WHEN ARE WE TO JUDGE?

Anyone who has read these posts knows that I try to be careful about when I level judgments about other people. After all, "the measure you deal out is the measure that will be dealt to you." And yet, sometimes events come along that seem to encourage people of one stripe or another crow about how SuchandSuch a person will be burning in hell or screaming in purgatory because of the choices they made in life and the causes they supported.

And this week, with the death of Senator Kennedy, I have seen a lot of that from my more conservative Christian friends (many of them Catholic). Especially those committed to the anti-abortion cause.

Now, I am not an advocate of abortion. It is not something I'm going to recommend to any woman facing an unwanted pregnancy. My own reasons run deep and begin with the fact that I do believe intimate sexual relations forge an eternal spiritual connection between the participants. Hence, to me, there is no such thing as "casual sex". As a consequence, a child of such an encounter is another eternal spiritual connection between the mother's soul and the new life. (And yes, I believe this to be true even of rape situations -- where God's Mercy is the only coping tool.)

That said, I am realistic about human nature. The fact is, not everyone shares my understanding and belief about these relationships. And I do not believe that understanding (which is the most crucial thing in addressing the issue of trying to convince a woman not to have an abortion) can be legislated. And because it cannot be legislated, some women will continue to see abortions, as their way of coping with a consequence they did not expect, are not ready to deal with, or think they cannot endure (for whatever reason). If women are going to seek abortions, what then? Shall I be party to condemning them to seek unlicensed doctors (who became unlicensed for good reason)? Shall I be party to them turning to toxic means, or physical ones, that can end their lives? I choose not to be: since realistically I know that some women will seek abortions (as they have done since ancient times - it is not a modern disease), I would rather it happen in circumstances that will best protect their ongoing physical health. Their spiritual health they will have to work out between themselves and God.

I believe this is where Senator Kennedy was working from, in what his critics have called his support of abortion rights. But even if it is not, are they really in a position to declare his damnation? Last time I checked, that level of judgment was not in the job description for my life or for anyone other than the Son of God.

Do I have the least idea of how God will judge Senator Kennedy? No, I do not.

I think that when each of us comes before our Lord that we will be surprised at some of the things in our own lives that the Lord finds important to examine and weigh. "I thought I was doing right about that matter! Your scripture says that was the way we were supposed to be!" What will we say when we discover that He says, "Yes, my child, but I expected greater love from you for your fellow humans first."

I think it is a good thing to work to give everyone a better understanding of the nature of the beginning of life and what abortion is. BUT I think it is a spiritual disaster when anyone starts focusing on the personalities of the women who have abortions, the doctors who perform them, or the legislators who support keeping it a legal option for those who lack understanding. "They deserved to die!" Did they indeed? When were we made the judges of who is deserving of death? When were we made the judges of the eternal destination of others? Did I miss that?

I tend to be very careful of how adamantly I feel I "know" how God will judge others. Because the Lord's Mercy is very great, more vast than we know, more all encompassing and compassionate than we can conceive. Isn't that what Saint Paul says? That God and his love are wider, deeper, longer, bigger than we can possibly imagine?

I don't think it is Saint Peter who opens the gates of Heaven to us when we arrive to face our Maker. I think it is the person we least expected, who will usher us before the Face of God for our judgment. I think it is the last test of our willingness to accept the judgment and love of God -- for if we meet Him in an attitude of "I'm not going to stay if you've let THAT PERSON into Heaven!", have we really understood anything about his love and sacrifice?

Jesus died for everyone. And the only key we need to enter God's presence is the declaration on our lips that "Jesus is Lord!" He is the only one who will know whether or not we really believed that. And that should be the only cause we should be willing to martyr ourselves for, lest we make little gods of the causes, putting them first. HE is the one who takes care of all the rest.