In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Beloved in Christ, today we come to the Sunday of the Last Judgment, where the Holy Church sets before us that awesome and final day when, as St John Chrysostom says, “The books shall be opened, and all secrets revealed.”
Let me share a story that might help us understand this fearful reality. There was once a judge in Yorkshire known for his absolute fairness. One day, his own son appeared before him, charged with a serious crime. The courtroom fell silent, wondering if mercy would overrule justice. The judge, with tears in his eyes, pronounced the full sentence – and then stepped down from the bench, removed his robes, and paid his son’s fine in full. This is both justice and mercy, law and love.
But why does the Church place this Sunday here in the Triodion, just before Great Lent? St Theodore the Studite explains: “We are shown the end before we begin the struggle, that knowing our final account, we might approach the Fast with proper sobriety.” Like a traveller who, seeing their destination clearly, walks with more purpose, we too need this vision of the end to guide our Lenten journey.
The Gospel today presents us with that awesome scene: “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him.” St Cyril of Alexandria notes that Christ speaks of himself as both Son of Man and King – showing how our Judge is also our Brother in humanity, yet divine in authority.
Notice, beloved, what criteria our Lord uses for judgment. Not fasting, not prayer, not even correct doctrine – though these are vital – but rather, “I was hungry and you fed me… naked and you clothed me.” St Basil the Great teaches us why: “The bread you keep belongs to the hungry; the cloak in your wardrobe belongs to the naked; the shoes you do not wear belong to the barefoot; the money you hoard belongs to the poor.”
St John of Damascus writes with trembling: “How shall I bear Your judgment seat, O Christ? I who cannot even bear the gentle rebuke of a friend?” Yet the Church shows us this fearful judgment not to paralyse us with terror, but to awaken us to love. For see how the righteous answer: “Lord, when did we see You hungry?” Their love was so natural, so habitual, they didn’t even remember their good deeds.
The placing of this Sunday immediately before Forgiveness Sunday is profound. St Isaac the Syrian tells us: “Do not call God just, for His justice is not manifest in the things concerning you. If David calls Him just and upright, His Son revealed to us that He is good and kind… He is good to the wicked and ungodly.”
What then shall we do, brothers and sisters? The saints teach us that: “At the Last Judgment I shall not be asked whether I was successful in my ascetic exercises, nor how many prostrations I made. Instead, I shall be asked whether I fed the hungry, clothed the naked, visited the sick and the prisoners.”
As we approach Great Lent, this Gospel stands as both warning and invitation. Warning, because as St Symeon the New Theologian says, “Each day and hour, the Judge approaches.” Invitation, because there is still time to turn every encounter with human need into an encounter with Christ Himself.
The sheep and goats looked exactly the same – until the moment of separation. The difference was not in their appearance but in their hearts, revealed through their actions. St Gregory Palamas observes that both groups called Him “Lord” – but only one group served Him in His brethren.
Let us therefore begin the Fast with this awesome vision before us. Not to crush us with fear, but to lift us to love. For the Judge who will sit upon that throne is the same Christ who humbled Himself to share our humanity, who hangs upon the Cross with open arms, who says even now, “Come unto me.”
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Copyright © 2025 The Rev. Adrian Augustus. The Russian Orthodox Church of the Archangel Michael, Blacktown, NSW
