but the mighty shall be mightily put to the test.”

Judgment in Wisdom is not only found in the hope of earthly reconciling of accounts between victims and assailants, but also in eternal reckoning.  The Book of Wisdom assures the existence of eternal life.  It declared in the passage read yesterday at mass “…the souls of the just are in the hand of God.”  Christ, of course, validated this statement in his resurrection from the dead.

The warning of Wisdom to earthly rulers applies to most of us.  We may not be leaders of state or heads of departments, but most of us are given responsibility for others.  Teachers are responsible for students; head nurses for their staffs; and parents for their children.  We too will be judged on whether we “walk(ed) according to the will of God.”

Tuesday, November 26, 2024

Tuesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

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

Today’s reading from Revelation pictures a double judgment.  Good men and women are seen as wheat which the son of man – with whom Jesus identifies – harvests with his sickle.  Evidently, they will be stored in a barn for safe-keeping.  The evil are portrayed as grapevines which an angel cuts down and throws into a wine press.  There they will be trod down and discarded.

The passage indicates the biblical point of view regarding God’s justice.  He rewards good deeds and abhors evil ones so much that their practitioners are condemned.  Scripture may not have the last word in explaining the ways of God, but it does point out their direction.

Contemporary theology sometimes argues that all people in the end will be saved.  The Church has indicated that we may pray for this end but should not proclaim it.  There is just too much biblical evidence against such a perspective.

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter

(Acts 5:17-26; John 3:16-21)

In today’s reading from Acts the Sanhedrin wants to put the apostles on trial.  In the end, however, their own members are being tried.  As the gospel says, one either believes in Jesus and has eternal life or disbelieves and is condemned.

John’s gospel paints everyone black or white.  There are no shades of gray.  Because the evangelist’s message is urgent, he does not take time to account for middle-roaders or exceptions.  Probably more than a few Sanhedrin members think that they are doing what is right in stopping the apostles from preaching “Jesus is Lord.”  They might have taken offense with Jesus’ claim he knows better than other rabbis the will of God.

We must take care in assessing blame.  Often it is difficult to decipher another’s intention.  However, rather than making quick judgments, we should pray for those whom we find offensive.  They are likely to reveal their true motives sooner or later.  Then we will better evidence to make a true evaluation.

Thursday, December 1, 2022

 Thursday of the First Week of Advent

Isaiah 26:1-6; Matthew 7:21.24-27)

Today’s gospel passage may serve as an introduction to Matthew.  His gospel will be read on most Sundays for the next year.  In Matthew Jesus is the consummate teacher.  From the mountaintop he tells his disciples how to live the really good (i.e., moral) life with the kingdom of heaven as its goal.  During the course of the gospel Jesus will give four other discourses expounding on the life of discipleship.

The passage today comes at the end of the Sermon on the Mount.  It presents a rainstorm as a metaphor for judgment.  To heed Jesus is to build one’s house on rock so that one’s survives intact the rainstorm-judgment.  On the other hand, to ignore Jesus’ instruction is to build one’s house on sand from which judgment will dislodge it. 

Advent looks forward to the coming of Jesus to judge the world.  To prepare for him is to put into practice his teaching.  To the extent that it is done, we will be judged as worthy of God’s kingdom, our heaven.

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.

Monday, July 21, 2014

Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Micah 6:1-4.6-8; Matthew 12:38-42)

Most Christians are aware of the judgment scene toward the end of Matthew’s gospel.  In the story Jesus foretells how he will come at the end of time to judge the peoples of the earth.  In the reading from the prophet Micah today we find an Old Testament counterpart to that memorable scene.

God appears in the trial as both plaintiff and judge.  He has a case against the people of Israel.  Although He has freed them from slavery and given them His Law as their guide, they have been anything but loyal.  They have ignored His commandments and, like young men lusting after whores, have joined themselves to other gods.  Now facing powerful enemies, they come back to God for assistance.  They propose paying their indemnity with sacrifices – animals, oil stocks, or (how could they ever imagine this?) their own children.  But God exacts neither blood nor material.  He only pleads that Israel be just, good, and humble.

As simple as it sounds, the rectitude that God seeks becomes a monumental task in a world with so many diversions.  Fortunately, we have Christ as our model and strength.  Grounding our lives in his teaching and coming to his table for nourishment, we can feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, and visit the sick and imprisoned.  In short, we can prepare ourselves to enter God’s kingdom. 

Tuesday, November 22, 2010

Tuesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

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

After reading the famous judgment scene in Matthew 25, we might wonder, what’s wrong with goats? After all, Jesus never explains why they are used to describe the hell-bound who cared not for the needy. Similarly, we may ask why, in today’s first reading from Revelation, the grape crop is cut and burned while the first fruit harvested is apparently stored and cherished. Nothing is said about the grapes tasting bitter or containing poison.

Perhaps, however, there is something about grapes that intimates corruption. The reading says that the harvested grapes are ripe, that is fully mature – big, round, and juicy. They look nutritious but have little body to provide sustenance. We can think of vain people who would deceive others to consider themselves as more accomplished than they are in reality. Some years ago, for example, the newly hired coach at Notre Dame had to resign for lying on his resume.

Judgment scenes in the Scriptures are notoriously severe. We pray that when we go before the bench, God might forgive our shortcomings as well as those of loved ones. Yet it would be presumptuous to think that we might lie and bluff our way past the just judge that God is. Instead, let us make a habit now of speaking little of ourselves and regarding others, as St. Paul admonishes, as our betters.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Micah 6:1-4.6-8; Matthew 12:38-42)

Most Christians are well aware of the judgment scene toward the end of Matthew’s gospel. In it Jesus tells how he will come at the end of time to judge the peoples of the earth. In the reading from the prophet Micah today we find a counterpart in the Hebrew Scriptures to that memorable scene.

God appears in the trial as both plaintiff and judge. He has a case against the people of Israel. Although He has freed them from slavery and given them His Law as their guide, they have been anything but loyal. They have ignored righteousness and like testosterone-laden young men lusting after whores they have joined themselves to other gods. Now facing powerful enemies, they turn to God for assistance. They propose paying their indemnity with sacrifices – animals, oil stocks, or (how could they ever imagine this?) their own children. But God exacts neither blood nor material. He only pleads that Israel be just, good, and humble.

As simple as it seems, what God asks is impossible for humans alone to accomplish. We need to be fortified with the grace of Christ if we are to walk in God’s ways. It alone will move us to selflessly feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, and so enter God’s kingdom.

Homilette for Friday, October 23, 2009

Friday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

(Romans 7:18-25a; Luke 12:54-59)

“Red sky in the morning: sailors, take warning.” In the gospel today Jesus exhorts the people to prepare for the coming storm. Of course, he is not talking about the weather, but about judgment day which comes for most people sooner than expected.

When he mentions the need to settle with our opponent, Jesus is again telling us to prepare for judgment. We should remember that if our case goes to trial, God will be both our opponent and our judge. It’d be better, Jesus warns, that we reconcile with God now or He will easily convict us of wrong-doing.

It may be hard for some of us who attend daily mass or, at least, read the biblical texts used at mass to identify ourselves in this reading. We might have noticed that Jesus is addressing himself to the crowds and not to his disciples. Yet all of us, no doubt, find ourselves at times at odds with what we know to be true and good. Jesus then is urging us as well to recognize our selfishness and to ask forgiveness for the times that we have allowed it to override our good judgment.