“he will sit upon his glorious throne”
This Sunday, the thirty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time is also the close of the liturgical year. We now turn to this weekend and celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King. “The feasts of the Epiphany, Easter and the Ascension also relate to Christ as King and Lord of the Universe, but the Church has wanted to have this feast as a special remembrance to modern man, who seems somewhat indifferent to his supernatural destiny. [1]” [2]
When will Jesus come again? Jesus is truly present with us already. He reigns through the Church. It is through His Church that “all the nations will be assembled before him.” (Mt. 25:32) “Since the Ascension of our Lord, God’s plan has entered into its fulfillment. We are already at ‘the last hour’ (1 Jn 2:18)…Christ’s kingdom already manifests its presence through the miraculous signs that attend its proclamation by the Church.” [3]
However, even though Jesus is present in the Church, his final reign has not yet come as Jesus said in the Gospel reading, and as we know because there is still sin in the world. We do not know the exact hour or day when Jesus will come.
What is keeping Christ from coming again? God wants to bring all before Him. “The glorious Messiah’s coming is suspended at every moment of history until his recognition by ‘all Israel,’ for ‘a hardening has come upon part of Israel’ in their ‘unbelief’ toward Jesus. (Rom. 11:20; cf. Mt. 23:39)” [4] Jesus came not just for the Jews nor just for the Gentiles, but for all of mankind: “Thus the Gentiles will be judged on their response to it. But the phrase all the nations includes the Jews also, for at the judgment ‘the Son of Man… will repay everyone according to his conduct”. (NAB footnotes Mt. 25:32)
What is going to happen at the Second Coming of Jesus? As the Catechism teaches, “Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. (Cf. Lk 18:8; Mt. 24:12). There will be a falsehood and persecution to the Church so great that an apparent solution will come that will have many abandon their faith. “The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist”. Who is the Antichrist? “A pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of is Messiah come in the flesh.” [5]
The final judgment will come only when the Church follows the Lord in His death and Resurrection. “The kingdom will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendancy, but only by God’s victory over the final unleashing of evil, which will cause his Bride to come down from heaven. God’s triumph over the revolt of evil will take the form of the Last Judgment after the final cosmic upheaval of the passing world.” [6]
Who is Jesus coming with when He comes again? Jesus is coming with the angels, His angels. This is important because just as a king has his servants, who prepare the way for the king, so does Jesus with His angels. The angels belong to Christ because they were created through Him and for Him. As we read in from St. Paul, “for in him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities – all things were created through him and for him.” (Col. 1:16) The angels belong to Jesus also because He made them His messengers of His saving plan: “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?” (Heb. 1:14) Jesus is not only the center of our world, but the angelic world too. [7]
When Jesus comes again what happens to us? “Christ will present all Creation to him as an offering. Then all things will be subjected to his rule. His Second Coming will establish a new heaven and a new earth. (Rev. 21:1-2) He will thereupon vanquish the devil, sin, pain and death. [8]” [9] If we have died before the second coming of Christ, our souls have separated from our bodies. At the final coming, through the power of God, our soul is united with our bodies again, but this time it is incorruptible and perfect. [10] Who will receive these bodies? Everyone will. “Those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment.” (Jn. 5:29; cf. Dan. 12:2) How is this possible? “This ‘how’ exceeds our imagination and understanding; it is accessible only to faith.” [11] It is through Christ, who has already shown the glorified body in Himself. It is through Him “all of them will rise again with their own bodies which they now bear,” but Christ “will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body,” into a “spiritual body”. [12]
What will we be judged on? “When he comes at the end of time to judge the living and the dead, the glorious Christ will reveal the secret disposition of hearts and will render to each man according to his works and according to his acceptance or refusal of grace.” [13] In the gospel it speaks of serving “the least”. Who is “the least”? We do not know if it means everyone in the world who goes hungry, thirsty, etc. or if it a specific group of people. This has been debated and still continues. It could also be viewed the sufferers are Christians, especially missionaries who suffer because they bring the gospel to parts of the world. (NAB footnotes Mt. 25:31-46) This can be seen in the first reading when the Lord goes out and seeks the lost, bind up the injured, and heal the sick. (Ez. 34:15-17) He is able to do this today through his followers. In any case, Jesus makes it very clear that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:39), and by doing this we will show love, compassion, mercy, and acts of charity towards them.
