Journeying towards Jesus
Preparing
Reflecting on the Gospel story Beginning at the end Faced by the disciples’ worry about the last times, Jesus kindly gives them an insight into the last challenge we will all face. The discourse is given only to the disciples and has its climax in the apocalyptic vision of the last judgement. Apocalypse may seem a strange place for us to begin, but endings can make for new beginnings: the future is revealed to help us to live genuine lives today. The Greek word apokalypsis literally means “uncovering”; it is the act of removing the covering that conceals something, thereby exposing it to view. The apocalyptic vision of the last judgement unveils a truth that is hidden – not to satisfy any fitful curiosity about the future tense but to challenge us, hearers and readers, about the values we live by in the present tense. The last judgement provokes the question: if that is how we will be judged at the end of time, how should we live our lives today? The last judgement refuses to see the future as a fateful accident or humanity as its hapless victim; rather, it uncovers the truth that our future will be the direct consequence of the everyday choices we make. In that sense the teaching attempts to
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make us conscious choice-makers in favour of those who are disadvantaged. Who we become in the fullness of time will depend on the choices we make and the values we choose to govern our lives. The gathering The gathering is the assembly of humanity, presided over by the supreme king of all peoples, who has taken his seat on his glorious throne. He has dominion over all and has, therefore, the right to judge all, a right that has been conferred on him by God: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18). Among those who are assembled there is no distinction or discrimination between races or religions, between Jew and Gentile, between priest and lay, between man and woman. There is no hierarchy, no privilege and no precedence. What the assembled people share is their common bond of humanity, so that when the king/ shepherd makes the separation, he will be separating the people as individuals, not as national or religious groupings. The separation and the judgement Although this is a judgement scene, there is no trial procedure. The trial has taken place during the life of each person and
Journey Preparing
Investing
Adjusting
Welcoming
Celebrating