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| Christ the Judge, detail, Sistine Chapel |
Heaven is above all yet: there sits a Judge / That no king can corrupt. ― Katharine in Henry VIII
I have a Jesuit brother who is known for saying to members of his community, “I’m judging you right now.” It is a self-deprecating jest, with the humour coming from the contrast between the rigour associated with judgement and his otherwise pleasant demeanour. In other words, the joke relies upon our perception of judgement as a negative thing.
However, in the Bible, and especially in the Old Testament, judgement is viewed in the opposite way. An entire book is about heroes who are called “judges”: the Book of Judges tells the stories of men who were sent as champions of justice, peace and order in the Land. Judgement, in general, is eagerly awaited by the Israelites. In the Psalms we find countless instances of prayers for God to come as a judge. “Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth,” says the writer of Psalm 96. How many of us today would “rejoice” before judgement?
