默想地獄 Meditating Gehenna

Twenty Sixth Ordinary Sunday, Year B
Theme: Meditating Gehenna

Let’s begin with some clarification of our articles of faith.
On one hand, we recite the Creed on Sundays, saying “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead”. What do we mean? We mean to believe that because of the Original Sin, men become mortal. But as Christians, we firmly believe that at the end of the world, whatever remains of our dead bodies shall come back to life. Our souls will join the resurrected bodies and we shall become immortal and incorruptible (1 Corinthians 15:53). On the other hand, according to the gospel reading today, most likely all of us would have died maimed, crippled or even blinded (Mark 9:43-47). Does it mean heaven will be a “Paradise for the handicapped”? Is there any hidden contradiction between the two? No.
First of all, death is a great equalizer. Whether we were handsome or disfigured, strong or crippled, intelligent or mentally deficient, wealthy or poor in life, in death, our bodies would all be reduced to dust. When the souls come back to pick up the dust, we shall be a totally new creation! Probably, death purifies our DNA so that only beautiful, intelligent and supreme genes remain! Even for those who are still alive at the end, the Son of God who is the author of life, shall heal their infirmities once and for all. Therefore, there is no contradiction. On the contrary, those previous infirmities would make the resurrected bodies all the more miraculous!

In paintings of saints we usually find them meditating over a human skull. They were meditating on the mystery of death. Such spiritual exercises were definitely helpful in building up a morally good people. Just as what was mentioned above, death is a great equalizer. Whatever you have done shall pass away and nobody shall remember you, your words or deeds! Therefore, seeking wealth, power and even intelligence is only vainglory because wealth, power and intelligence do not last. The purpose of our life would become clearer without them. Our actions would be morally good. Therefore, meditating on the “Four Last Things” is good for ourselves, and thus good for the society at large. Nowadays, it is no longer legal to possess a human skull in private for whatever purposes, at least not on this island. But that should not discourage us from meditating on death, judgment, heaven and Gehenna!
Before I proceed, I would like to make a minor qualification on the statement that “nobody shall remember …” It is human nature to find fault with others. Therefore, people remember evils more easily. It’s regrettable that human psychology is asymmetric as such. If you want more people to remember you longer, do evil! But I’m sure most of you don’t want people to remember you as a bad guy! Therefore, being morally good is still a reasonable option. Thus meditating on the “Four Last Things” is still good.

Nowadays, all sorts of discrimination are rampant all over the world. To fight against such a trend, the Catholic Church talks more about mercy and tolerance towards each other for the last few decades. She speaks more on the merciful side of God than His righteousness so much so that some even fancy that at the end of the world, the hell would be empty. They argue that in His ineffable mercy, God wants to save all (1 Timothy 2:4) and there is nothing to stop Him from doing so because for Him nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37) etc. Such an argument is, I think, over optimistic and ignore the many more passages of God’s righteous punishment in the Scriptures, no less in the New Testament. Referring to the denial of entry into heaven, “Gnashing of teeth” appears 7 times in the Synoptic gospels! The gospel reading today warns potential sinners beforehand the horror of punishment. “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire.” (Mark 9:43) It would be better to maim oneself in earthly life to avoid sinning than to suffer punishment in Gehenna which would be comparable to the torture of the brazen bull! Remember, with an immortal resurrected body, the torture lasts forever, not a brief earthly moment!

There is wisdom in a Chinese aphorism which reads, “It is impossible to talk about ice with a summer insect.” An insect in summer has no experience of ice because it’s unable to live and see winter. Furthermore, its ancestors have no way to pass on such an experience to them because they have no civilization. But we cannot rule out the possibility that such an experience has hardwired in their DNA. Scientists have yet to disprove such an hypothesis. We human beings are different. Though our earthly life is brief and comparable to those of insects, eternity is not something beyond our understanding. First of all, there is an urge within us to transcend our present situation. Moreover, we are able to transmit our experience through our civilizations. Therefore, it is meaningful to pursue more lasting things than health, wealth, power and intelligence. It is purposeful to meditate on eternal life as well as eternal damnation. In the words of the Scriptures, “God created men in His own image” (Genesis 1:27) and God is eternal! Therefore, it is not illogical to sing praises to God, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from all eternity and forever. Amen. Amen.” (Psalms 41:14)

Therefore, it is wise to take Jesus’ warnings seriously because eternity is a certainty. But it is not easy nowadays, “thanks” to the advances in science and technology, our life has become more comfortable and convenient so much so that fears, illnesses, pains, sufferings and hell are vanishing from the horizon. Painkillers are easily available to the extent that many people have become addicts. Yes, many people have become enslaved. They have found and founded their own comfort zones and stay comfortably within. Such comfort does them more harm than good. Mencius says, “Thrive in calamity and perish in comfort.” It is a piece of universal wisdom! What can liberate addicts? Truth! Jesus says, “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32) Truth is knowable. It is not beyond our reach. When we are liberated, we shall be able to scale greater heights. In short, we’ll be able to transcend our limitations and to restore the glory of the image of God!

This Sunday is also the Education Sunday whose theme this year is: “Consecrate Us in the Truth” (17:17) which is also the gospel acclamation of the mass today! Truly, not only does the truth set us free, but it also makes us acceptable and presentable to God, no less because our tarnished images of God are restored! One of the meanings of consecration is to set aside for the service of God who claims exclusive right over the person/thing consecrated. Since God created us in His own image. He is the proper owner and would have claimed exclusive rights over us, had our First Parents not committed the Original Sin. Thus, the Son of God came to reclaim His rightful inheritance by consecrating us in the truth!
What has this consecration to do with education. Education does not simply impart information and knowledge. The most important of all, it is to help learners build up independent and critical thinking; help students build up positive and compassionate attitudes towards others. Education helps learners think independently, see more options and cultivate virtues the greatest of which is charity. Not only is education an investment in human resources, but it is also a path breaker to find our Creator. Paradoxically, the majority is always wrong because conformity is bad. Herd mentality is laziness and sloth is a vice! In short, the minority voices should not be further silenced. They deserve to be heard.

Brethren! God created us in His own image. He calls us to sanctification. Let’s spend more quality time to meditate on Gehenna as well as eternity. May our virtues of faith, hope and charity grow day by day. Amen.
God bless.
Picture Credit: Wikipedia
2018 Homily