Why is Jesus the King Who gets to judge who goes to Heaven and who goes to Hell? First, Jesus did not come to judge, but to save and to give the life He has in Himself. [14] Secondly, it is by our actions in which one is already judged. “By rejecting grace in this life, one already judges oneself, receives according to one’s works, and can even condemn oneself for all eternity by rejecting the Spirit of love.” [15] Jesus obtained the full right to pass definitive judgment on the works and hearts of men by His cross, and because the Father has given all judgment to Him.
What happens to the soul at death? It is judged. There are two judgments, a particular judgment at the end of our own life and a general judgment at the end of the world.
What is the particular judgment? “Immediately after death we shall be judged about our service of God and our moral conduct during life. This is called the particular judgment and is promptly carried into effect. We are told in Scripture that ‘men only die once and after than comes judgment’ (Hebrews 9:27). A person is judged on the moral good and evil that he has done. ‘Each will duly be paid according to his share in the work’ (1 Corinthians 3:8).” [16] Saint John Henry Newman said, “When we arrive in the presence of God, He will ask us two questions: are we members of the Church and have we labored for the Church? Everything else is of little value, whether we have been rich or poor, famous or unknown, highly thought of or disgraced, whether we have been sick or healthy, whether we have a good or band name.”
What is the general judgment? General Judgment is “The universal judgment of the human race at the final resurrection of the dead…This will be a social judgment because it will manifest to the world God’s justice in condemning sinners, and his mercy in those who are saved. It will also be a total judgment by revealing not only people’s moral conduct but all the accumulated blessings or injuries that resulted from each person’s good or evil deeds.” [17]
What is the difference between the initial judgment when we die (i.e. Particular Judgment) and the final judgment (i.e. General Judgment)? The differences are the first is an individual judgment, while the second is showing the world what each person did to show God’s justice and mercy. He will also show the effects of our fruits, of our sins or our good deeds. Since it is a reality that we will die and that we will be judged, it is a good practice to begin to see in ourselves what God and what one-day at the general judgment the whole world will see in us. “The ‘name of the game’ is examination of conscience. You will gain a great deal of knowledge of yourself and of your character and your life. You will teach yourself to love God and to pin down your desires to make good use of your days by making clear, effective resolutions…Friend, take up the book of your life and turn its pages every day, so that you won’t be surprised when it is read on the day of your particular judgment, and won’t be ashamed when it is published on the day of the universal [general] judgment.” [18]
Our life as it is today is in edit mode, we are writing and editing. When we receive absolution through the sacrament of Reconciliation, the pages of our past that are sinful and shameful are erased. The blank page in front of us tomorrow is waiting to be written. We should then research, write and edit our pages of life with the knowledge that Jesus will read this book. Once we die the book is finished, and no further changes can be made. Would we want our book to be read and published today?
Can we be saved from our particular judgment when we die? No. Once we have been judged the sentence is final. Why? It is because we are judged on what we do or failed to do while we alive on earth. When Christ comes again we have already done everything we could do.
What happens to those who are set on Jesus’ left, “the goats”? Jesus is very clear here. “Depart from me you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels…And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (Mt. 25:41, 46) Those that are sent to hell will not only feel the pain in their soul from the complete separation from God, but will also feel physical pains of hell with their bodies now.
[1] cf. Pius XI, Encyclical, Quas primas, 11 December 1925
[2] In Conversation with God 5, 91.1
[3] CCC 670
[4] CCC 674
[5] CCC 675
[6] CCC 677
[7] CCC 331
[8] cf The Navarre Bible, note to 1 Cor. 15:23-28
[9] In Conversation with God 5, 91.2
[10] CCC 997
[11] CCC 1000
[12] CCC 999
[13] CCC 682
[14] CCC 679
[15] CCC 679
[16] Fr. John A. Hardon S.J.; Basic Catholic Catechism Course; 7th Article of the Creed
[17] Modern Catholic Dictionary pg. 300
[18] Fr. Francis Fernandez; In Conversation with God; Vol. 5; 73:3