Heaven Means Living, Dancing

32^nd Sunday in the Ordinary Time

Luke 20:27-38

November 10, 2013

“They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise. (Luk 20:36)”

Heaven is exposed! My friend used to tell me that heaven must be so beautiful and perfect that no one who goes there never wants to go back to earth. Except for one person, he is definitely true. A person did actually leave heaven for earth and let us know how heaven looks like, perhaps to cast away the shadow of mystery and put some light on the issue. This person is non-other than Jesus Himself, the King of Heaven.

In the most unlikely occasion, Jesus reveals what will happen to human persons in heaven. Jesus’ primary aim is to justify the resurrection of the dead and thwart the shrewdness of the Sadducees, but in so doing, He sheds light on the afterlife conditions of human beings. In heaven, we will be like angels and we no longer marry nor re-marry. This disclosure would surely cause a mixture of reactions. For some people who do not marry or give up marriage life, they might find this kind of heaven very redeeming. But, for those who possess passion in sexual life, then it is pretty bad news.

We will be like the angels. Yet, the question is still lingering. Who is the angel? Many holy and brilliant theologians have speculated on this spiritual being. One of them is St. Thomas Aquinas and he wrote one of the most extensive treatises on this non-corporeal being. Up to now, his works turns to be a cornerstone of Angelology (Study of Angel). Thus, he was rightly dubbed as ‘doctor angelicus’ – the angelic doctor. Unfortunately, their explanations largely remain in the theoretical level. Nobody ever personally experience what it means to be an angel. Hollywood tries to compensate this lacking by producing movies on this majestic being. Yet, the movies, like ‘City of Angels’ that tries to portray the life of angel at its best, seems more a fantasy then a reality. In the end, it seems that heaven is still a big mystery for us human.

However, there is something more essential than being like an angel. Jesus teaches us that our God is the God of the living. Heaven is about living and living our life to the fullest before our God. Thus, we could have a foretaste of heaven here on earth when we dare to live meaningfully. It is not simply biologically functioning, like breathing, eating and sleeping, but also taking risk in loving, passing through rough moments and making difficult yet meaningful decisions. Michael Lobrin playfully illustrates the dynamic of faith as dancing in the dark, and I believe it is also true for the dynamism of life. We dare to dance in dark, facing all the risk and danger, because we have a veteran partner, the Lord Himself. Surprisingly, Meister Eckhart, 14^th century Dominican mystic, once said that the three Divine Persons relate to each other by way of joyful dancing with each other throughout eternity. God will never disappoint His dance partners. Then, why we should be afraid of fully living? Step up and dance with the Lord! 

Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP