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00:00Well then, we return to the last part of this interesting chapter 17, and well,
00:25Well, continuing with the same dynamic of being prepared, we see how the topic of eschatology is fundamental for the apostle, since it is in this world where definitive life is defined.
00:44And this should lead us, my beloved brothers, to think about a judgment in which our eternal destiny will be defined.
00:52And well, this is very clear to Pablo.
01:00That is why he continually tells us how in the end we will be judged by our own works, by our own sins or virtues.
01:09As the Lord had already announced in the parable of the final judgment that we read in the Gospel of Matthew, in chapter 25,
01:20There the Lord, using this parable, shows us that there truly is a judgment.
01:27It says in verse 31, it says,
01:29But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, together with all the angels, then he will sit on his glorious throne,
01:41All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
01:50In other words, we see that the Lord insists again under different parables and different forms, different expressions,
02:04that there is a separation of fish, of fish, the good ones and the bad ones, the goats and the sheep.
02:11There is a separation, not everyone will get in, and Pablo is concerned about this, just like I am with you.
02:22And that's why I've left this topic practically until the end, because it's like the closing of everything.
02:29As I was saying at the beginning, in our chapter 16, I was saying,
02:33How everything converges towards eschatology, how our entire life is summarized there.
02:40That's what gives meaning to what we do, what we hope for.
02:46We hope to see the Lord, we hope to live eternally with Him, as we find Him referenced in the Book of Revelation.
02:55But everything, everything converges in that direction, and it worries me in my own life, and it worries me in all of yours.
03:02Because God has also placed me as a pastor, if you will, a cybernetic one.
03:08But this is what I do too, what I have done in my parishes, what I continue to do in the courses, etc.
03:14Because everything, everything, everything is summarized, everything tends towards eschatology, it is the omega point of all our lives.
03:23That's it, that's where it all ends, and it must end joyfully, gloriously, and not have frustrated the Lord's plan to take us to heaven.
03:37And in this, my brothers, the Lord, like Saint Paul, follows the same line that was already foreseen in the Old Testament.
03:44In other words, it tells us about what in the Old Testament is the day of Yahweh, which was already announced from the prophetic theme.
03:58On this topic of the day of Yahweh, we could read the most important prophecies, for example, those of Amos.
04:04Amos, in chapter 5, starting from verse 8, speaks about the day of Yahweh.
04:10Zephaniah, chapter 1, verse 14, and following.
04:16And on this same idea of the Lord's Day, Saint Paul himself also comments on it in his letter, mainly in the first letter to the Corinthians.
04:27He also speaks of it in the letter to the Philippians.
04:31It's the same topic, only the expression changes from the Lord's Day, or the day of Jesus Christ.
04:40And he changes it to the day of Yahweh.
04:42Let us remember that the Lord Jesus Christ, our Lord, is perfectly identified; He is fully identified with God.
04:50He is one of the three persons of the Trinity and is one God.
04:54That's why one can be transformed into the other, right?
04:58That is, the word saying Lord or Yahweh.
05:01Because?
05:02Because Jesus Christ is Yahweh.
05:04That is why when, especially in the Gospel of John, he said "I am".
05:08And when they're about to learn it, they all throw themselves on the ground.
05:11Because?
05:12Because it was the word of the unnameable, the I am.
05:17And on this subject, well, let me tell you, there's a lot to read.
05:20There are many elements that could help us.
05:22But I'll just leave you with some texts that might help you a little with all this.
05:29And, well, to enrich your meditation a little, right?
05:33For example, 1 Corinthians 1:8.
05:37There we have this issue.
05:39Also in 2 Corinthians, but in chapter 1, right?
05:44Starting from verse 14.
05:46And I also leave you with the quote from Philippians in chapter 1 in verse 10.
05:51If you look closely, in all these letters the first thing the apostle does is talk about the day of the Lord.
05:59Because?
05:59Again.
06:01Because everything is converging in that direction.
06:05Paul, who is an example of how we should be as Christians,
06:10He is not at all concerned about the final judgment.
06:14Because?
06:15It's simple.
06:16Because he lives in grace.
06:19Live in peace, as we all should.
06:22God's love has been poured out.
06:24We need to be happy and live our lives in peace and joy.
06:29So Saint Paul is not worried about that, nor about what others say.
06:35Well, he's not trying to please anyone, not the community, not anyone.
06:41He only seeks to please his Lord, Jesus.
06:45And that's how we should be.
06:50This should be the norm for Christians.
06:52Christ should be the center of our lives.
06:54That is why when Saint Paul writes to the Corinthians, in chapter 4, starting from verse 3,
07:02Look at the beautiful words of the apostle.
07:04He says, as for me, it is of little importance whether I am judged by you or by any human court.
07:12In fact, I don't even judge myself, because I'm not aware of anything against me.
07:23But that doesn't mean I'm not guilty.
07:26For the one who judges me is the Lord.
07:28Therefore, only God will make the judgment in the end.
07:56That's why when they tell us, "today he was saved" or "he wasn't saved," only God knows.
08:02I remember my mom saying, no, because only they know God's high judgments.
08:07We cannot judge who is saved and who is not saved.
08:11At funerals, I try to encourage the community that accompanies us.
08:18When it is the funeral mass, to live in grace.
08:21I don't know how he lived in general, because I don't know the people who die.
08:28That's why I don't talk about them.
08:30And I hope that they have lived and are enjoying being with the Lord.
08:36But I can't say for sure.
08:38I try rather to encourage my brothers to live in grace and not to judge.
08:43How can I judge that poor man?
08:47He says, no, it's just that he didn't confess.
08:49And we know if he regretted it.
08:51What do we know about him?
08:51What do we know about its history?
08:53What do we know about his childhood?
