One of the best, and worst, parts of watching television in the pre-Netflix and streaming era was the cliffhangers. I can remember watching the TV show, “Lost,” and feeling the frustration of not knowing what was going to happen and having to wait until next week to get some kind of resolution.
While it was often frustrating, it was also exciting knowing that I had something to look forward to the following week. At the end of each season, there was also typically that same sense of frustration and excitement, amplified by the drama and the fact that you didn’t know if your show would be renewed and if you would even get an ending.
Many of us living in this world feel like we are living in a bizarre TV show with every day being a cliffhanger. Some people wonder about what’s going to happen tomorrow or next week. Others might be less concerned with day-to-day life, but don’t see how God is going to fit all of the pieces together in his great plan. For those of us who believe that Jesus is going to come again, we have confident hope in his plan, but even so, we don’t know how the plot lines are going to come together in the end.
The Church reassures us that while we don’t know how the pieces fit together, it will all be revealed in the Last Judgment when God’s plan will be realized, and we will be brought into the fullness of his glory with our resurrected bodies and purified souls (CCC 1038).
The images that come to mind for most people when thinking of the Last Judgment don’t tend to be “hopeful.” They often lean toward the dramatic – and focus on fire and perhaps an angry or dour-looking Jesus. These images alone can be a hindrance for many people in their faith journey and can be a source of fear, causing some to withdraw from God.
The good news is that the Last Judgment is actually a source of great hope!
Pope Benedict XVI points out in his encyclical, “Spe salvi,” that “the judgment of God is hope, both because it is justice and because it is grace.” Those typical images of the Last Judgment often don’t focus on (or sometimes don’t even depict) the grace of God. While we are all sinners and will need to be cleansed of our sins, we can so easily forget that Jesus is here to save and cleanse.
We don’t need to – and shouldn’t – depend on ourselves, because our judge is Our Savior. He is the one who clears the path; we just have to cooperate with him and walk down it. That’s not to say that being cleansed of our sins won’t be painful and that cooperation is easy. But we need to see ourselves with God’s eyes: in the end, the good in us will remain forever, and the bad will be burned away like straw amongst gold.
What’s more is that at the Last Judgment, we are promised the whole story (CCC 1040). We will see God’s goodness fully manifest, and we will be able to see how he was working throughout all of time.
All of those plot lines that seemed incoherent, unfinished, or forgotten will make sense. We will see how God was bringing all of us together, using the greatest of tragedies for his goodness and glory, and for the salvation of souls.
Pope Benedict XVI reminds us in his letter that “no one is saved alone” and that “our hope is … also hope for others.” What we do matters not just for ourselves but for others as well.
Knowing that there will be a final Judgment gives an orientation and purpose to the present moment. We are moving toward something and that something is good!
Sometimes when you watch a TV show, you can tell at the end that the writers had no idea what the end was going to be before they started writing, and that they lost track of plot points or got distracted. I remember watching the finale of “Lost” and having a wide range of emotions: mostly confusion, but also some satisfaction that the characters had been given a proper ending.
We can be confident that in the end, when we are face to face with God, we will be totally seen and known in communion, and the end of the story will be so satisfying that we will rejoice in living in it forever.
Laura LaClair has worked for the Diocese of Richmond since 2016 and has served as Associate Director for Campus Ministry since 2021. She is a graduate of William & Mary (B.S. in Mathematics, Government) and St. Joseph’s College in Maine (M.A. in Pastoral Theology). She is a member of the Junior League of Richmond. In her free time, she likes to knit, crochet, and spend time outdoors with her family.