Humankind longs utterly and completely for God. Psalm 63 summarizes this sentiment well: for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts. For the psalmist, as for many of us, access to God comes in a particular place at a particular moment: Thus I have gazed toward you in the sanctuary. To be with God – which we will one day be, when we enter into perfect union with the Lord after we die – is preferable to any other option: your kindness is a greater good than life itself, the psalmist writes. But to arrive at this understanding requires us to step beyond what we know and to embrace the God for whom we long.
To long for God is to long for the Wisdom of God: Resplendent and unfading is wisdom; she is found by those who seek her. To know God’s Wisdom, or Sophia, requires being open to God’s guidance and direction, always, that we might enter into that intimate relationship with the Lord whom we seek, here on earth, for she hastens to make herself known in anticipation of our desire. To gain Wisdom, we must learn to step beyond our natural boundaries, our limitations, and to step closer to God or allow God to step closer to us, meeting us with all solicitude. We will find Wisdom on all the paths on which we follow God, for she will graciously appear to us in the ways, that we might live more clearly, understanding our own place in the world and all that it calls us to.
In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus shares with his disciples the parable of the ten virgins in order to give them a model of what it means to step beyond our own limitations, that we might be prepared for any situation. All of the ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom fall asleep while waiting for him, but only half of them brought flasks of oil with their lamps. They are prepared for the unexpected, open to whatever comes, without limitations, no matter the day or the hour. Likewise, we must be invested, living our faith, rather than simply relying on the fact that we are baptized to get us to heaven, that perfect union promised by God. Paul consoles the Thessalonian community regarding those who have already died, for God will, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep (the dead), that they too might be always with the Lord, and know that perfect union that we all long for.
We have an imperfect notion of heaven. We focus on the idea of reuniting with our loved ones; we don’t want to let go of the relationships we have on earth. And, of course, we can still love those who have passed, pray for them, and open to them. But our faith tells us that perfect union with Christ will be so much more, a union in which there will be no separation, no differentiation between ourselves and all others, only a state of being in the presence of God, united with all, for all eternity. We will appreciate this only if we can step beyond the limitations our human minds so often impose, and embrace as best we can God’s vision for union, perfect union, in Christ.
This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
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