Saturday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/092212.cfm

Someone may say, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come back?"

You fool! What you sow is not brought to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be but a bare kernel of wheat, perhaps, or of some other kind.

Recently I read Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived by Rob Bell, in which he sets out to answer some of the FAQ's about eternity. Mr Bell takes a far gentler approach than our beloved Apostle Paul.

In my experience, not many people are really concerned about divine judgment, heaven or hell.  Most have heard the word that God is good and "especially good to me, so I don't have to worry about it." If their god is not exactly a sugar daddy, he is certainly an astute merchant who believes the customer is always righteous, despite whatever evidence to the contrary.

The mid-century American Protestant theologian Paul Tillich outlines six different areas in which the human creature meets difficulty and seeks perfection. (If I can remember them all...), Following is a simple diagram of these are:

Area	Absolute negative	Relative negative		Relative positiive	Absolute positiive
1. Health	Death	Sickness		Healing	Eternal Life
2. Community	Isolation	Loneliness		Reconciliation	Intimacy
3. Meaning	Futility	Frustration and Disappointment		Usefulness	Purpose
4. Satisfaction	Disintegration	Desire		Hope	Satisfaction and Fullness
5. Vindication	Condemnation	Guilt		Reparation	Vindication and Innocence  (restored)
6. Ease	Pain and Suffering	Discomfort and Dis-ease		Reassurance	Belonging, grounding, ownership

Not all religions promise Eternal Life. It's not the irresistible carrot that drives everyone's cart; nor is the threat of eternal damnation a stick to goad everyone. Some people are more fascinated by satisfaction for their work; others, by purpose and meaning; and still others, ownership and belonging. Warlike people seek vindication, especially through the unholy path of revenge. The Hebrew Scriptures often speak of vindication for people who are regarded as fools for their faith in God, or who have been wrongly accused of crime.

But neither any one of these categories nor all of them put together define what the human being really wants. The religious person might say "God" but the mystic might say nothing at all. It's beyond expression. 

Saint Paul was clearly fascinated by the Resurrection of Jesus and he looked forward to being with Jesus for all eternity. His idea of Eternal Life was more than resuscitation in a heavenly place. He had tasted intimacy with God a few times in his life, especially on the road to Damascus; and he ardently believed that Jesus had called him to pursue this New Way which he had formerly persecuted.

As each of us works out our salvation, it helps to remember that the word has many meanings to many people. Christians believe that Jesus has opened the way for us to that mysterious place, regardless of its name. 

For "There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.” (Acts 4: 12)