Homily for Meatfare Sunday -- On the Dread Last Judgment (St. Cleopa of Sihastria)

Homily for Meatfare Sunday
(Sunday of the Dread Judgment)
About the Fearful Last Judgment

By St. Cleopa of Sihastria

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive according to what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” (2 Corinthians 5:10)

Beloved faithful,

Today all of us present have heard the words of our Savior Jesus Christ about His coming at the most dreadful Last Judgment. Know that from the foundation of the world until the end of the ages nothing is more fearful than the coming of the Lord at the Last Judgment. Not even the angels can describe to us in detail that most terrible coming of the Lord, when He will judge all the nations of the earth from Adam until the end of the world. We, being very weak and uncomprehending, cannot speak fully about that unspeakable terror and fearful coming of the Lord.

But from what we have heard today in the Holy Gospel and from what Divine Scripture shows, as well as from the teachings of the Holy Fathers about the Judgment of the great day, we shall set down here a few teachings, according to our weak understanding, about the Lord’s coming at the Last Judgment. And first we will show, with testimonies from Holy Scripture, in what manner the Lord will come and what will be the first signs of His coming.

The first signs announcing the Lord’s coming to judgment will be the heavenly trumpets. This truth is shown to us by the Savior, saying: “And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet” (Matthew 24:31). Therefore the Holy Prophet Zephaniah called the day of the Last Judgment “the day of the trumpet and of shouting” (Zephaniah 1:16). The great Apostle Paul, concerning the resurrection of the dead and the sound of the heavenly trumpet, says: “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible.” And in another place, showing that the trumpets will accompany the Lord at Judgment, he says: “The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God” (1 Corinthians 15:52-53; 1 Thessalonians 4:16).

The holy hierarch Gregory the Theologian, showing the strength of the voice and the power of those trumpets that will announce the Lord’s coming, says: “Terrible is the sound of the trumpets, before which the elements submit, which split the rocks, which will open the tombs, which will reveal the depths, which will crush and shatter gates of bronze and loosen and scatter the bonds of death.”

The second sign, which will appear after the great sounding of the trumpets, will be the resurrection of the dead.

But, my brothers, in what manner will the bodies of the righteous and of the sinners be at the resurrection? Will they rise as we place them in coffins and graves? No — for there will be a great difference between the bodies of people at the Last Resurrection and the bodies of now.

The bodies of the righteous, at the time of the Last Judgment, will be adorned with four chosen gifts: the gift of brightness, of lightness, of subtlety, and of impassibility.

Each body of the righteous will shine with immeasurable radiance like the sun, as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Himself said: “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matthew 13:43).

Wonderful then will be that lightness and easy movement of the bodies of the righteous, so that they may go anywhere in the world according to their will, for no heaviness will hinder them. This is also shown by the wise Solomon who says: “They will be like sparks running through stubble” (Wisdom of Solomon 3:7), for sparks carried by the wind spread everywhere with great ease.

The bodies of the righteous will also possess subtlety, so that they may pass easily through other matter. Thus passed the body of our Lord Jesus Christ after the Resurrection through the great stone lying over the tomb without breaking the seals, and He entered through locked doors into the house where the disciples were gathered for fear of the Jews — like a most subtle spirit that is not held back by walls nor hindered by doors.

Concerning these four gifts of the resurrected bodies, the Holy Apostle Paul says:

“It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption” (1 Corinthians 15:42) — this is the gift of impassibility.

“It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory” — the gift of brightness.

“It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power” — the gift of lightness.

“It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body” (1 Corinthians 15:43-44) — the gift of subtlety.

Let us briefly show also what the resurrected bodies of sinners condemned to eternal torment will be like. Great will be the difference between the bodies of sinners and the radiant bodies of the righteous and saints of God. Instead of brightness, they will be clothed in deep darkness like the utter darkness of hell. Instead of beauty, the bodies of sinners will have a repulsive ugliness full of loathing. Instead of the lightness of the righteous, the bodies of sinners will be very heavy and difficult to move, because they did not zealously follow the divine commandments. For these very bodies of the sinners will exist for eternal and endless torment.

Beloved faithful,

What other signs will follow before the coming of the Lord to Judgment? We read in the Holy Gospel that then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven (Matthew 24:30), which, according to the understanding of the Holy Fathers, is the Cross of Christ upon which He gave up His spirit (John 19:30). Some say that as soon as the Cross appears in the sky, the foreheads of all the righteous will be sealed with this sign (Revelation 7:3).

Seeing the sign of the Holy Cross in heaven, all the nations of the earth will mourn (Matthew 24:30). But why will all the nations mourn at its appearance? They will mourn because they will recognize whose sign the Holy Cross is; all will mourn who did not honor the Holy and life-giving Cross — the altar sanctified by the Blood of Christ and the sign of His coming. What then will the pagans, unbelievers, and sectarians say, who did not honor the Holy Cross and did not bow before the sign of the Son of Man?

After the appearance of the Holy Cross in heaven, at the dreadful Judgment Jesus Christ will come in glory and power, as the divine Gospel says: “And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30).

