Sunday of the Last Judgement
Categories: uncategorized
Date: 06 March 2005 07:21:26
| 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! Kontakion |
Today is known as Meatfare Sunday [for the Church prescribes that in the week following a limited fasting of abstention from meat]. It is also the Sunday of the Last Judgement, with the Gospel reading being The Parable of the Sheeps and Goats.
As our priest said in his sermon, it is important that we do see Christ in every person we meet. As Alexander Schmemann says in his book Great Lent: Journey to Pascha:
When Christ comes to judge us, what will be the criterion of His judgement? The parable answers: love -- not a mere humanitarian concern for abstract justice and the anonymous "poor", but concrete and personal love for the human person, any human person, that God makes me encounter in my life.Not that concern for the poor is wrong, but Christian love calls us far beyond this, to each person we encounter in our lives.
This message was timely for me. I've found myself endlessly frustrated this week with those around me -- and for no reason at all. I generally am an impatient person, but this week I appalled even myself with my lack of patience and longsuffering. May God forgive me, and may God help me!
| It is also the Feast of the Uncovering of the Precious Cross and the Precious Nails by the Empress St Helena in Jerusalem (326). You can read about the discovery of the Cross here. |