November 7, 2004: The Life to Come

The Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time



In the popular devotion of the Church, the month of November is dedicated to remembering and praying for the dead. We began this month with All Saints’ Day, which honors all the people who have successfully made it into heaven… followed by All Souls’ Day, when we prayed especially for the souls temporarily in Purgatory on their way to heaven.

As Catholics, we are incredibly blessed and comforted to have such a rich and beautiful understanding of what lies on the other side of death.

Let me share with you a very personal experience. Most of you probably know that I was an adult convert to Catholicism. I grew up Jewish.

In February of 2002, my Mother passed away. Even though she was supportive of my choice to become Catholic and even a priest, she remained Jewish herself. So out of respect for her beliefs, we had a Jewish funeral.

At the funeral service, the rabbi gave a beautiful sermon and eulogy. He spoke of the things my Mother had accomplished in life… her love for her family, friends and strangers alike… her good works… and so forth. Then he went on to tell us how she would live on: not in actuality, but in our memories. As long as we remembered her and honored her memory, Mom would continue to live on through us.

“That’s it?” I came away from the service saying to myself, “Thank God I’m a Catholic and know the real truth about the immortality of Mom’s soul and that she’s still alive, even after her death!” I felt deeply and genuinely sorry for the impoverished understanding of death that the rabbi held and taught… and especially for so many generations of people who could have been much better comforted had they only known how much more there is!

I guess the branch of Judaism that nurtured my family came down from the Sadducees like the ones we meet in the Gospel today. They believed that our earthly life is our only life. There’s no heaven or hell. There’s just life—then at death, that life is extinguished… it’s over.

The Pharisees disagreed. Their belief is closer to our own in the sense that life does not simply end when we cross the threshold of death. There’s something more.

The Pharisees’ idea about the afterlife is actually very interesting. They don’t use the words or concepts of heaven and hell, but they get the main idea: anyone who forms and continues to deepen his relationship with God here on earth will continue to live and further develop that relationship in the next life for all eternity. This is the life of the just.

The unjust, on the other hand—those who refuse such a relationship—would simply die. There is no need to worry about a place of fire, demons and torture. Dying is punishment enough.

That’s what the fourth brother in our first reading from Second Maccabees means when he tells his killers, “It is my choice to die at the hands of men with the hope God gives of being raised up by Him; but for you, there will be no resurrection to life.”

Jesus, as He tries to teach the Sadducees, carries us along even more in our understanding of the next life. He reveals two wonderful truths. First, the just do indeed live even after death; and second, heaven is not just “more of the same” kind of earthly life but instead is something different… something better.

He shows that there’s real life after death by referring to the story of the burning bush. Even though Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had all died many hundreds of years before the Lord appeared to Moses, God speaks of their relationship in the present tense: “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,” not “I was the God…” So the three must still be alive!

And then Christ shows that life will be a whole new experience when He explains that we will not marry in heaven. Certainly the beautiful fruits of love and marriage and other loving relationships will endure, but in some other way. Just as our resurrected bodies will be glorified, so will our new existence and relationships. What a mysteriously joyful and hopeful thought!

In the 3200 or so years since the time of Moses… the 2000 years since the time of Christ… the Church has continued to unfold for us the great riches contained in the promises of eternal life for the just. We know that while heaven is freely offered to each and every one of us, we must accept the offer. Just think how pointless life would be if heaven were automatic. Why go through the bother of living a good life, a moral life, a faith-filled life, a loving life if paradise were guaranteed? It wouldn’t make a bit of sense. There would be no incentive to sacrifice or struggle or stretch to be better people.

And yet, while heaven is not necessarily a slam-dunk, it is certainly and easily within our reach—thanks to God’s grace. It only makes sense to pray to God for ourselves, our loved ones, our friends—and for all our fellow human beings—that we may be given this grace and be received into the joys of heaven.

During this month of November, also please do not omit to pray for the dead who may be waylaid in Purgatory on their journey to heaven. May we always remember to stay focused on the prize, as our Psalm proclaims: “Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.”



Today’s Readings:
2 Maccabees 7, 1–2 and 9–14
Psalm 17
2 Thessalonians 2, 16 – 3, 5
Luke 20, 27–38