SUNDAY
29 November 2015 [ advent
– week 1 ]
• Jeremiah
33:14-16 • Psalm 25 • 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2 • Luke 21:25-28, 34-36 •
Bibliography: John Henry Newman, “The Immortality of
the Soul” (Bk. I, Serm. 2) Parochial
& Plain Sermons (1891),
San
Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1997.
[__01__] The
judge, or the judges, in a courtroom are, in some ways invisible or obscure to
us. They
may even be avoidable.
In
the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus offered this legal and spiritual counsel, “Make
friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest
your accuser hand you over to the judge.” (Matthew 5:25)
Jesus
suggested the possibility of a detour around certain judges and magistrates.
I
reflect on this theme of the judge and the judgment, because this is the first
Sunday of Advent, and in our Gospel reading, Jesus reminds of the importance to
pray that we can stand before the Son of Man.
Jesus
will, one day, be our judge.
The
Good News, however, is that through the Holy Spirit, through the sacraments of
the Church, he is also our ADVOCATE, our helper, our adviser.
He
is within our conscience in
both the legal trials and True-and-False questions of life.
In
the Book of the Exodus, just before the crossing of the Red Sea, the Lord
encourages Moses to continue forward. As we recall, Moses did not enjoy public
speaking, and all the encounters with Pharaoh. At this point, Moses feared he would drown in
the water. And, at this critical moment,
Moses is told, “The Lord himself will fight for you, you have only
to keep still.” (Exodus
14:14)
[__02__] Thus, in this regard, we need not fear or
run from the Day of Judgment, the day that our souls come before God. We are only called to pray and prepare for
this day and to know what the judge expects of us.
[__03__] In this case, we see that God’s judgment was
against Egypt and in favor of Moses’ people. They were being rescued and taken
to the Promised Land. They
only had to keep still, to keep calm.
[__04__] Isn’t this calm, this tranquility very
difficult to attain or maintain, in a
time of judgment?
The
snowboarders and skaters at the Olympics may be calm during their
performance….but they appear a bit more nervous just as the judges post the
numerical scores for the medal-rankings.
[__05__] Naturally, we would also be nervous because
judgment would indicate that something is going to change. Perhaps,
I should settle out of court or avoid this judge?
[__06__] The
judgement or the Day of Judgment is, however, not meant to scare us or frighten
us but simply to remind us that there is a life beyond this world.
Jesus
himself said: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth; where
the rust and moth consume and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up
to yourselves treasures in heaven.” (Matthew 6:19-20)
Do
we believe – with all of our heart, mind and strength – in a life beyond this
world?
John
Henry Newman observes that we can, in a sense, conclude this by a process of
elimination. That is, we know what is
meant by the fragility and limitations of this life. We see that individuals
and even institutions may not endure forever.
That
is, while it is healthy – spiritually healthy – to long for a life beyond
this world, it is also quite apparent that natural and created things do break
down.
Thus,
when we would speak of eternal life, we do not speak of our purely physical
existence, but rather our soul, our spiritual life. We are a unity of
body-and-soul.
The
soul is also what makes us distinctly human and rational. Our soul gives us free will and not merely
instinct. Our soul gives us a conscience
and not merely a memory. Our soul gives
us a sense of what is good and evil not only for me but for another.
In
our soul is the impetus to seek forgiveness or to forgive another person.
While
these aspects – FREEDOM, CONSCIENCE, FORGIVENESS – are certainly demonstrated
by our SPEECH or ACTION, can we not say that they exist apart from them?
God
gave us, created in us, a soul.
It
is our souls which make us unique, non-repeatable ... once born, a copy will
never be burned.
It
is not DNA or physical attributes or chemistry which make us known to God and
to another but rather our soul.
The
Holy Spirit, as our ADVOCATE, would also be our original soul mate.
[__07__] Recently, Pope Francis declared that the year 2015-2016, from the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of December 8, 2015 until Christ the King, 2016 would be the YEAR OF MERCY.
Pope
Francis prays and calls for all Catholics, priests and people to reflect on and
seek God’s mercy.
Here
at Our Lady of Lourdes, we observe this on the evening of Monday December 7
with the availability of priests for confession from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm. This
information is also in our bulletin and website.
[__08__] We
are called to seek God’s mercy and to be aware of the judge and judgment in our
lives and also of the visible and invisible in each of us.
Is
the judge the one we try to avoid?
After
all, no one wants to go to court, RIGHT?
Jesus
had said…. , “Make
friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest
your accuser hand you over to the judge.” (Matthew 5:25)
Jesus
is not, however, an ordinary judge …but our understanding of judgment, in
general, can help us and guide us.
[__09__] Several
years ago, I was called for and served for about a month as a juror in the
Hudson County courthouse at Journal Square in Jersey City.
As
we may all be well aware, one of the responsibilities of the judge is not only
to instruct the lawyers, the defendant, the prosecutor, the plaintiff, BUT ALSO
..the jury, the members of the jury were also instructed.
Of
course, the members of the jury could attempt to – or might succeed in avoiding
the judge’s instruction. After all, we went home at night. We were not
sequestered. How much could the judge really know or see of us?
Now,
that trial lasted for about 30 days, but we were not in court all day long or
every day consecutively. One day, I left the courthouse and took the PATH
train. I went to my regular place of
work in another city and in another state. I was now 20 miles away from the
courthouse. There was no judge in sight.
It
was, to me, quite a coincidence that I should see one of the other jurors
walking down a city street. He did not see me. I did not acknowledge him. I
just keep walking.
I
thought… I guess this is why the judge tells you not to discuss the case
outside the jury room.
In
some legal and metaphysical way, I felt the judge was present to us, to both of
us.
[__10__] I use this as an example of how someone’s
instruction exists not simply physically, but also spiritually.
When
strive to follow the 4th commandment – Honor thy father and thy
mother that thou might have a long life on the earth – we do so not simply
because our father or mother is over our shoulder. In fact, would we not do so
because we believe in the eternal soul of our deceased parents.
When
we confess our sins in the sacrament of penance and reconciliation, we
recognize that our actions do not have merely physical or material
consequences, but rather spiritual and eternal significance.
What
is important is not only what we can see but what we cannot see.
[__11__] In the
legal courtrooms of a county or state or federal government, the judge bases a
decision based on what is VISIBLE even
if visibility requires an electron microscope or if “visibility” is defined by
a fingerprint or phone conversation.
Thus,
we try to hide from or avoid such judges. Sometimes, we succeed.
[__12__] However, from Jesus, as our judge, we gain
not by hiding but by disclosure.
And,
we disclose not simply what is visible but also what is invisible.
St.
Francis de Sales writes that God is a merciful judge and not an angry judge.
(Francis de Sales, “Ch. IX, On
Gentleness Toward Ourselves” Part III, Introduction to the
Devout Life, p. 112)
This
same judgment – this same patience – is what we need when we examine our lives,
examine our consciences.
Francis
de Sales suggests that when we become aware of our sinfulness, we are not to be
excessively anxious. Remember the words to Moses at the Red Sea:
“The Lord
himself will fight for you, you have only to keep still.”
(Exodus 14:14)
This
same stillness is valuable, is it not, when we discover the sinfulness or fault
in another person. That is, while we may find fault with another, it does
little good for us to act with rage and vengeance.
Or,
St. Francis de Sales writes, if a judge speaks very impetuously and
passionately, he is not punishing the actual faults but only what he perceives
to be the faults.
The
same is true in ourselves. That is, we become distressed at our faults, at what
we can see. We always begin with what we can see.
