Heaven is our Home, Jesus is our GPS
Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 4; Mark 16:15-20.
Do not ask scientists about Heaven, because they do not know where to find it. Of all the places they have been able to locate, Heaven is not one of them. The closest they have come to Heaven is the statement, “Heaven doesn’t exist”. Come to think of it, how does science get its knowledge – by discovery! For instance, America didn’t exist, up until Christopher Columbus “discovered” it; River Niger didn’t exist before Mungo Park “discovered” it. My friends, beware of those who “discover things,” because they are yet to discover themselves! How can things only exist at the moment of their discovery, if it is not the ignorance of the discoverers that was discovered and proven in their discoveries?
“Heaven” is not a scientific word, it is a theological concept – science cannot discover it! Science and its methods only provide material knowledge, and assuage mundane needs. To speak of “Heaven” is to speak the language of Faith in God; the sentences of Faith are the words of Sacred Scripture; the grammar of Faith is the imitation of Jesus’ life; the path to and Heaven itself is to dwell where Christ dwells. Space, time and distance are measurable tools of science, in order to locate a destination. “Heaven” is outside of those, and only accessible after an encounter with God through Faith. After all, “discovery” is not a bad thing, when it is the discovery of self-ignorance, because the wisdom of God and the company of God, which is called Heaven, is only then attainable.
Luke, the writer of the Acts of the Apostles from where our first reading is taken, abandoned science and medical practice, in order to plunge himself into the wisdom of God. Little wonder he wrote about Heaven and the wherewithal to attaining it! Here is what he says, “In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day he was taken up, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen,” as the opening statements of the Acts of the Apostles. Luke repeats what Jesus said and did, and caps it all with the instructions of Jesus to the Apostles. Consequently, Apostolic Faith is indispensable for the knowledge of Heaven because the Apostles received the message directly from Jesus himself. The life of Jesus is a sure guide to where Jesus himself is because Jesus is our GPS; and, the words of Jesus remain relevant for all eternity.
One fundamental mistake of scientists, and those ignorant of God’s power and word, is to dwell on the sentence of the first reading of today, when it says, “as they were looking on, he was lifted up” (Acts 1:9b). This is the scientific proof that Heaven is somewhere above, so Jesus was taken up into the sky, where Heaven is. It suffices to read the whole of verse 9 to understand that theology was at stake and not geographic science. Here is how the verse concludes, “and a cloud took him from their sight” (Acts 1:9c). The “cloud” that enveloped Jesus is the presence of his Father. “Cloud” is both the presence of God and the image of the Holy Spirit, that is why St. Paul could talk about Christians drinking the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:13) and that our Fathers in the Faith were “all under the cloud” (1 Cor 10:1). Of course, St. Paul didn’t invent this theological understanding of “cloud” as the presence of God because God already travelled with Israel in the pillar of cloud in the Old Testament (Exodus 13:31), and the Cloud is always there for Jesus’ appearance with his Father and the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ Transfiguration is an instance of this (Matthew 17:5).
The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord is the confirmation of the theological certitude that Heaven is the home of every child of God, and that to dwell in God is already Heaven itself. But the Church teaches us another fundamental truth, even in Heaven, Jesus is still very busy because he sits at the right side of God the Father (our second reading). In other words, while in Heaven, Jesus is never far from the earth because his role as our intercessor means that he keeps working alongside us on earth for our salvation. The teaching of today’s gospel that those who believe in the name of Jesus, Jesus will show his presence to them through the miracles that will accompany them is a further proof that Heaven is not a place or destination far away, but God’s presence that is made possible through faith.
Matthew’s illustration of final judgement, “I was Hungary you gave me to eat, enter into the joy of your Father,” further authenticates the presence of the ascended Christ in the human persons one earth. However, we shouldn’t lose sight of why charity is attached to heavenly reward – faith in God. The Church distinguishes her teaching on charity from the works of NGOs. While NGOs do humanitarian works, Christians do charity because of their faith in Jesus’ word and hope in Heaven. Christian charity is the extension of the presence of Jesus on earth, despite the Ascension of Christ. The communion of the saints in Heaven begins in the communion of the children of God here on earth.
The dimension of Heaven underscored by the second reading is that of hope. “Hope” because where Jesus is, there shall we be. This hope is being kept alive because Jesus is our GPS. To have a GPS (global positioning system), from a technological perspective, is to have a guide or map that leads one to one’s desired destination. To have Jesus as one’s GPS is to be in constant contact with God as one’s guide all through life. It means that life is beyond this mundane existence to the metaphysical. It means that the meaning of life comes from relationship with and keeping the company of Jesus. It presupposes a new moral foundation for earthly living. The voice of the GPS is that of Jesus directing us on who we should be and how we need to behave.
If for the here and now life seems to be difficult to live, the hope that Jesus surmounted the challenges that were his and now sits at the right side of God becomes our motivation and consolation. The future of full communion with Jesus and his Father, and all the heavenly hosts, transcends our present mutable sufferings and lives, and offers us the hope of being enveloped one day by the immutable, omnipresence and omniscience God; it encourages our perseverance as long as our earthly sojourn perdures, for where Jesus is, there shall we be also. In fact, we are already in Heaven right now because our Hope is well founded. As long as we continue to respect life and defend it, we testify to the existence of Heaven because human life is destined for the company of Jesus in Heaven and for an immortal life. Here and now, we begin to hope and work towards this Heaven where Jesus is and awaits our arrival. Should we live our lives without the hope of of Heaven, then suicides and wars and killings will be encouraged because life becomes meaningless.
Let’s conclude with a story. A very lovely and fervent Christian couple had the life of the lady cut short by a sudden death. Life was very miserable for the widower husband. But because his wife was a very good and pious woman on earth, she was given a job in heaven by St. Peter, whose job in heaven was to admit people into heaven because Jesus gave him the keys of the kingdom. St. Peter requested her to replace him, when he goes on coffee break, to welcome souls into heaven. He gave her a simple examination to conduct, and anyone who passes the examination should be admitted into heaven. The examination question is to spell the word “LOVE”. Anyone who succeeds is admitted into heaven.
Years down the road, this widower husband died and went to heaven. As providence would have it, his wife was the person on duty that day. The two were so happy to be reunited again. The wife wanted to know how he managed on earth without her. He told her how life was meaningless without her, how many times he contemplated suicide but managed not to kill himself for fear of going to Hell. His wife was very pleased to hear that she was very much missed by her husband. Finally, he said to her that he remarried. As soon as she heard that he remarried, she asked him to spell Czechoslovakia. Of course he couldn’t, and she sent him to Hell!
A Christian’s life is a marriage with God, and God abhors second marriage to earthly pleasures, which only leads to divorce from God and eternal damnation in Hell of Fires! As we hope for Heaven, let us wait for it in union with God and not be divorced from him through disobedience to his words and love of earthly pleasures.
Happy Feast Day!