The Veil of Death

A phrase in Sunday’s scripture stood out for me: “On this mountain the Lord of Hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines....  On this mountain He will destroy the veil that veils all peoples, the web that is woven over all nations; He will destroy death forever.”  (Is 25: 6-7)

In a sense, death is a veil that prevents us from knowing what happens after death.  Although there have been many books written by and about people who have had life-after-death experiences, we have no means of knowing what awaits us.  We believe there is life after death because God has promised us as much in Scripture and especially in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.   Belief in life after death has been a basic tenet of almost all religions of the world for thousands of years, despite no physical proof other than the resurrection of Jesus Himself. 

Sunday’s gospel contains a parable about heaven with several layers of meaning.  First, God calls many to the heavenly banquet, but they refuse to come because they are pre-occupied with their lives.  Some even kill God’s messengers, while others who are invited later, show up improperly dressed and are thrown out.  Jesus is describing not only heaven, but salvation history in which God’s own people rejected and even killed the prophets, and the Son of God.  The people who were not dressed for the banquet were rejected because they had not prepared themselves to be in God’s presence.  Finally, describing heaven as a wedding banquet draws a parallel between the intimate personal relationship of marriage and God’s abiding love of His people.

This begs the question: How are we responding to God’s invitation?  Are we too consumed with our lives to be bothered with an intimate relationship with God?  And at the end of our lives, when we meet God face to face, will be prepared to face Him?  Or will we be too embarrassed to be in His Presence because of our apathy and our sinfulness?   Could it be that God casts no one to Hell, but we send ourselves there by our failure to accept God’s invitation, or our unwillingness to clothe ourselves in virtue, choosing instead a life of selfishness?

Church attendance is dwindling in much of the world, not only in Catholic Churches, but Protestant Churches as well.  Paradoxically, churches that take a more modern, progressive stance seem to be shrinking the fastest, (e.g., Episcopal), while the more conservative and evangelical churches are growing in many instances.  One unexpected consequence of the Common Core angst is that there has been a resurgence of interest in Catholic education, with parents coming together to re-open or expand Catholic schools. 

The world has become more frenetic as the result of social media, IM, and 24/7 connectivity, and with so much going on, religion has been relegated to the back burner in many homes.  Never the less, God’s invitation is out there, calling us to something far more meaningful and fulfilling than facebook and iPhone frenzy.  He calls us to consider the Truth about ourselves:  that we have been created for eternal life; that there is more to life than the paltry 8-10 decades we will spend on this earth.  We are more than the assemblage of several hundred trillion carbon atoms that will return to earth upon our death.  We are sentient creatures capable of something that transcends biological life; we are capable of love and understanding.  The reason for this is that God created us in His image, including His eternal Spirit.  Anyone who has looked deeply into the eyes of their newborn child knows that they are seeing something more than just a complex set of molecules and cells.  Similarly, anyone who has witnessed the death of a parent, knows in their heart of hearts that their lives can never be extinguished.

When we die, the veil of death will be lifted and we will, for the first time since our conception, become aware of the extent of God’s love and the full potential of our lives, a potential that transcends death because we are living spirits, set free of our mortal bodies.  In that moment, will we find solace in having spent so much of our earthly lives focused primarily on ourselves and the trappings of success that we surrounded ourselves with?  Or will we regret having disregarded God’s many invitations to participate in His grace, His love, and His forgiveness?

In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul said, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life…”  (Romans 6:23).  When St. Pope John Paul the Great coined the term, culture of death, he was referring to the turning away from God that justifies abortion, euthanasia, and the many attacks on marriage and family, all of which are rooted in selfishness.  Selfishness destroys our capacity to love anyone but ourselves.   Love, on the other hand, depends on our ability to put the good of others ahead of our selfish desires, and make a gift of our life.  In other words, love is sacrificial.  God, who IS Love, made a sacrifice of Himself, so that we may live for all eternity.  When we do likewise, even in small ways, we are life-giving and affirming, and we contribute to the creation of a culture of life.  This is the kind of love God offers us, and asks us to participate in.  When we do so, we participate in His grace and we become instruments of His Love in the lives of others.   Imagine a world where everyone is capable of love like this.  Imagine Heaven.