08:54What do we know, then, about the problems he may have had in the church, etc.?
09:00No, let us not judge, let us leave the judgment to the Lord, because only He can judge, because only He sees the human heart.
09:13However, in today's worldview we are more interested in what others will say.
09:21There's an expression I like.
09:24He says, "We aim to be politically correct."
09:28Brothers, no.
09:30We must be Christianly upright.
09:34Do not seek to please the world, but the Lord.
09:39Well, ultimately, he's the one who's going to judge us, not the people here.
09:45We want to make a good impression on the people here.
09:47And what for?
09:48What are they going to give you?
09:51We must make a good impression on the only one who is worth making a good impression on, the Lord.
09:57Even if this causes us problems.
10:01Saint Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthians, says the following.
10:04If I accompany you, according to Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 10, it says the following.
10:12For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
10:17So that each one may receive, according to what he has done during his mortal life, good or evil.
10:25In other words, we will be judged not by how many times we come to mass, nor by how many rosaries we pray, but as Jesus says in chapter 25 of Matthew.
10:39Because we saw the sick, because of the good or evil we did in this life.
10:45For the good or evil we did in this life.
10:47That's what matters in the end.
10:51Therefore, we will be judged in love and by the love of God.
10:58Indeed, great mercy has been extended to us, and the judgment will be a merciful one.
11:06But how can we expect God's mercy to act when we have decided, deep within ourselves, not to accept that mercy?
11:19When we have decided not to follow the path of love, when we have followed a path that has continually separated us from God, and by separating ourselves from God, separating ourselves from all that is good.
11:33Today, with great sadness, I see in humanity this folly of having taken a path that is leading human beings towards the fatal pit.
11:45What can God do when we have become so stubborn, when modern man has become so stubborn in ignoring Him?
11:57He won't listen in the end either.
12:00He won't listen to him.
12:03So, we need to keep this very clear, we who have already made a choice for the Lord,
12:08to know that we ourselves are no longer, as they say, already configured in grace.
12:16No, we are in a state of grace, we have to fight for it, we have to walk in it, we have to remain in it.
12:24We must, therefore, always keep in mind that we will be judged in the end and not always think that God is infinitely merciful.
12:40Which, of course, is true, but He is also a God of justice.
12:45We experience mercy now, but judgment will come at the appointed time.
12:53Therefore, we cannot disregard the law.
12:58This must always be in front of us, for it is the line that we cannot and must not cross.
13:07Everything the Lord says no means no, and everything he says yes means yes.
13:14"Well, do that," he tells the man, "that he is in the Scripture, so do that and you will be saved."
13:22Let us do what God asks of us, let us do what God commands us,
13:25And let us not think, then, that by not doing so, by thinking that by jumping over the fence and the wall we will save ourselves,
13:37Well, it's very risky.
13:39If we consider the above seriously,
13:44We will understand why Saint Paul continually invites us to lead an irreproachable life.
13:51to stand firm and, we might say, to partake of eternal life.
14:00In Thessalonians, again, 1 Thessalonians 3, he insists on this again.
14:06Let's read what it says starting from verse 12.
14:10May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another,
14:15and to everyone, just as we do to you,
14:19so that He may strengthen your blameless hearts in holiness before our God and Father,
14:29so that at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ we may all be holy, his saints.
14:37And this is what we need to be working on and what we need to be looking for.
14:41that holiness, so that when the Lord comes He will find us blameless.
14:46Nothing to say. What can we say about Father Ernesto? What can we say about Luisa, Mario, Juan?
14:53Nothing. Let us be blameless in love.
14:57This quote, therefore, highlights the theme of love for one another.
15:05This should be evident, this aspect of the Christian life.
15:10While it is a fruit of the Spirit, which is love, it is also the product of a practice that we cannot neglect.
15:17and to see that it is indeed evident to others.
15:23We cannot simply say that we love.
15:27We must express it. Love must be visible.
15:31Mainly those we live with.
15:36Dad, Mom, siblings.
15:37And with those who, well, are not so pleasant to us.
15:41Our words, our actions, must always show charity.
15:47So that, as the apostle says, we may continually grow in holiness
15:52and thus be prepared for when the Lord returns.
15:56Or, when we are called to appear before Him.
16:02In this same letter to the Thessalonians, which is eminently eschatological, as we have seen,
16:10In the chapter, it tells us, First Thessalonians, in verse 23, chapter 5, in verse 23, it tells us
16:17And may the God of peace himself sanctify him completely.
16:24and that your whole being, spirit, soul, and body be preserved and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
16:35Verse 24, beautiful.
16:38Faithful is he who calls them, who will also call us all.
16:45Thus, in this letter, the apostle Saint Paul highlights the unity that exists between the spirit, the soul, and the body.
16:55And it is important, in this quote, to see that we must not only have holiness in our souls,
17:03but we must also have holiness in body and also in spirit.
17:08Understanding this, that is, the spirit, as the thoughts and feelings that come from the depths of our heart,
17:17of our own spirit.
17:19We must have a pure and holy soul.
17:23We must all see that on the day of our encounter with God,
17:31so that He may find us, as the apostle says, blameless, totally holy and pure.
17:40In other words, realizing that we are indivisibly united,
17:45both what we think, what we say, what we do, what we believe, what we are.
17:54And we must truly be holy.
18:00And so, with this invitation I leave you, and I hope that everything we've been discussing has been helpful.
18:06help you see that omega point clearly
18:10And that you too may be able, just like all of us who have believed in the Lord,
18:15to attain the blessedness of living eternally with Him.
18:18See you in our next chapter, where we will finish this beautiful chapter.
18:23This whole topic about eschatology.
18:26See you then.
18:27Blessings to you and your family.
18:29Blessings to you and your family.