Page 127 - 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
What remains, then, for us? Only this: to love, and to re-
main in debt of love. “Owe no one anything, except to love one
another” (Rom 13:8). A debt that is never discharged. And
beyond this—only mercy. The mercy sought by the publican,
the mercy longed for by the prodigal son—this alone sustains
us. Not our virtues, not our achievements, not even our mor-
al efforts, but the boundless mercy of God, which alone can
meet the measure of love.
This awareness gives birth to humility. It silences judgment
of others. “Judge not, that you be not judged” (Mt 7:1). For
whoever judges forgets that he himself stands before the same
light, the same measure, the same truth.
God has entrusted to us two great gifts, and by these we
shall be judged.
The first is time. Time is irretrievable. Once lost, it cannot
be recovered—unless it has been filled with love, with that
which belongs to eternity. Only what is offered in love endures
beyond time.
The second is the body. The body is given not to be pos-
sessed, but to be offered. It is through the body that love be-
comes concrete—through presence, service, sacrifice. And
just as time can slip from our hands, so too can the body. What
we have not offered cannot be carried with us.
Thus, the Gospel confronts us with a profound responsibil-
ity: to use time and body not for ourselves alone, but for love.
Only in this way can we stand at the right hand of Christ—He
who gave not only His time, but His very body, entirely, freely,
and in love.
For to be “in Christ” is to share in this same movement of
self-offering. And without this, no claim, no word, no outward
form can endure the light of judgment.
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