In the center of Paris, on the L’île Saint-Louis, the western of those two islands in the Seine river – on the open square looking at the West Façade of Notre Dame de Paris – in between the two towers – above the main doors to the cathedral, is depicted Christ separating the sheep and the goats – giving its name to these central doors – the Portal of the Last Judgement – the façade of principle doors of the great cathedral. – Something common to many medieval cathedrals – from Paris, Auton, and Lyon in France; Lincoln in the UK; Venice in Italy.
Across medieval Europe, the last judgment displayed on the façade of Church after Church, Cathedral after Cathedral – declaring to all who would see that Church the reality of the end to come – the stones themselves preaching – something serious is at stake – not just temporal life and death – but eternal life and death. – “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” – or “Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
And then there is the Sistine Chapel in Rome – in the apse, Michelangelo’s great fresco with demons depicted as pulling people down into fire below – this doom portrayed above the location where the College of Cardinals, gathered to select a Pope, cast their ballots – A sacred act, yet from the commoner in Paris, to the Cardinals and the Pope in the Sistine Chapel - judgment hangs over it as it does everything – The last Judgment looms large in the history of western art for it declares the seriousness of faith – that we must answer for our lives before the judge – Judgment is unavoidable – damnation a real possibility.
The doom shown in these works of art that have so captured the imagination casts fear into the minds of many - Yet, in light of all of this – today is not a day of mourning – it is not a day of fasting or penance – it is not a day of dread looking at the wrath of God – no - Today is, in fact, a solemnity – high celebration – a day of feasting – it is the end of the liturgical year – next week is the first week of Advent – but not yet today – Today we are not so much looking in fear at the judgment – but at who judge is – for today is the Solemnity of Christ, King of the Universe.
For who is the Judge, separating the sheep from the goats? – it is Christ, the one through whom all things were made – the one who became man for us – the one who died for our sake on a cross - the one who has borne the sins of the world –the one whom death had no say over – the one who rose on the third day – the one who ascended into heaven – the one who gives us himself, body blood soul and divinity - the one brings the forgiveness of sins if only we turn to his mercy – what is there to fear if Christ is the judge?
Indeed, Joseph Ratzinger, who would later become Pope Benedict, when considering the last judgment, called it not an object of fear or doom – but an object of hope – for in a real way, it is something we long for –the evil that happens in the world – we all know it – we read about – see it on the news – but even without the geopolitical injustices, there are the wrongs that seem such an injustice – how does the cheater get away with it? Who does such a good person die to a drunk driver? What did she do that made her die of cancer? – these things – and it is here they are set right – separating the sheep from the goats – answers to those questions that puzzle us so much – seeing how both mercy and justice are both achieved. – The last judgment is a statement that all of the wrongs, in the end, will be set right somehow, in ways we cannot imagine.
Will there be surprises when it comes to the end? Yes – for Christ does not judge in the manner of the world. The judgment will not be what we would expect - Both those who hear, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” And those who hear, “ Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” are surprised it will all be a surprise, but something that can be built in hope in light of faith – all will be made right. Merciful and Just – no objection can be made.
We live under judgment – and damnation is a real possibility. This is always true. The Last Judgment rightfully looms large in our imagination. However, if we look at who the judge is, we know him, we receive him, we look for him, we are baptized into him – for he came to save us – the Last Judgment is an object of hope - for the judge is Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.