9781644135945

The Light of the World
to the Son” ( Jn 5:22). To Him He has given the power to inflict punishment on the whole race,
on individual peoples and states, on individual persons, on false science, on passing whims and
notions, as the history of mankind testifies. He “hath given all judgment to the Son, that all
men may honor the Son as they honor the Father” ( Jn 5:22 f.). Every soul must appear before
Him as its judge as soon as it has left the body. It must give an account to Him; it must answer
to Him who knows its most secret thoughts, its hidden motives, its every action, both good
and bad. An account must be given to Him whose sentence is eternal. Later all must appear
again before the Judge of the world. Then He will separate them as the shepherd separates the
sheep from the goats. To the former He will say, “Come, ye blessed of My Father”; and to the
latter, “Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire. . . . And these shall go into everlasting
punishment, but the just into life everlasting” (Mt 25:34 ff.).
Jesus, who was condemned by the council of the Jews to be crucified, is the Judge of the
world. Before Him must bow all who “are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth” (Phil 2:10).
Even those who now deny Him or reject Him will have to confess and acknowledge Him.
Christ will eventually triumph and put all His enemies to silence. How we shall rejoice that we
have lived for Him! How happy we shall be when He says to us, “Well done, good and faithful
servant. Because thou has been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things;
enter thou into the joy of thy Lord” (Mt 25:23)! How glad we shall be that while on earth we
lived according to the teaching and example of Christ, that we have loved poverty and humility,
that we have clung to the cross and despised the world! How great will be our joy when we
shall hear the sentence of the judge: “Come, ye blessed of My Father, possess you the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Mt 25:34)!
Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer, has been enthroned at the right hand of the Father as Master
and Judge. He cannot and will not be our Redeemer if we fail to accept His laws and to subject
ourselves to them. The more perfectly we conform to His law, the more certain we become
that He is truly our Redeemer.
Today we pay Him homage on His high throne in heaven. We honor Him by our faith in
Him. Even though we may not understand all that He has revealed, we nevertheless submit to
the spirit and the letter of everything that He has said. We pay Him homage by the submission
of our will when we fulfill His commandments faithfully. “This is My commandment, that you
love one another as I have loved you” ( Jn 15:12). “You have heard that it hath been said: Thou
shalt love thy neighbor and hate thy enemy. But I say to you: Love your enemies; do good to
them that hate you” (Mt 5:43 f.). We pay homage to the glorified Redeemer by our love. He
wants our hearts and our love. He will not accept the cold, enforced service of the servant or
the slave, but insists on the service of a voluntary and holy love. To fear the command of Christ
is good, but to love it is much better. We honor Him by our life. Whatever befalls us each day in
our work, whatever problems confront us, whatever obligations are imposed on us, we should
accept them as the will of the Lord. Our motto should ever be: “Thy will be done.”
Prayer
Almighty and eternal God, grant that our will may be ever devoted to Thee, and that we may
serve Thy majesty with a sincere heart. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. (Collect, Sunday after
the Ascension.)
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