Page 125 - Orthodoxy Zizioulas

J U D G M E N T A S R E V E L AT I O N O F L O V E
Judgment as Revelation of L ove
The Gospel passage (Mt 25:31–46) places before us truths
that we often prefer to forget—perhaps because forgetting
them makes life easier, at least for a time.
One of these truths is that history—both the history of the
world and our own personal history—has an end. This end
does not belong to us; it is not determined by our will, but by
the One who has given us life, time, and existence. And this
end is inseparable from judgment.
But what do we mean by judgment (κρίσις)?
Judgment is the unveiling of reality. It is the separation of
good from evil, truth from falsehood, life from death. Yet in
our present life, these are deeply intertwined. We imagine that
we speak truth, while we conceal it even from ourselves. We
believe that we love others, while in reality we love ourselves.
We claim to live, while we are constantly passing into death.
Everything is mixed, blurred, and ambiguous.
Therefore, this world requires judgment—it requires illu-
mination. It requires that light be shed upon all that we have
constructed, often with subtlety and self-deception. For evil
does not appear openly as evil. The devil is called “the father
of lies” (Jn 8:44) precisely because he disguises falsehood as
truth, death as life, and idols as God. And so there must come
a moment when all concealment ends, when everything is
brought into the light.
Yet light is not always easy to bear. We long for it, yet we
also fear it. We preserve hidden chambers within our hearts;
we wish to appear other than we are. But this cannot endure
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