The third Sunday of the pre-Lenten cycle is Judgement Sunday.
Click here for the text of Vespers, Orthros, and the Divine Liturgy variables.
Click here for the Typica service. (When reading Typica instead of attending Liturgy, you will need both the Typica and Divine Liturgy texts.)
Theme
On this day, focus is placed on the future judgment of all persons who will stand before the throne of God when Christ returns in His glory.
Observance of the Week
This Sunday is the final day of meat-eating until Pascha. (This is the rule, though observance can vary based on age, health concerns, and other factors. Such things are sorted out between the individual and their priest.) Because of this, Judgement Sunday is also known as Meatfare. Beginning Monday, dairy and eggs are allowed every day this week, while meat is fasted from every day.
Biblical Story
This Sunday, we read about the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25:31-46.
The kingdom is offered to the sheep because of their compassion and service to those in need. Jesus says, “…for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.” When the sheep ask when this happened, He will answer them by saying, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to the least of these My brethren, you did it to me” (vv. 35-40).
Meanwhile, the goats showed no compassion and did not serve those in need. They will be told to depart.
On the past two Sundays of this pre-Lenten period, the focus was placed on God’s patience and limitless compassion, of His readiness to accept every sinner who returns to Him. On this third Sunday, we are powerfully reminded of a complementary truth: no one is so patient and so merciful as God, but even He does not forgive those who do not repent. The God of love is also a God of righteousness, and when Christ comes again in glory, He will come as our Judge. Such is the message of Lent to each of us: turn back while there is still time, repent before the End comes.
Another theme of this Sunday is that of love. When Christ comes to judge us, what will be the criterion of His judgment? The parable of the Last Judgment answers: love—not a mere humanitarian concern for abstract justice and the anonymous “poor,” but concrete and personal love for the human person—the specific persons that we encounter each day in our lives.
Christian love is the “possible impossibility” to see Christ in another person, whoever he or she is, and whom God, in His eternal and mysterious plan, has decided to introduce into my life, be it only for a few moments, not as an occasion for a “good deed” or an exercise in philanthropy, but as the beginning of an eternal companionship in God Himself.
The parable of the Last Judgment is about Christian love. Not all of us are called to work for “humanity,” yet each one of us has received the gift and the grace of Christ’s love. We know that all persons ultimately need this personal love—the recognition in them of their unique soul in which the beauty of the whole creation is reflected in a unique way. We also know that people are in prison and are sick and thirsty and hungry because that personal love has been denied them. And, finally, we know that however narrow and limited the framework of our personal existence, each one of us has been made responsible for a tiny part of the Kingdom of God, made responsible by that very gift of Christ’s love. Thus, on whether or not we have accepted this responsibility, on whether we have loved or refused to love, shall we be judged.
Great Lent is a time when the Orthodox prepare ourselves for the Second Coming, the Judgement, and the age to come. This week gives us further instruction and preparation for the task before us.
The Icon
The icon of the Sunday of the Last Judgment incorporates all of the elements of the parable. Christ sits on the throne and before him the Last Judgment takes place. He is extending his hands in blessing upon the Theotokos on his right, and John the Baptist on his left. Seated on smaller thrones are the Apostles, represented by Peter and Paul.
Proceeding from the throne are the scrolls pronouncing the judgment upon the sheep and the goats.
Before the throne, Adam and Eve, bow before Christ. In the center of the icon is the Archangel Michael. He is holding the scales of judgment and is surrounded by the books that contain the works of each person . Also shown are the angels with trumpets announcing the return of Christ and signaling the resurrection of the dead and the commencement of the Last Judgment.
To the left of the Archangel are both the living and the dead who are approaching the throne and Christ the judge. Whereas Adam and Eve are representative of all of humanity, this part of the icon shows that both the living and the dead will stand before Christ.
At the bottom right of the icon is the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and the demons, and also for those who are not found worthy to inherit the Kingdom of God.
The icon offers a clear image of the theme of judgment with Christ on His throne, the Archangel with the scales and books, and the anticipation of the sentence of everlasting punishment for the unrighteous and the reward of eternal life for the righteous.