26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2016

Amos 6:1a, 4-7; 1 Timothy 6:11-16; Luke 16:19-31
Heaven is Real: But are you a Man/Woman of God ready for Heaven?

We live in a world, where only those things that are demonstrable in a laboratory or tactile are accorded existence. This is what we generally think and believe: existence has to be concrete and visible, for example, evolution theories are credible for this reason. Hence, the existence of heaven, hell, and purgatory are difficult to grasp for our contemporaries. These difficult issues, especially of the existence of invisible realities, is what the Church confronts us with today.

Let us begin from the known to the unknown. I went to bed last night, all I know is that I am up again this morning, but I cannot account for what happened during my sleep! When I woke up, those around and media outlets informed me of the things that happened while I slept. More so, when I had to start school, my parents told me when I was born, and I believed their testimony, even though I now know that there can be mistakes in birthdays. But more importantly, my obituary will also be announced by others, not myself!

If there is limit to my knowledge, even about myself, I will always need the testimony of others around me, and those testimonies will be part of my beliefs. Not even science can change this, with all its pretension to certitude and advancement in technology. In fact, all that science does is to tell us about what is already in existence, by the time science becomes aware of it. So, there are no discoveries in science, but acknowledgement of what science wasn’t aware of hitherto.

According to our first reading today, the prophecy of the Assyrian exile (“Therefore, now they shall be the first to go into exile” [Amos 6:7]), the fact that God made known to his people what was to take place in the future, is God’s science! “Prophecy,” far beyond the making known of what lies ahead and the challenge that provides for Christians to keep doing God’s will by keeping his commandments, is God’s language for a generation of humanity which fails to admit its limitation, and glories in ignorance and lies! God deploys his scientific knowledge – prophecy – to make know to humans what they are not aware of, in order to save their souls from damnation! A story makes clear how human beings are wont to reject God’s warnings, but cling exclusively to material things.

There was a woman in her sixties, who had a near death experience. This woman was very ill and taken to the hospital in an ambulance. While in the hospital, she had to under surgery. During her surgery, she died. Arriving in heaven, she saw God and complained to him that she was too young to die, and pleaded with him to be given more years and returned to earth. God accepted her plea and granted her 20 extra years to live upon earth. So, she woke up on the surgical table. Her surgery turned out to be a huge success. But instead of returning home from the hospital, after her surgery, she asked for a face-lift (plastic or aesthetic surgery) so that she could look sweet 16 again. This plastic surgery was also successful. Since this lady came to the hospital in an ambulance, now that she is well, after two surgeries, she had to take a bus home, from the hospital. Her bus stop was on the other side of the road, from the hospital. On crossing the road, she was run over by a car, and she died. This time around, she was extremely furious with God. She said, oh God, your are a wicked God! God asked her what he had done wrong. Then, she reminded him of his promise to her, that he had added 20 years to her life-span, the last time she died and came to heaven. God exclaimed: was it you? Sorry, I did not recognize you, that is why you died this second time!

Now, there is a stark difference between the ends of human sciences and God’s knowledge. The investments of countries and multinationals in science and technology boil down to one thing – progress. This progress is measured in two major ways: on the one hand, the fabrication and possession of weapons for the destruction of one’s enemies, on the other, the manufacturing of products to guarantee longevity on earth and the eradication of diseases. These two reasons show that humans care about mundane elements, and, by implication, there is nothing beyond this visible world. Like the woman in our story, she never saw the twenty extra years given to her as an opportunity to keep God’s commandments, and prepare herself for heaven; her attachment to physical beauty cost her heaven!

No! There is life beyond this earthly existence, a kind of life that human science is both oblivious of and cannot explain. It is a life that defies human laboratory and transcends human technological know how. It is a mystery! A “mystery” is not something impossible to know or unknowable, rather, it is what God has revealed, a knowledge God makes possible to human beings. This is the subject matter of this Sunday – the knowledge of heaven, hell and purgatory. This knowledge comes to human beings through God’s revelation. The unfortunate reality, though, is that human beings find it difficult to accept this kind of knowledge, because it is very inconveniencing for those who prefer material attachment to faith in the invisible.

