It is the faith of Abraham that is extolled in the second reading at Mass yesterday from the Letter to the Hebrews (Heb. 11: 1-2, 8-19) The sacred author notes that “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” It is faith that prepares us to receive from God. Without faith, we fail to pray and without prayer we are closed off to the gifts our Lord wishes to bestow upon us. It is also faith that prepares us for eternal life. Without faith the day of the Lord’s coming will catch us by surprise.
In the Gospel of Luke last Sunday, Jesus said, “You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” (Luke 12:40) How do these words of our Lord strike you as you hear them today? If we are continually preparing ourselves for the coming of the Lord, we hear them as an invitation – to look forward to the day. If the coming of the Lord is rarely on our minds, it may sound like a threat. If we are striving to live life on God’s term, we are prepared. If we’re busy living life on our own terms, he will surely come at an hour we do not expect.
This past week (Aug. 6th) we celebrated the Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord. Jesus took Peter, James and John up the mountain and there he was “transfigured” before their eyes, and his face changed in appearance, and his clothing became dazzling white. Peter and his companions saw his glory and it was life-changing for them. In the Creed, we profess our faith that Jesus “will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his Kingdom will have no end.” So, what is this glory?
Many years ago, I heard someone define “glory” as God’s affectionate gaze, his affectionate regard for us.” When the Lord comes in glory it will be with a gaze of tremendous love and affection. What we can only imagine now will pale in comparison to what our resurrected life in Jesus will be like on that day. Eternal life is living in the eternal gaze of God’s love for us. It is sin that weakens our capacity to remain in the blessed vision of God. By our intentional faithfulness to him he expands our capacity to receive the riches of his glory, that is, his tremendous love. The more we long for heaven, the more we will experience the depths of his love and rejoice when he comes.
On any given day, the joy of meeting the Lord may be a bit far from our minds and hearts. We can easily become focused on the joys and opportunities of this world. Because life can be so blessed here, we can forget to cultivate our hope for the glory of eternal life. Often when someone dies, we console ourselves and others by saying, “Well, they are in a better place now.” But do we long for that better place, ourselves? Is the day when the Lord comes for us personally a day that we anticipate in faith or try not to think about because of fear?
One of my favorite passages on this is from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians where he says, “What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him, this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.” (1 Cor. 2:9-10a) We ought to keep before our eyes these words of our Lord – that what he has prepared for us will blow our minds. What he has prepared for us is so far beyond our imagination. The eternal home we will have with our Lord, with all the saints and with all the faithful departed will be more profound than any earthly goodness we may at times desire.
Jesus says that “what eye has not seen, and ear has not heard….God has revealed to us through the Spirit.” It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that we even now can taste the rewards of eternal life. It is this life in the Spirit that helps us desire and so prepare for the day when ”the Son of Man will come.” It is by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that we are able to journey on to our true home. Likewise, whatever is contrary to the Spirit and our true good will trouble us, disturb us and unsettle us if it takes us away from the Lord and our eternal home.
Remembering the promise of the Lord and the glory that awaits us should stir up hope within us that which awaits us beyond this world. We all know good people who left this world prepared to meet the Lord. May they intercede for us, that we too will be prepared for eternal life and long for the day when it comes!
