Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
During the Divine Liturgy, we pray and ask: “For a Christian end to our lives, one that is painless, unashamed and peaceful; and for a good defense at the awesome tribunal of Christ, let us ask the Lord.”
Why do we pray for this? Because one day the Last Judgment will come and our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ teach us about it: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him.” (Mt 25:31,32).
Read more:
- Sermon by Fr. Andriy Mykytyuk on Sunday of the Prodigal Son
- Bishop Mykola’s homily on the Sunday before Epiphany
- Sermon by Fr. Paul Berezniuk on Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee
The world will be judged by Almighty God, who knows our deeds, words, and thoughts. God’s judgment will be just. At this Judgment, every man will receive what he deserves. After the Judgment of God, no one will have any hope of changing their sentence.
With this teaching, Jesus Christ teaches us that good and evil will not exist together forever. The time will come when the Son of God will separate the evil from the good, the righteous from the sinners, and this will happen at the Last Judgment.
St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) once found a mason at work and asked:
– What are you doing, brother, master?
– Here I am building. This is my daily occupation.
– Why are you bricking?
– To earn bread – the master was embarrassed.
– Why do you need bread?
– To live, – answered the master reluctantly.
– Why live? – asked St. Francis
The mason did not answer this question. He was angry, and even more concerned.
– So I will tell you, brother, what is the point of living, – St. Francis continues, to live to know God, love Him, serve Him, and most importantly, reach the ultimate goal – a good answer at the Last Judgment and Eternal life.
Amen.
