Saint Catherine of Alexandria, virgin and martyr

 Lectionary: 507 

I saw the dead, the great and the lowly, standing before the throne,
and scrolls were opened.
Then another scroll was opened, the book of life.
The dead were judged according to their deeds, by what was written in the scrolls.
The sea gave up its dead; then Death and Hades gave up their dead.
All the dead were judged according to their deeds.
Then Death and Hades were thrown into the pool of fire. (This pool of fire is the second death.)
Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the pool of fire.

Martin Luther and many like him were sickened by the appalling demands of the Church for money, and by the fund raisers of the time who, like the tax collector's of Jesus's day, unscrupulously scalped the poor for money. They exploited especially the anxiety about God's judgment, that the poor sinner would be cast into the pool of fire and suffer extreme pain for all eternity. They worried about their loved ones who had already died and might desperately need deliverance from the apparently temporary torments of Purgatory. 

Luther, in a remarkable moment of grace, had found a willingness to trust in God's mercy. As he read the gospels and studied the works of the famously reformed sinners -- Saints Paul and Augustine -- he chose to believe that God doesn't require anyone to accumulate graces by good deeds or by purchasing indulgences. One could be saved by trusting our good, benevolent God; that is, by faith alone. 

With his gaze upon Jesus, Luther could metaphorically walk upon the waters of his dread, happy and free. 

He was so persuaded of his belief in "faith alone" that he dismissed the entire idea of salvation through generous works. He held to that principle despite the passage above from Revelation, and Matthew 25, the parable about the Second Coming and the Final Judgment. In that famous narrative, the resuscitated dead do not even recognize the Lord, much less recall when they did, or should have, shown kindness to Him. But because of their good deeds the merciful are delivered into Bliss, while the merciless are cast into Hell. 

Luther's insight was brilliant but it lacked depth. It needed the foil of the entire scriptures through which we learn to live and practice our faith. It was like looking through a pinhole; there might be a valuable and surprising perspective in that experiment, but it must be integrated into the greater vision. 

The faithful trust in God through good times and bad, through difficult times and peaceful spells. Because humans build reliable infrastructures and systems and faithfully make them work, we can enjoy peace and prosperity for long stretches of time. Life is not always difficult. 

But we must always remain faithful to one another and to our God; we should never forget the fragility and contingency of human life. The entire universe, including the human creature, was created out of nothing, and might fall back into nothingness. The planet Earth might never have seen human beings and could have been quite content without them. Those who habitually assume that others will always take care of them, put up with their nonsense, and forgive their abusive behavior may find themselves in the outer darkness. They had that faith alone but were, in fact, expendable parasites. 

Reasonable Lutherans know that, as do sensible Catholics. 

As Advent approaches, we set to work on the house of our lives to welcome our Savior. We hope he finds a place in our hearts warmer and  more appropriate than a manger.