The Return of the King

A Reflection on the Second Reading for November 7th, 2021:
Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Hebrews
9.24-28

Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands, a mere copy of the true one, but he entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own; for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world.

But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for human beings to die once, and after that comes the judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
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“… He will come again to judge the living and the dead…” - Apostle’s Creed

No one can predict how God’s justice and judgement will play out upon Christ’s return, but I can safely say that I no longer fear being unfavourably judged in a process with eternal consequences. My fears disappeared in large part due to the evolution of my beliefs about justice and mercy, which took place during my healing walk with the Lord.
    
Experiencing injustice is awful, like being stabbed with a knife: it cuts on the way in and, again, on the way out. Healing from the subsequent wounds takes years, if not decades, assuming that you even heal at all.
    
Looking back, it’s clear that God alone ushered me past the strong currents of unceasing rage and self-imploding despair that flow from injustice, down the narrow path of forgiveness, peace, and wisdom.
    
However, having worked so hard to desire sincere forgiveness and mercy for the perpetrator, I found that it alone wasn’t enough to heal me. The wound remained and I didn’t understand why, if I had done everything I was supposed to, it was still there.
    
As I sat in this confusion, I felt God asking me, “What is it that you think you still need to truly let go of what has happened to you?” It didn’t take me long to figure out the answer: not only has the perpetrator never asked for my forgiveness, they truly believe that they have done nothing wrong.
    
Having long moved past the natural desires for retribution, my reply was self-illuminating: “I want them to know how deeply they’ve hurt me. I want them to feel the genuine remorse that comes from understanding that what they’ve done was wrong. And, I want them to not want to do that ever again to me or anyone else.”
    
Since this epiphany, I have found unending reassurance and comfort in the knowledge of the justice that is to come upon Christ’s return. It is His alone, and He executes it with perfect knowledge of us all, justly and without error. Personally, I believe that no one gets away with any unjust act they commit. We must all face God’s justice; the only real difference being the separation between those who choose to experience it through His mercy by repentance, contrition, and by choosing every day to put God, who is Love and has perfect love for all mankind, at the center of their lives in action and deed, and those who don’t.
    
As someone who has chosen to seek God’s mercy, I feel incumbent to desire and pray for others to seek it, too. In no way do I want anyone to choose otherwise; however, I also understand the importance and necessity of respecting everyone’s free will to choose.
    
No longer fearing what is to come, I join the chorus of all those who call out for the one, True Cure who will mend the deepest and most disfiguring wounds in all of our hearts.




Laura Dysart

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