“He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His Kingdom will have no end.”
By Robert Wiesner
The parable of the deserted banquet in a Byzantine fresco
One of the petition prayers in the Divine Liturgy reads, “…for a good defense at the awesome tribunal of Christ, let us ask the Lord.” Some might interpret the prayer to mean that perhaps when facing divine judgment one should throw oneself entirely on the mercy of God and urge Him to forget about His justice in our case. Such a view is a bit too simplistic, since it fails to fully appreciate the goodness of God. Any sort of reflection on divine virtue would necessarily lead to the conclusion that the unity of the Trinity entails also the unity of virtue in God. In other words, there is no division between God’s mercy and His justice: His mercy is just, and His justice is merciful! The goodness of God’s judgment (and our defense!) will consist in the perfect disposition of our cases to satisfy both justice and mercy.
The parable of the marriage feast is instructive concerning the last judgment.
Attendance at the great feast is opened to all in the highways and byways (the Gentile world), since those originally invited (Israel) give various excuses for their non-attendance. The Great King demands that His dining hall be filled one way or another so that His generosity will not go to waste. Obviously the beggars and wanderers brought into the feast would be found in all manner of costume, but they would almost certainly not be in proper dress for a formal festive gathering. They would likely be grimy from toil, dusty from travels and shabby from neglect, but the King sees to it that they are suitably adorned in a properly splendid robe before entering His great hall.
But there is one there who apparently has refused the robe; he has dared to confront the King without the necessary preparation! This prideful affront the King cannot abide, and out the miscreant goes to grind his teeth in the darkness beyond the hall.
In most cases, souls appearing before the divine judgment seat are not yet suitably adorned for the heavenly marriage feast. A lifetime spent in various sinful stupidities ensures that most approach the tribunal in no way prepared to enter the precincts of Paradise. The only possible defense to be offered consists of a humble entreaty to be made worthy to enter, whatever it might take. Thus is both mercy and justice dispensed: in mercy entrance to heaven is assured, and in justice certain steps must be taken to “clean up” the soul to render it fit company for the eternal feast.
The Roman Church calls the process Purgatory, a cleansing, purifying fire, a painful experience purging the soul of every vestige of sin.
Eastern theology describes a somewhat gentler procedure termed Final Theosis, wherein tattered souls still harboring some attachments to sin are finally cured of their lingering moral disease. The image is that of a spiritual hospital; broken shredded souls are knit together, restoring them to the original innocence of Adam and Eve. Justice is served in the rehabilitation and cure of human failings, mercy is served by the healing hands of Christ the Physician.
There is a sort of “quick fix” available, a kind of instantly healing salve which confers a glorious robe on certain fortunate souls: the blood of martyrdom.
Most are not called to martyrdom, and thus must be content with the slow martyrdom of living a divine life in the midst of an unbelieving and derisive world, preparing for that final decision either to don the robe or to cling to the miserable remnants of sin.
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