That Man Is You 
 

That Man Is You  was first published by Father Louis Evely
in February, 1964;  but his description of the Last Judgement
 from one of Jean Anouilh's plays is as fresh and powerful
for me today as the day I first read it.

The good are densely clustered at the gate of Heaven, eager to march in, sure of their reserved seats, keyed up and bursting with impatience.   All at once a rumor starts spreading: "It seems He's going to forgive those others, too!"  For a minute, everyone's dumbfounded. They look at one another in disbelief, gasping and sputtering, "After all the trouble I went through!"  "If only I'd known this..." "I just can't get over it!"

Exasperated, they work themselves into a fury and start cursing God;  and at that very instant they're damned. That was the final judgement, you see. They judged themselves, excommunicated themselves. Love appeared, and they refused to acknowledge it. "We don't know this man." "We don't approve of a Heaven that's open to every Tom, Dick, and Harry." "We spurn this God who lets everyone off."  "We can't love a God who loves so foolishly."