eternal life

Jesus' high priestly prayer in John 17 serves as a very early systematic theology of the Christian faith. Of supreme importance to most is Jesus' understanding of eternal life.

"And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."

The Catechism for the Episcopal Church seems to get at this as it deals with the two possibilities for eternal life.

Q.	What do we mean by heaven and hell?
A.	By heaven, we mean eternal life in our enjoyment of God; by hell, we mean eternal death in our rejection of God. (BCP, 862)

It goes back again to choices. It seems that if we live our lives choosing to pursue the kingdom of God then eternal life with God (in heaven and on the new earth) will be the end result. If, on the other hand, we choose to live our lives rejecting the presence of God in this world then eternal death results. It gets all sorts of gray when we put 2000 years of speculation on it; harps and golden streets versus forked tails and fire; but in the end it seems as though the reward for faith is that of living in the presence of pure love for eternity and the punishment, if you will, for the faithless is knowing that love but being outside of its embrace.

Putting it that way, it almost sounds worse than the cartoonish imagery we've put on heaven and hell, but maybe that's the point. The best we can come up with is a life in the fire to portray just how terrible it must be to live outside that embrace. And while we get glimpses of heaven on earth when we do the work of the Father, the feeling is so fleeting that all we can do to put an explanation on it is add the things we strive for in this life; joy, contentment, ease, etc.

It seems like a great Sunday to challenge the long held notions of heaven and hell. But I probably won't.