Jesus often spoke of “everlasting life”. Those listening to him were familiar with the idea. When describing the fate of those who rebel against God, the prophets spoke of “going down into the everlasting darkness”. But the holy men and women of Israel were destined to enter their “everlasting home”. Other Old Testament texts speak about the saints rising from the dead.
Jesus promised that the just would enjoy resurrection to glory and eternal life in God’s kingdom. He also insisted: “Amen, I say to you: whoever keeps my word will never see death.” The Pharisees were scandalised: “Now we know for certain that you are possessed. Abraham is dead, and the prophets are dead ... Are you greater than our father Abraham, who is dead?”
That question still remains a test of faith for people of modern times. Christians die just as surely as anyone else. No one escapes the punishment of death. Apparently, during the first years after our Lord’s ascension into heaven, this fact caused confusion in the minds of some Christians. As we know from St Paul’s words to the Thessalonians, they seemed to think that our Lord’s promise was contradicted by the reality of watching fellow believers die.
What did Christ mean by saying: “This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that a man may eat it and not die. I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever”? Is it really true that the one who believes in Jesus will never die?
Remember that Jesus always put two ideas together. After telling his disciples that the one who believes in him “will never die”, he also said, “I shall raise him up on the last day.” No one can be raised from the dead unless he dies first.
When explaining this mystery, St Paul equates the death of believers with “falling asleep in the Lord”. Unbelievers “grieve”, he says, because for them death is a tragedy; but not for us. For those who spend their lives seriously trying to do God’s will, careful to repent of any sin, there is no need to be afraid of death.
An ancient funeral prayer says: “Life is changed not ended.” Death means going home. We leave this world and go to a better world. We enter God’s kingdom and see him face to face. Therefore, we ought to accept death when God wills it, where God wills it, as God wills it. As the saints have said: “It will come in the moment, in the place and in the way that are best, sent by our Father God.”
This article by Fr. Joe Babendreier first appeared in the Sunday Nation on 23rd April 2013.