St Peter makes a strange announcement to us today. We are surrounded by the joy of Christ's definitive victory over sin and death, a victory we share through our faith and the sacraments. And Peter mentions this victory. But then he says that he and the other Apostles have been commissioned by God to preach and to testify that Jesus "is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead."
In the midst of his joyful Easter discourse, Peter brings up that most uncomfortable and somber topic: judgment.He reminds us, at the moment when we are all supposed to be full of joy and delight, that on a day not too far away, we will all go before the throne of Jesus Christ and be judged.
It's not news for us. Every Sunday we say we believe that Jesus "will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead." And yet, what place does judgment have amidst the joy of Easter? Judgment is frightening, isn't it?
Partly. But it is also our greatest source of hope. Justice is not done in this world. Here the innocent suffer, good guys get trampled on, and evil prospers. And yet, Christ rose from the dead to prove that suffering and injustice will not be the last word.
And so, all the losses we suffer here in this fallen world because we follow Christ, by struggling to be honest, pure, faithful, kind, and attentive to the needs of our neighbors, all that hardship and humiliation that comes from following Christ here on earth will be made up for a hundredfold on Judgment Day, when Christ will set everything right.
The Resurrection is Christ's promise that justice will be done.
Not Judging Our NeighborsJesus has risen, and his personal victory over death and evil is also his promise of everlasting justice still to come. This promise should fill us with spiritual relief and joy - the joy of Easter. It should give all Christians great confidence. It is worth it to follow Christ, even if the Christian path is narrow and steep.
But this central truth also has one very practical application that we must never forget. Since God has promised to take care of judging our neighbors, justly and mercifully, we don't have to. We are called to love our neighbors as ourselves, not set ourselves above them by condemning them.
This doesn't mean we should be imprudent, or naïve. Jesus doesn't mean we should hire violent criminals to be our baby-sitters. But he does mean that we should refuse to believe bad things we hear about other people unless we see the evidence ourselves.
And he means that we should always avoid speaking badly of other people, just as we hope they will not spread evil news about ourselves. Even when we know they have done wrong, we do not know the whole story - only God does. It is not our job to gossip.
We should think well of everyone, even making excuses for them: "Forgive them, Father," Jesus said from the cross, "for they do not know what they are doing."
The joy and peace of Easter, of Christ's resurrection and his promise to guide history to a fair and glorious conclusion, should fill our hearts today as we receive our Lord in Holy Communion, bodily or spiritually.
And if we promise, with his help, to leave judging our neighbors up to Christ, that joy and peace will have a much better chance of staying in our hearts.