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Gospel: John 6: 37-40
Jesus said to the crowds:
“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
because I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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There are two fears that most people share: public speaking and death… I have the honor of dealing with both of them today!
On this Feast of All Souls, we pray for all people who’ve gone before us in the hope of rising again. Our parents, grandparents, spouses, Pope Francis, recent victims of Hurricane Melissa, maybe even one of our children.
This is a wide-ranging, complex, and emotional feast day. But at the very heart of it, I believe there are three questions we need to ask.
Why is there death? What is eternity? And what is heaven like?
I hope to answer them, albeit partially.
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After the death of his own brother, Saint Ambrose said, “God prescribed death as a remedy.” Not to punish us, but to put a definitive end to evil, to preserve in the afterlife only that which is good.
Death is a remedy.
On the one hand, no one wants to die. But, on the other, no one wants to suffer indefinitely. While things like love, beauty, and humor color and add meaning to life, there are also many things which we tire of – hunger, thirst, cancer, war, and so on. Death is the antidote.
But while we suffer, we’re often left to wonder, “Is there a better life, a world without sin?”
Fortunately, there is. After his great vision of heaven, the Apostle John wrote the Book of Revelation.
In heaven, he tells us, we will look upon God’s face. “Night will be no more, nor will [we] need light from lamp or sun, for the Lord God shall give us light, and we shall reign forever.”
We are destined for this place of eternal light, love, and joy, and, “no one shall take your joy from you,” Jesus assures us.
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Eternity is not an unending succession of days, a rolling calendar with an infinite number of “Tuesdays,” when the alarm goes off and we rise for work.
Eternity is the moment of supreme satisfaction, like plunging into the ocean without ever having to draw a breath, where before and after no longer exist.
Death is only a comma in the perpetual sentence of life. While it’s only human for us to try packing all of life’s meaning into this space before the comma, the truth is the best is yet to come.
What the deceased have in eternity is what we often lack here on earth, perspective. They see and enjoy the end for which we were made.
Yet those sanctified souls in heaven also experience what Pope Benedict XVI called an “incomplete joy.” They gaze happily upon the face of God, while also longing for us to join them.
They remind us that Christian hope is not solely individual. Our lives are intimately linked to others; salvation is about all of us. Life, death, and eternity are communal events.
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What, then, is heaven like?
The bible describes heaven as a city, “the new, eternal Jerusalem.” There is no city on earth where every person lives perfectly; although vast wealth, security, and community can be found, earthly cities are also ridden with poverty and crime.
But imagine a “city” in the perfect sense of the word; a place where everyone is secure, together, and fulfilled. There is peace. All have the sense of being “at home.”
In this city, there will be a wedding.
At a wedding, two of the most basic human needs are met: the need for intimacy and the need to be fed. Spouses commit themselves to each other in order to create a fuller life together. Often they spend extravagantly on their wedding day to share their joy with others.
This very human experience of merging two lives into one points towards that heavenly banquet when humanity will be wedded to God forever. Out of his joy, God will share with us everything he is and everything he has.
As Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven, may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son… Everything is ready; come to the feast.”
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Today, we gather to pray for our loved ones who have already been invited to, “Come to the feast.” We rejoice for them, we pray in gratitude for their lives, and for the gift they have been to us.
We also ask God for the strength to continue our own journeys of faith so that, one day, the city of God may be completely filled with life – including yours and mine.
“Come to the feast.”
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Image credits: (1) HAIL (2) All Souls Day, William-Adoplhe Bouguereau (3) Vatican News