2013-11-10 Daniel Daring 2013 articles 2012 articles
32nd
Sunday: The
God of the living
2
Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5; Luke 20:27-38
On November 8, 2007 seventy Filipinos, two Koreans,
and one Chinese (in the 16 – 19 age bracket) participated in a survey that had
only two questions: 1. Is there life after death? and 2. Where were you before
you were born into this life? The majority of the respondents were either Born
Again or Roman Catholic Christians. 85%
affirmed that there is life after death, but they had difficulties in describing
it. They used standard Christians terms of heaven, hell, and purgatory, but were
unable to give a detailed description. One respondent answered that there is no
life after death and the rest were uncertain. In the Gospel of Luke (20:27-32),
Jesus was asked very similar questions: Do the dead rise? If yes, then what kind
of life will they have?
Life
after death
To the question whether or not there is life after
death, one of the participants answered: “I don't know. I haven't died yet.”
Anything one tries to say about this topic is mere speculation. We will never
know what Jesus meant by saying that those “worthy of taking part in that age
and in the resurrection from the dead” cannot die and are equal to angels
(Luke 20:35-36). And the statement that they “will neither marry nor be given
in marriage” (Luke 20:35) can be either liberating or depressing: liberating
for those who experienced marriage as a tragic mistake of their lives;
depressing for those who dream to be with their loved ones beyond the grave.
Our Christian concepts regarding life after death
do not help either. Except for the beautiful passage in the Second Book of
Maccabees 12:38-45, there is no other place in the Scriptures that would support
to the idea of purgatory (..except Mt 12.23 jw).
The concept of hell goes back to the terrible ritual of sacrificing children to
pagan gods practiced during the time of Jeremiah (ca. 625-587 BCE) in the valley
of ben-hinnon. (The Hebrew word ben-hinnon became gehenna in
Greek, and then translated into English as hell). When the practice was
finally abolished, the place was only fit for a garbage dump. During the time of
Jesus, its smoldering fires burning “endlessly” gave Christians a metaphor
to describe hell. Finally, talking about heaven, we are left either with
descriptions such as, “garden, full of flowers, angels everywhere, God,
etc.,” or “it is going to be a life wherein a utopian society exists and
where there is equality” (two participants of the survey) or with the famous a
new heaven and a new earth of the Book of Revelation 21, where God “will
wipe every tear from [our] eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or
crying or pain, for the order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
Yes. We need to admit that when it comes to life after death we do not know
much: we haven't died yet.
The
God of the living
However, the discussion between Jesus and the
Sadducees about the resurrection contains one striking message. Jesus reminds us
that God associates Himself with concrete people. He is called the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (Luke 20:37). We can include our
ancestors and deceased loved ones and call Him, the God of Augustine, the God of
Joseph, and the God of Caroline. Moreover, although we consider them to be dead,
Jesus considers them to be alive. “He is not the God of the dead, but the God
of the living, for to him all are alive” (Luke 20:38).
We should never forget that belief in the
resurrection of the dead is the cornerstone of our faith. Moreover, the
uniqueness of Christianity lies in Paul's proclamation that the resurrection of
the dead has already begun with the resurrection of Jesus. And yet, I find it so
disheartening to notice how this message has been translated by Christian
Churches into a 'philosophical gospel' of the immortality of the soul. Perhaps,
it is also the reason why so many Christians today uphold belief in
reincarnation. (From the immortality of soul to the migration of soul and then
to reincarnation is not far).
Why is our faith in the resurrection so vital? Let
me use here the thoughts of J. D. Crossan. “Our disfigured world, our disfigured bodies, disfigured by human evil,
injustice, and violence, long for transfigured bodies upon a transfigured
earth.” Resurrection is about justice. We can turn platonic or Buddhist and
dream about escape from the sufferings of this life. We can fly a space
shuttle all the way to the Moon and build there a better civilization. But, this
'heavenly escape' will never do justice to the martyrs and the earth. Earthly
transfiguration and the resurrection of dead are powerful expressions of our
faith in a good and just God.
Conclusion
The Sadducees claimed that there is no resurrection
(Luke 20:27). 33% of the respondents in the above mentioned survey uphold belief
in reincarnation. And many of us dream about a 'heavenly escape' into “a
worry-free and happy life in a place where we wished to be” (one of the
respondents). What is, then, the truth about life after death? We do not know;
we haven't died yet. Since we cannot figure it out, perhaps we should faith it
out. Our belief in the resurrection proclaims that salvation is not just about
our souls, but about our bodies as well. Disfigured by unjust sufferings, daily
hardships, violence, sicknesses, decay, and death, they are going to be
transfigured by the Spirit of God. Jesus has begun this process; the rest of us
and the whole creation will follow.
-------------