Our Father's Inheritance

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Nov. 7, 2010 (Lk 20:27-38)

Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and put this question to him, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us, 'If someone's brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother.' Now there were seven brothers; the first married a woman but died childless. Then the second and the third married her, and likewise all the seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be? For all seven had been married to her."

Jesus said to them, "The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise. That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called 'Lord' the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive."

Our recently concluded double commemoration of all the saints and of all the faithful departed is deeply rooted in a firm belief in life after earthly death and in the immortality of the soul. Of course, we could go on and on arguing philosophically whether man's soul is immortal and whether there is an afterlife, but that would only prove the immortality of philosophical debates. As Catholics, we firmly believe in the resurrection of the dead that is stated in our Creed. Christ's own glorious Resurrection reassures this faith.

Our First Reading presents us a very tragic story of a mother and her sons choosing to die rather than to disobey God's laws. It is inspiring how they were unafraid to face death because they believed that God raises His faithful ones from the dead. This mother and her seven sons remind us of the stories of our martyrs whose firm belief in the resurrection lead to their cruel yet glorious deaths, which they accepted courageously.

With these stories in mind, we come to wonder why today, we fear to die. It is natural for us as humans to dislike death, but to fear it is perhaps not Christian. Do we fear death because we don't believe in the afterlife? Probably the only Christian answer is that we fear death because we haven't lived good lives and are not yet ready to face God. But that only proves that we do not take our faith seriously. Our belief in the everlasting life God promised must be made manifest in the way we live. As Catholics, we must not give undue value to this world. We must treasure everlasting life more than we treasure our lives here. As Jesus said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. (Mt 6:33)"

Everlasting life is often viewed as a reward from God for those who are good. It is. But it is more fitting to say that everlasting life is God's inheritance for His faithful children. An inheritance has always been the right of a Father's children. In the same way, everlasting life has always been in store for all of us, since we are all God's children. But we need to be faithful children of God. If we run away from Him, He cannot force us to accept His promised eternal life. If we disobey His will, we act as if we were not His children and we denounce Him as Father.

In our Gospel today, Jesus clarifies that everlasting life is not like the life here on earth. As St. Paul said, "What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him. (1 Cor 2:9)" Eternal life with God will never be boring no matter how endless it is. The divine life He has in store for us is a life of eternal joy that is always new. The problem with us is that we believe in the eternal life but we treat it as a fairy tale, or something that has little relevance and urgency. We fail to see the great things that are in store for us and we give more value to what can be of use to us here and now. When we are old and are near death, only then will we realize the value of a life lived in accordance to God's law. Let's not wait.

A life that never ends awaits us after our earthly life. It is up to us to choose whether we want to spend it with God or without Him. The death which we will all face becomes only a birth to eternal life, as St. Francis puts it. We will no longer fear death but wait with Christian hope for the moment when we get to meet God face to face. All this is we only live a life of true faith. For if we work hard and study for how many excruciating years just to be "ready" to live our lives here on earth, how much more must we prepare for eternal life with God?

Ready to Be Born in Heaven?

Commemoration of All Faithful Departed Nov. 2, 2008 (Mt 25:31-46)

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

(Jn 14:1-6)

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going."
Jesus the Way to the Father

Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Our first Gospel reading is a prophetic story of what will happen when the world ends. This passage is known as the Last Judgment. In this Gospel, we see Jesus receiving into Paradise all those who have lived a life of love for God and for others while casting into the fire those who refused to love God and to love others.

The second Gospel reading presents Jesus encouraging His apostles to be courageous in their mission, for a reward is waiting for them in heaven. Jesus promises them a place in heaven and that He Himself will take them with Him.

These readings are just two that I have chosen to reflect on from a roster of twelve Gospel readings. These twelve are the Gospel readings which may be used for the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, which happens to fall on a Sunday this year.

The two readings can be connected with each other. Both maybe used to reflect on what happens after our life on earth. We all know that our immortal soul separates from the body in death. In the Prayer of Saint Francis, we poeticize this by saying, “It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.” The eternity of our soul’s life has been the theme of some of my past reflections here. Death is something we will all experience so we have to prepare for it. This is because, after our death, we will be judged by God, as we see in the first Gospel.

The second Gospel reading is a consolation for those who mourn the death of their loved ones and, at the same time, also for all of us who face the inevitable reality of death. Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” (Jn 14:1). Through His words, Jesus inspires us not to be afraid of doing good, even if it would mean pain or death for us. He tells us to believe in God and in Him. This faith, as we all know, is the requirement for us to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and be saved. We should not be afraid of anything as long as we live in righteousness and in faith. Knowing that our eternal life with God is secured should be enough for us not to worry about anything else, not even pain or death. This is what we mean by martyrdom or even holiness and saintliness. If we die unafraid because of doing the will of God, then we should rejoice, for our reward is a dwelling place in heaven.

We shouldn’t fear death because it’s an entrance to eternal life. We all have immortal souls, but that doesn’t mean we will all go to heaven and be with God. For all we know, we might be spending eternity in the fiery pit, suffering because of the longing for God.

So how do we avoid hell and achieve salvation or heaven? Well, we could not really achieve that salvation; it is a gift from God, an inheritance from our Father. Nevertheless, we have the responsibility to remain faithful children of God and worthy heirs by our faith and the good deeds which are the fruits of our faith, for what kind of father would give an inheritance to a disobedient son who doesn’t repent? He would surely disown him. In the same way, for us to receive the inheritance promised by Jesus, we must remain true children of God, our Father. Jesus, being the epitome of obedience, is therefore “the way, the truth and the life.” (Jn 14:6). It is in being like Jesus that we secure eternal life with God. It is only through Him that we can come to the Father. The first Gospel reading supports this truth by showing that Jesus shall judge us according to our acts of love for God and for neighbor.

Death is inevitable. Nevertheless, it is not something to be afraid of. It is our birth into eternal life. (That’s why we celebrate a saint’s feast day on the day of his death.) If we prepare for our entrance in college, if we prepare for our flight to other countries, so much more do we have to prepare for our death by living a life of love, a life like that of Christ. A friend of mine once asked me, “Why do we all have to die?” I said, “Do you not pass a project?” Our life is a project and death is our deadline. The sure way to get a 100 in this project is Christ, the way, the truth and the life.

Let us ask ourselves, how often do we reflect on the reality of death? Are we ready to die? If we are not ready to die, what are our reasons? Is it because we haven’t enjoyed life on earth yet? Or is it for the greater reason that we are not yet ready to be judged by God because we haven’t loved Him and others enough?