From the ArcaMax Publishing, God Squad Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/godsquad/s-418918-725221
Q: I'm reading a book in which the author, who was dead for 90 minutes, says he glimpsed heaven. He says he even recognized people coming to welcome him, and there was lots of music. Does anyone really know what heaven is like, other than the fact there is no more suffering? Christian bookstores have lots of books about heaven, reflecting many different opinions. I guess if you like a particular opinion, that's the one you live by. I don't think anyone knows anything about God's plan for them in heaven until they get there. - G., via godsquadquestion@aol.com
A: Heaven is about hope. Heaven is our hope that death is not the end of us. Heaven is our hope that the scales of justice, which are often so unbalanced in this world, will be balanced in heaven as the righteous are given their just reward and the wicked their just punishment. Heaven is about hope. For those whose faith is deep and secure, that hope rises to a kind of certainty that only faith can provide. For others of deep faith, heaven is a glorious promise that is not needed to support faith here on earth.
For people like you, thankfully, heaven is not like a reward for good deeds, because good deeds ought to be their own reward. For people like you, justice must be pursued even though it can't be achieved, in many cases. The pursuit of justice is its own reward.
Mostly, heaven is a way of finding comfort in the face of the death of those we love and in the face of our own death some day. To some, this is a childlike hope that doesn't have the courage to face the fact that this life is all we have and all we can know. I disagree.
The belief in heaven is not a belief in personal reward as much as it is a belief that goodness is built into the universe and not just some magical thinking for the weak-willed and intellectually limited. This belief about goodness in the world transforms our life in two essential ways: We believe we are not alone and we believe we have nothing to fear.
This doesn't mean we think we won't die, nor does it mean we believe that life is not fragile and often cut short by circumstances both within and outside our control. The most important question to ask about heaven, I believe, is not about what kind of music is played there, or who's on the welcoming committee, but rather: "Does the belief in heaven make you a more compassionate, hopeful and charitable person?"
If a belief in heaven makes you better, then whether it's just a useful fiction or a certain faith-justified truth is irrelevant. You're doing what you can to make a heaven on this earth, and for that loving life I believe the angels will sing your praises.
Q: My brother-in-law is unchurched and has asked my husband and myself several questions about our Catholic faith. He seems to have one gripe about the Catholic Church. Many years ago, his uncle, a practicing Catholic, was asked to be a pallbearer in a Protestant funeral. The uncle was told by his priest that Catholics couldn't be pallbearers for non-Catholic funerals. Was the uncle misinformed? Was the prohibition a pre-Vatican II policy? - M., via godsquadquestion@aol.com
A: My priest friends tell me such a prohibition was, indeed, a pre-Vatican II custom. The pressure to change the custom of forbidding Catholics from being pallbearers at Protestant funerals came from Irish Catholics, who wanted permission to honor Protestant family friends by being pallbearers at their funerals. There is no longer any restriction on this practice.
Being asked to be a pallbearer at a funeral is one of the greatest honors one can be given by the family of the decedent. To this day, I count as one of my most moving spiritual moments being asked to serve as a pallbearer at the funeral of my teacher and mentor, Rabbi Dr. Nelson Glueck. I still try to be worthy of his kindness to me.
Of course, I'm sure you understand that permission to be a pallbearer does not translate into permission for a Catholic to receive communion in a non-Catholic church.
(Send QUESTIONS ONLY to The God Squad, c/o Tribune Media Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, NY 14207, or email them to godsquadquestion@aol.com.
This news arrived on: 10/02/2008