REVELATION 2:1-7:
Our reading from Revelation speaks of the dead being judged according their deeds. This raises the question: Which deeds? Our good deeds, or our bad ones? Does our eternal destiny depend on which we the most of—good or evil? If so, then are we not back to earning our way into heaven? An alternate way of understanding being judged according to our deeds is by way of examining what our deeds—both good and bad—represent. Is every good action a conscious rejection of evil and is every evil deed a repudiation of goodness? Furthermore, if our evil deeds presently exceed the number of good actions, are we at least striving to reverse this situation? And what of those good deeds tainted (if not discredited) by self-serving motives and the manipulation of others for personal benefit? All these questions point to the fact that each one of us has a fundamental direction we are traveling in—either towards the light (which is Christ) or towards the darkness which is death. To those headed for the light, evil deeds betray weakness rather than malice; whereas in those choosing darkness, even their “good deeds” serve only to mock goodness and God the author of all that is good and holy. Advent will be a good opportunity to reevaluate the present trajectory of our life and, if necessary, to alter course and choose light, life, and the One who is the source of both.
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