2243AFC102122 – The Crown and the Just Judge
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2 Timothy 4:8 – 8 From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Psalm 34:18-19 – 18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted,
and saves the crushed in spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord rescues them from them all.
Sirach 35:21-22 – 21 The prayer of the humble passes
through the clouds,
and it will never stop
until it draws near to God.
It will never withdraw
until the Most High takes notice,
22 gives justice for the righteous,
and executes judgment.
Indeed, the Lord will never delay,
nor will he be patient with them
until he crushes the power
of the unmerciful – Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible Used by permission.
Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Grace and Peace to each of you from God our Father and our Lord, Jesus the Christ, in the Power of the Holy Spirit. O Dearly Belovéd, how deeply I long to reach out to each of you in an embrace of Peace and Love! These little (sometimes too big) messages are as close as I can come most times. Sometimes I try to remember one or another of you reading these words and seeing the expression on your face. I long for that day when we will truly see each other face-to-face and will have no need for written messages because we will know all that God intended for us to know. It is in this sort of reflection that I come closest to understanding loneliness. As an introvert, I find that that is a feeling that escapes my comprehension because I sense that I am never, ever alone. I always have my Best Friend, the Holy Spirit, and my favorite angel (I refer to him as Baruch) is always close by to help when I’m being inattentive (so he’s one busy Guardian Angel). This introspection presented here arises from the tone-of-longing in our Epistle for this Sunday.
The Apostle Paul is held in chains in Rome, and only Luke is with him. Some have abandoned him, some have opposed him, and some have greatly wronged him; nonetheless he is a peace with his situation because he knows he has done all the Lord asked of him. You may recall that we have often written of the word testify or testimony. To be a witness to Jesus’ Gospel, we must give up our life to him because it can no longer be our own. Our lives must be for, with, and about the Gospel. The Apostle Paul has done that, and he realizes that shortly his role will be over. Tradition has it that he was beheaded in Rome. He was a Roman citizen and would not have been subjected to the inhumane death by crucifixion or the violent death in the Coliseum against gladiators or animals. Most likely this occurred late in the reign of Nero after the burning of Rome and the severe persecutions of Christians. Nero may have adjudged The Apostle Paul guilty, but The Just Judge was waiting to award him with “The Crown of Righteousness” (↔ Music Link) This stands in sharp contrast to the Gospel from last week which centered on the parable of the unjust judge.
His reward was to be spared a good whack from the widow who wanted him to rule in her favor because she was pursuing a just cause. By contrast, the Just Judge seeks out the poor, the oppressed, the disenfranchised and rewards them for their persistent hold on the Hope they have in God as their redeemer. (See our Key Verses from Psalms and Sirach) The Apostle Paul speaks of being poured out like a libation. This often slips by us because we think of someone pouring a cocktail or other beverage. Actually the libation was an offering of wine or oil poured out over or with another offering. We first encounter “drink offering” in Genesis 35:14 – 14 Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured out a drink offering on it, and poured oil on it.
Bethel is the place where Jacob met God and he named the placed Bethel – House of God – and it became in important city a bit north of Jerusalem. The Romans also used libation offerings so that at the beginning of a meal some of the wine was poured out onto the ground as an offering to a spirit, one of their many gods, or even in memory of one who was deceased. It is even included in some Wiccan ceremonies. The imagery would be well-understood by Timothy and other converts to Christianity. The Apostle Paul’s life was going to be an appeasing and appealing offering to God for his devotion and service to his ministry of evangelization. The ceremony would end with him receiving the Victor’s Crown.
Paul often used sports metaphors. Perhaps that is why so many sermons and homilies have examples based on sports. The Apostle Paul spoke of competing well, or fighting the good fight, or running the course well. In a race in those days, the victor was awarded a laurel crown. These were made from the fragrant branches of the Bay Laurel – what we cooks call bay leaf – and were a symbol of victory. Today we speak of laurates as someone who has received a dignified award or recognition. We think of achievement and superior accomplishment associated with that word “laurels.” When we say someone is “resting on their laurels,” we mean that said person is no longer trying to achieve, but merely coasting on the celebrity of their previous accomplishments. Some have said that if we are resting on our laurels, we’re wearing them on the wrong end. In The Apostle Paul’s example, the Crown is not one that will fade away or dry up and then be used in a stew. The Crown he is referring to is an eternal reward for all the Good he has done in his ministry.
The Apostle Paul will receive an Everlasting Crown of Righteousness. This is one of five characteristics of crowns (↔ Learning Link) mentioned tin the New Testament. His blood was to be poured out on the earth as a final libation sacrifice. At that moment, he at last stood face-to-face with the Just judge, the Living Word of God, the Rider of the White Horse.
The rider of the White Horse in the Four Horses of the Apocalypse is described as wearing Many Crowns – The Great Dragon has 7 diadems (See Revelation 12:3). The Beast rising out of the Sea with blasphemous names on its seven heads wore 10 diadems (See Revelation 13:1). The Rider on the White Horse is crowned “with many crowns”(See Revelation 19:11-21) which signifies his Divine Sovereignty – he is :”King of kings (↔ Music Link) and Lord of lords (See Revelation 19:12) – there is no power or creature greater than him. His many Crowns attest to his numerous victories, but the most notable is his Victory over Sin and Death. Thus the extent of his Realm, the Kingdom of Our God, is beyond our comprehension wherever we abide – in Heaven, or Earth, or Hell. There the Lord God – Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent, and Omnibenevolent – will be reunited with all of his Creation in a New Heaven and New Earth. Like The Apostle Paul, we will then meet the Just Judge. Only he knows his True Name and only he will allow his Word to pass judgment. This passage is so important that I’m going to give it entirely:
John 12:44-54 – 44 Then Jesus cried aloud: “Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness. 47 I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. * 48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge; on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge, 49 for I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me.” * See John 3:16-19. (↔ Learning Link) Are you sure you truly do remember how that passage ends? Does verse 19, apply only to the contemporaries of Jesus? As a guide for your thinking, recall the news coming from D.C., Ukraine, and any other place (↔ Learning Link) – including the USA – where evil, terrorism, and perversions occur with seeming impunity.
Who – or what – is the Just Judge? The Word that Jesus, the Christ of God, has spoken. The “Day of Judgment” is often portrayed as a scene with an angry old man dressed as a magistrate and sitting in a towering Bench of Judgement with a massive book containing the names of every soul and the charges against them. I envision that day as I described it in 2234AFC081922 – Next in line, please. (← Check it out!) We will be “sorted” into or out of the Light of The Word. The Word will judge, the Advocate will plead our case – intreat for us. God the Father and the Creator will assent to the judgment of The Word 
and entreat us to the reward we have earned. It is vitally important here to remember the proper meanings of these two similar sounding words which have vastly different meanings. To intreat is to earnestly ask for something. That is what the Advocate will do for us. To entreat is how you treat someone. That is the distribution or apportionment of our Reward. If we have been faithful to The Word, our Eternal Reward will be to enjoy God forever and ever. If we have rejected The Word, our Eternal Reward will be separation from God forever and ever – YOLOF is in the APP.
This race is not an easy one. It lasts a lifetime and takes everything we have to get to the finish. Sometimes we stumble, lose our bearings (or marbles), or get run over, or just haven’t got the stamina for one part of the course. That’s why Sirach tells us we can ask for God’s help and nothing anywhere can stop that prayer from reaching God:
The one who serves God willingly is heard;
his petition reaches the heavens.
The prayer of the humble passes
through the clouds,
and it will never stop
until it draws near to God.
It will never withdraw
until the Most High takes notice,
gives justice for the righteous,
and executes judgment.
The Most High gives justice – he is righteous and merciful – and executes judgment – he and The Living Word in unity with the Holy Spirit reward each petitioner according to the willingness of service and the humility in the request. That is the Just Judge who offers and provides our Crown. He is the One crowned King of Glory, Lord of Hosts, The Just Judge, and God of our Salvation. Now that’s a goal worth running for!
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
Because the Just Judge is Son of the Father, he exchanged this
for this and reserves it for us.
