Final Judgement for All. Thursday 17th Week Ordinary Time

Breakfast With the Word Thursday 17th Week Ordinary Time of the year 

 

Matthew 13:47-53

 

Final Judgement for All

 

 

 

Have we surely ever have time to meditate on the limited nature of human existence? That one day we must surely depart?  Have we for one day reflect on what would be our fate at the end?

 

 

Have we for one day reflect that we must be answerable to our deeds both good and bad? Have we for one day reflect we must surely answer for any soul we bring to God or mislead? Today’s gospel reminds us that there is a final day of judgment awaiting us. 

 

1 . Jesus continued to use parable in explaining the kingdom of heaven to His disciples. Today He compares the kingdom to a big fishing net which is let down into a sea, in which every kind of fish has been caught.

 

This implies that the message of the kingdom is for everyone both good and bad.  There is no discrimination. The church like the drag net gathers both good and bad, we work for everyone but God separates those who remain good from the bad at the end.

 

1.  This is like the parable of the wheats where God allows the co-existence of good and bad.Jesus did not center His ministry only on those who are righteous. He did not preach only to His disciples who He knows must obey Him, He welcomed both saints and sinners leading them to salvation.

 

God purposely allows the good with the bad together. So when we perpetrate evil and think that nothing is happening, let us also not forget that we are what we are if not by God’s benevolence.

 

2. When the net is full, then there came a separation of the good from the bad. Like the parable of the wheats, there must be a day of judgment.

 

 

There must be a day of final reckoning. How we live in the world will determine if we are good or bad. No one is tagged as bad at birth, but the type of life we live determines how good or bad we are.

 

3.  From the parable, there is surely joy and victory for the just but the end will be disastrous for the wicked. But sometimes man lives in this world as if he is going to live forever.

 

We tend to forget that one day we must surely depart, we spend more time thinking about our earthly existence which is temporal than our eternity. We can do everything to keep our body satisfied and happy but forget that the soul also needs attention. We live as if we are the owners of the world forgetting that we are just warfarers. In everything we do Let us not forget that life has an expiring date.

 

4.  Some times when we attend the burial of others, we see them as unlucky and victims of circumstance. Down within us, we believe that we still have more years to leave. Guess what? Even those who died also thought the same. Until they came face to face with death. Let us use the moments we have to prepare ourselves all the times. No one knows when it will be.

 

5 . The conclusion of today’s parable is that the end can never be good for the wicked. Whatever we sow in this world we must reap. When we make ourselves good or evil , we are invariably preparing a destination for ourselves accordingly and that destination is a reward for everything we do.

 

As we fight to build mansions and skyscrapers in the world, let us not forget the soul.

 

Let us always remember that we can leave the world any time, remember that everything we do, all the hustling, all the wealth must end here.

 

 

When, how, where it will be, are only known by God. As we run away from God, remember that same God will be our judge at the last day.

 

There is a final judgement for all. Never forget there is an eternity. May God forgive and save us. Let us always seek Him with all our hearts.

 

May God help us to live the way He wants and may He forgive and sanctify us from our sins. Amen