Daily Retreat 10/12/07
2007 Oct 12 Fri
Jl 1: 13-15; 2: 1-2/ Ps 9: 2-3. 6 and 16. 8-9/ Lk 11: 15-26
From today’s readings: “Near is the day of the LORD.... The Lord will judge the world with justice.... Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me scatters....”
Scared By Death, Scared To Death, or Scared From Death?
There is such a thing as a healthy apprehension about the end of our life and the end of the world. Joel and many of the other prophets focus on these somber elements of the coming “day of the Lord” not to scare us TO death, but to scare us FROM death and TO life... to remind us of the eternal justice of God, to wake us up to the frightening ugliness of sin and therefore inspire us utterly to expunge evil! And while fear should not and can not be the primary motive for our faith, there’s nothing wrong with a sobering look at the “big picture” of the two options for eternal life: Heaven or Hell. Remember, Jesus Himself taught more about the reality of devils and Hell than anyone else in the Bible!
But instead of this healthy apprehension, it’s so easy today to be lulled into the sin of presumption - to assume that no sin I’ve ever committed could warrant Hell, or to presuppose that I will live long enough to make amends for any sins, or that God is so merciful He would never send anyone to Hell....
The Bible, for all its tidings of the infinite mercy of God, never contradicts in any way the eternal justice of God – as the psalm asserts, “The Lord will judge the world with justice!” That’s a sobering enough warning to scare us away from the culture of death and lead us to the culture of life.
Jl 1: 13-15; 2: 1-2/ Ps 9: 2-3. 6 and 16. 8-9/ Lk 11: 15-26
From today’s readings: “Near is the day of the LORD.... The Lord will judge the world with justice.... Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me scatters....”
Scared By Death, Scared To Death, or Scared From Death?
There is such a thing as a healthy apprehension about the end of our life and the end of the world. Joel and many of the other prophets focus on these somber elements of the coming “day of the Lord” not to scare us TO death, but to scare us FROM death and TO life... to remind us of the eternal justice of God, to wake us up to the frightening ugliness of sin and therefore inspire us utterly to expunge evil! And while fear should not and can not be the primary motive for our faith, there’s nothing wrong with a sobering look at the “big picture” of the two options for eternal life: Heaven or Hell. Remember, Jesus Himself taught more about the reality of devils and Hell than anyone else in the Bible!
But instead of this healthy apprehension, it’s so easy today to be lulled into the sin of presumption - to assume that no sin I’ve ever committed could warrant Hell, or to presuppose that I will live long enough to make amends for any sins, or that God is so merciful He would never send anyone to Hell....
The Bible, for all its tidings of the infinite mercy of God, never contradicts in any way the eternal justice of God – as the psalm asserts, “The Lord will judge the world with justice!” That’s a sobering enough warning to scare us away from the culture of death and lead us to the culture of life.
posted by FrPitstick | 10/09/2007
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