Judgement, our choice?

WORD 2day: Thursday, 34th week in Ordinary time

November 28, 2024: Revelation 18: 1-2, 21-23, 19:1-3, 9; Luke 21: 20-28

Happy are those who are called to the wedding feast of the Lamb... the final banquet, the moment of redemption... the end of days, the judgment seat... these are all the pictures that the Word paints before our eyes today. Let us not create for ourselves an idea of some horror fiction or some sort of shake-up narrations. They are, after all, logical ends towards which we are all journeying.

But a much deeper fact to remember is that these need not be always an end time phenomenon, instead it has to be an everyday experience... the judgment is a continuous happening and it is not entirely an act of the Lord; the choices that we make at any given point of time, at any moment of a given day, the choice of our words, thoughts, actions, decisions... those are already judgments that we bring upon ourselves (cf. Jn 3:18).

The reason is this: our choice! Every time we react in a way to something or someone, we make a choice! You may say, "No! but it was just a spontaneous word, or a spontaneous act; not premeditated at all!" But remember, though it is a so-called spontaneous word or act, it has a history; there is a whole lot of experience behind it; there is a whole lot of judgement that goes with it. Why you choose a word, not another; why choose a particular way of reacting and not some other... they depend, even if unconscious or subconscious, on the attitudes or the disposition you have towards that person or that event. That is where our judgments, the judgments that come on us, rest too! That is why Jesus said: judge not, you shall not be judged!

Getting back to the parable... we are all called to the wedding feast, that is to unite with the Lord and enjoy the eternal bliss. But the choices we make on a daily basis, at a particular point of time, is our response and that decides whether we enter the banquet or not. Hence, instead of yarning tales of suspense and horror, let us realise our responsibility in making right choices, conscious choices, charitable choices, holy choices, Christ-like choices, every moment of our daily life: that way ,our judgement would be our choice, indeed!