In the first reading from today’s Mass, the Lord announces through Isaiah that he will “purge Jerusalem… with a blast of searing judgment”. Isaiah and the people of Judah would have understood this prophecy as good news.
No, really. Good news.
How could that possibly be?
We tend to see the word “judgment” in mainly negative terms. In the Scriptures, however, “judgment” is used in a number of ways. For those who have sinned and turned decisively from God, this would be bad news. For those who oppressed the People of God – especially the most vulnerable – this would be bad news. But – for those whose hearts truly belonged to the Lord, and yet felt beset not only by the dangers from enemies but also by their own sins that still clung to them – this “searing judgment” is good news – dare I say Good News. Judgment in this context means vindication. God would act and free His people from all that oppressed them, from without and from within. God would refine them as gold or iron is refined, burn away their residual sins like so much dross, and fill them with His saving presence. God would free them from all that still enslaved them. He would fulfill the deepest longings of those who put their trust in Him.
Think of our own lives as followers of Christ. Isn’t this one of our deepest desires? The closer we are drawn to the Lord, the more our sins stand out in His light, and the more they bother us. We don’t want to prove unfaithful to the God who has loved us so. Even the smallest sins grieve our hearts. We find ourselves failing God and everyone we love, despite our best and most sincere efforts. We long to be truly freed from sins of every kind.
Pope Benedict XVI, in his book on eschatology, understands purgatory in this very way. The fire of purgatory, Benedict says, is nothing less than the fire of God’s own presence, burning away all sin and purifying all those He has saved. This purifying fire begins its work in our earthly lives, but sometimes is needed after death to complete our cleansing and healing. This latter period we call purgatory.
This is what God promises us through Isaiah. This is what He offered His people through the preaching of John the Baptist. He diagnoses our ills, and then offers us the cure. Judgment brings both diagnosis and healing. We are cleansed so that we can be free to truly know love, to become like God. This kind of judgment may be the best news of all. May we trust our God, who comes to save us.