Judgment -- or consequence?

In the Gospel lesson for Sunday, Jesus offers a variety images for the kingdom of heaven - a mustard seed, a pearl, a treasure. But the image that may leap out at us most strongly is the image of judgment:

"...at the end of the age....the angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

This image of judgment is frightening, so of course it captures our attention. Taken literally and out of context, a person might take this to mean that God will judge people at some future date and throw the evil ones into the fires of hell.

However, I resist that interpretation. For one thing, this is a parable. A parable is a story meant to provoke the imagination, not to spell out literal truth. Jesus used parables as a way of inviting his listeners to imagine something more than the concrete reality that was all around them. So this is not a literal image of hell as a place of everlasting damnation.

For another thing, it isn't God who does the sorting and throwing in this parable -- it's angels that do it. If you think of angels as messengers for God, or agents of God, then in a way the parable is saying that we'll suffer the consequences for our evil actions. The "angels" are the inevitable consequences that flow from our bad behavior.

I resist the image of a judging and condemning God because it doesn't fit with the God I see in Jesus. Jesus came offering forgiveness and compassion, not judgment and condemnation. You may ask, what if a person does what is wrong and resists God''s love and forgiveness. Is there a judgment for them?

It's true that the Bible does speak of judgment. I think that all of us will be judged, but after the judgment, I imagine God offering forgiveness again and again. I don't think God will give up on any person until all have freely chosen salvation. For me, God will always be a God of love.
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