Here are also some most radiant testimonies showing the ineffable glory with which the Lord will come at the fearful Judgment. The Holy Prophet David says: “A fire shall go before Him, and around Him a mighty tempest shall rage” (Psalm 49:4). And again: “His lightnings illumined the world; the earth saw and trembled. The mountains melted like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens declared His righteousness, and all peoples saw His glory” (Psalm 96:4-6).

And the great Prophet Isaiah, concerning the fearful coming of the Lord, says: “For behold, the Lord comes with fire, and His chariots like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword the Lord will judge all flesh, and many shall be slain by the Lord” (Isaiah 66:15-16).

Near the dreadful fiery throne of the Lord will stand the All-Holy and Most Pure Mother of God at the right hand of the eternal King, as it is written: “The queen stood at Your right hand…” (Psalm 44:11).

Before the Lord will go the foremost-ranked archangels; after them the dominions and principalities, and before them the Archangel Michael, girded with a fiery sword, shining like lightning and like the chief warrior of the great King. Then will follow the apostles, the martyrs, the hierarchs, and the innumerable multitude of angels and saints, with two-edged swords in their hands, to avenge the nations and punish the peoples (Psalm 149:6-7).

Who will be able then to stand before the most dreadful and incorruptible Judge?! This also the Prophet Isaiah pondered when he said: “Enter into the clefts of the rocks and hide in the dust from the terror of the Lord and from the glory of His majesty” (Isaiah 2:10).

The Holy Evangelist Matthew says the following about the Lord’s coming: “They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” And again: “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory” (Matthew 24:30; 25:31).

The Holy Evangelist Luke likewise shows Him coming on the clouds with power and great glory (Luke 21:27).

According to the word of the Holy Apostle Paul, the Last Judgment will take place in the air, above the Valley of Jehoshaphat, where all nations and tongues will be gathered, from the first Adam to the last man. Then He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left (Matthew 25:32-33). After this eternal separation of the good from the evil, the great judgment will begin.

But who will accuse us then before the righteous Judge? Our own evil deeds which we committed and did not repent of. Then the confessors (spiritual fathers) will condemn us, to whom we did not confess all our sins nor perform penance for them. Then the angels who guarded us from baptism will condemn us, whom we did not obey. The angels who recorded all our deeds from childhood will also condemn us.

But the greatest accuser, who will accuse us and demand punishment and eternal condemnation from God on the great day of the Last Judgment, will be the devil — whom we now obey and whose will we do, without repenting each day for what we do.

Woe to us! What shall we do then if death and judgment find us unconfessed and unrepentant? What will this deceitful and passing life, in which we now delight, profit us then? For we bind our hearts to it and to the cares of this present age, so that we forget the coming death and the eternal condemnation awaiting us on the great day of the Last Judgment.

You see, my brothers, how we all die and no human being remains on this earth, whoever he may be. You see that when a man dies before us, his tongue is bound, his eyes change, his mouth falls silent, his speech stops when he sees the divine angels calling the soul from the body! Then whether he be king or servant, ruler of the whole world or not, he trembles, is troubled and terrified, seeing fearful powers, strange forms, stern and gloomy faces — seeing angelic orders he has never before seen.

Then the angels take the soul through the air and lead it to judgment, where stand the principalities, dominions, and rulers of the opposing powers — our bitter accusers, the dreadful toll-collectors — examining angels who meet it in the air, demand an account, reckon with it, and bring before it its sins and records: those of youth, those of old age, voluntary and involuntary, by deed, by thought, and by remembrance. Great is the fear there; great the trembling of the wretched soul then, suffering amid the multitude of millions of demons.

Beloved faithful,

Today’s Sunday Gospel is the most fearful in the entire year, because it speaks to us about the end of the world, which is ever nearer, and about the great Last Judgment of all people and of the evil angels. This is the third and final preparatory Sunday for the Holy and Great Fast, because it reminds us of the end of the ages, of Judgment, of the eternal punishment of sinners, and of the reward of the righteous in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Whoever reflects on these things will pass the Holy Fast with profit, will be reconciled with his neighbor, will pray more, will confess his sins with repentance, and will receive with great reverence the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Such is the benefit of this Sunday.

We must remember that at the Last Judgment the righteous Judge will say to those on His right hand: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you welcomed Me; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me… Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:34-40).

Do you see, my brothers, how great power almsgiving and love of neighbor have before God? Do you see that mercy triumphs over judgment? Do you see that whoever shows mercy to the suffering poor — materially for the body and spiritually for the soul — is saved most easily? Do you see that greater than all good deeds is love and its daughter, mercy? Therefore I urge you to love this, to practice this more than all the others, especially during the holy fasts, and you will have eternal reward in heaven.

Hear also what the righteous Judge will say to the stingy and wicked at His left hand, who did not show mercy in life: “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels, for I was hungry and you gave Me no food…” (Matthew 25:41-45).

See how great is the sin of greed and lack of love for mankind.

May God preserve us from this terrible sin. And let us begin the Holy Fast even from today, by abstaining from meat. Then let us reconcile with everyone, fast, pray, give alms, and do every good deed according to our ability.

If we do this, we shall pass Great Lent with much profit, we shall safely reach the Resurrection of the Lord, and at the Last Judgment we shall hear Christ saying to us with a gentle voice:

“Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Amen.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.