[stephenkhoo]

HOPE IN THE RESURRECTION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 2 MC 7:1-2; 9-14; 2 TH 2:16-3:5; LK 20:27-38
http://www.universalis.com/20131110/mass.htm

With All Souls Day just past, our thoughts may have been about loved ones who have died. While some may find visiting cemeteries depressing, yet the fact is that visiting one immediately puts us wondering about the lives of the people buried there, more than their deaths. Who were they? What were they like? What caused their deaths? Where are they now?

Hence, as we approach the end of the Church year, the liturgy invites us to reflect on the fundamental questions of life and death. Reflecting on the death of a member of one’s family or of a relative or friend causes us to reflect on our own live as well. The shortness of our existence, the fragility of life, the hopes raised and often unfulfilled, the love shared and now shattered cause many to question the meaning of life and ask: Why am I here? What is the purpose of life? Where am I going after this? These are the fundamental questions in life. Indeed, how we answer these questions will determine not just our life-hereafter but our life now.

In order to know what life is, we need to know what death is. In other words, a meditation on death helps us to gain a deeper perspective on the values we really hold. The fact is that we cannot live forever. We are just passing through. Our life is a pilgrimage from our mothers’ womb to the tomb. For many of us, we can consider ourselves quite fortunate if we can live up to 2 score and 10, which the bible calls a blessed life. The shortness of this life and our finitude will help us to see life in its true perspective. Sometimes, we look at some old photos of people who have died. They were here yesterday with their problems and today everything is gone. Is there any meaning to all these struggles in life then?

However in this reflection on death, some have come to the conclusion that all of life is absurd. Like the Sadducees, some people today do not believe in the continuity of life. But for most of us, even non-Christians, we believe that there is more to life than death. In other words, death is not the final word to life. This desire for immortality has resulted in a huge variety of religious beliefs and practices throughout the centuries and in every culture in the world.

But for us Christians, the resurrection of Jesus is absolutely central to the Christian faith. In Jesus, the age-old question of human beings has been answered: death is not the end. Instead of indulging in speculative questions like the Sadducees on what kind of body we will have, Jesus was concerned only to speak about the fact that the resurrection is some kind of continuity between the body and the glorified body.

That being so, there are serious implications for our own life. Our faith in the resurrection will therefore influence our attitudes to life here on earth. This is what the first reading from Maccabees is telling us. It narrates the story about a mother and her seven sons who were willing to give up their lives rather than be separated from their faith community and God. They were not religious fanatics but persons of faith who truly appreciated their desire for oneness with God and each other beyond the limits of this present life. They knew that death cannot quash their hopes.

In the same way, for Paul, it was his faith in the resurrection that continued to give him hope in all his sufferings. He knew that he was not labouring and suffering in vain. He knew that the Lord is faithful. It is this same hope in the eternal life that will determine the way we are going to live our lives now.

Our faith in the resurrection therefore should make us not just live for this world alone. We must live our lives in the belief that what we do here is continued later on in the next life. That is to say, when we do evil, when we live a life of selfishness and hatred, we bring these attitudes with us in the next life.

And that is why the Church speaks about purgatory and hell. Purgatory is indeed a state for those who have failed to love completely in this life and therefore unable to be united with God completely at death, since they are unable to love God, their fellowmen and themselves unconditionally and totally. Whereas, hell is a place for those who are totally closed to the love of God and to others. They are people who live in self-hatred and hatred for the whole world. Such people indeed live in hell.

In this sense, many of us are already living in hell or in purgatory. For those of us who think that everyone is against us and that nobody loves us or cares for us, we are in a certain sense already experiencing hell. For those of us, who are struggling each day to overcome our selfishness, pride and greed, we are in a certain sense in purgatory, purifying ourselves.

Heaven on the other hand, is a state where we are totally in love with God, our fellowmen and ourselves. This implies that we must therefore now live our lives fully. Unless we already begin to live a life of love and generous service for the good of others, we will never be able to get to heaven. Heaven is not a place for selfish and revengeful people. The only qualification for entry to heaven is whether we have love in our hearts. It is the person who loves that live fully. He is in a certain sense already living in heaven on earth.

Let me conclude the homily with a short story. The disciple asks his master: ‘Master is there life after death?’ The master replied: How can I speak to you about life after death when you do not even understand life before death.’ Yes, if we want to be assured of eternal life, let us already begin to live fully for God and others in faith and in love.