If in the past, God made his knowledge known to his people, especially the reality of heaven and hell, through prophecies, he does that for Christians today through Jesus Christ. Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus, in our gospel reading, affords us the opportunity to talk about heaven, where Lazarus is, and Hell, where the rich man went. The dramatic presentation of how the rich have fun on earth is our first reading’s way of presenting to us the distractions militating against the acceptance of revelation or divine knowledge. The life and death of Jesus teach us something about how to live on earth in anticipation of heaven. Jesus, who has the knowledge of things invisible, teaches us today about the reality of heaven and hell. Only faith in Jesus’ teachings and revelations to us, contained in the Scripture, can save us not only from scientific ignorance, but also from ending up in hell of fires!

The woman in our story today displays the kind of inordinate attachment to things of earth that sends people to hell. The woman dies and goes to heaven, but because her knowledge and experience of heaven meant nothing to her, all she wanted was to look sweet 16 again, she died a second time: what a misplaced priority? Her earthly beauty was more important to her than her eternal bliss in heaven. Tragically, she lost her earthly beauty to death and her soul to hell! This is the lot of those who refuse to see earthly dwelling as a preparation for heaven.

The rich and powerful of this world want to live in a technologically developed countries because salvation, as far as they are concerned, comes from the possession of what money can buy, and not from God. The fact that churches are sold and bought like commodities in the market is an indication that Christianity is a relic in the West, and that faith can be bought and sold, no wonder Western kids are easily radicalized, just as women shop for goods in a mall. It is easier to hear people talk about their sexuality and sexual escapades in Western societies, than hear people talk about Christianity or how to help their neighbors. Today, animals have more values in Western societies than human beings, especially when one looks at how many animals are recipients of the wills of their owners, in comparison with sons and daughters of men.

Of course, the track record that progress has is more wars, more hatred, more sicknesses. The rate of suicides and euthanasia testifies to the meaninglessness humanity suffers from, despite science and technology. The spate of substance abuse and sex addition betrays twenty-first century’s slavery and dehumanization. Gun violence and racial discriminations show that human beings have mastered the law of death than the logic of living and life! Life and living are arts that only the Lord and God of life can teach and guarantee. The prophecy of Amos today teaches human beings about how to live life and be happy – listen to God’s prophecy and keep God’s commandments of life! Curious enough, excessive food, sex, alcohol, wealth, etc. all lead to addictions, obesity; little wonder science and technology cannot keep up with the exponential increment in new diseases!

There is only one consequence to human attachments to wealth and earthly realities – hell of fires. To listen to God’s prophecy, in the first reading of today, is tantamount to opting out of hell and choosing heaven. After all, to be forewarned is to be forearmed. Human worries over health and wealth are the diseases that expedite death. Hypertension, affluenza, individualism, egoism and homophobia are self-inflicted sicknesses and open the door to hell of fires. Lazarus and the rich man, in our gospel reading, provide us with two ways of living on earth. Lazarus eke out his living, even if it meant fighting with dogs to feed himself. The rich man provides a spectacle and theatre for himself watching Lazarus starve and living on crumbs. Does this not correspond to twenty-first century reality between the haves and have-nots?

The meaning of today’s gospel comes from the name “Lazarus,” which means, either “in God I trust” or “God is my helper.” Either way, the difference between the rich man and Lazarus is the fact that Lazarus had God in his life, and the rich man hadn’t. It is important to notice that the rich man didn’t go to hell because he was rich, but because God had no place in his life while he lived. Consequently, poor people, who have no place for God in their lives are doomed to hell of fires, just like the rich man of today’s gospel.

Do you want to know how never to miss going to heaven? Listen to Paul, in today’s second reading: “But you, man of God, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Compete well for the faith. Lay hold of eternal life” (1 Timothy 6:11-12a). Eternal life is a choice, just the way that eternal damnation is an option. To choose eternal life means living one’s life in accordance with God’s commandments. Those who live according to God’s commandments exude the virtues Paul enumerates: “man of God,” Paul says, “pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience and gentleness.” As a matter of fact, you and I can know our candidature, whether for heaven or hell of fires right now, just by evaluating our lives to see if we practice these virtues!

You see, God wants men and women of God; those whose lives of virtue transform the planet earth, not those whose invented science destroys the earth. God seeks people of virtue, whose daily preoccupation is to live virtuous lives and protect their neighbors and the environment.

Assignment for the Week:
Choose two virtues, among those Paul enumerates today, and practice them for the rest of this week?