Some Common Misunderstandings and a Day to Eagerly Anticipate!
June 12, 2024
Fr. John Riccardo
Brothers and sisters: We are always courageous, although we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yet we are courageous, and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord. Therefore, we aspire to please him, whether we are at home or away. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.
2 Corinthians 5:6-10
A number of thoughts come to mind as we feast on this passage from St. Paul this week. Two are common misunderstandings, one is a sober reminder, and the last is a beautiful image to hold onto. First the misunderstandings. When Paul writes that “we walk by faith and not by sight,” he certainly does not mean that faith is blind, or lacking in evidence. Paul, after all, met the risen Jesus in the flesh, and heard Him speaking to Him on the road to Damascus. “We walk by faith and not by appearances” might be a better translation. In other words, faith enables us to see more than our natural vision. A biblical worldview is constantly reminding us that reality is not confined to what we can physically see, let alone measure empirically. In fact, even those who do not profess believe in God live by faith, as nobody can possibly verify for himself all that they accept as true from varied sources. This requires trust in others, and that’s one dimension of faith. By the way, for those looking for rich summertime reading, St. John Paul II’s Faith and Reason might be well worth digging into so as to further explore this key insight..
We might also misunderstand Paul to be saying that we’re going to leave our bodies behind and head off to a land where we become pure spirits. But, no, we believe in the resurrection of the body, as we profess every Sunday in the creed. We will not become disembodied spirits after this life; we will instead have perfected bodies in heaven (or immensely suffering bodies in hell). What those will be like, we can only wonder. One author offered an analogy I’ve always found helpful. You would never guess, he wrote, from looking at a zygote that it would grow to look like you or me, and yet it has. So, the analogy goes, what we will be one day, when our bodies are resurrected, will probably surprise and shock us even more and yet be consistent with what we are even now.
The sobering thought has to do with judgment. “We must all appear,” Paul says, “before the judgment seat of Christ.” One very real day, either when the Lord returns in glory or when we die – whichever comes first – you and I and every single person on earth are going to stand face to face before Jesus. And He is going to judge each of us based on what we did and did not do in our bodies, that is, in our lives. It’s worth remembering here quickly that while we are saved by grace and grace alone — for no one and nothing could have gotten us out of the captivity our first parents sold us into except Jesus, who defeated Sin, Death and Satan by His death and resurrection – we will be judged by works. Our deeds matter. Our choices matter. Our decisions matter. Our words matter. Scripture makes this abundantly clear (cf. among many possible passages Matthew 7:21 and Revelation 20:12). You and I are either going to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of your Master!” or “Depart from me, into the fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (i.e., not for us). This reality should obviously give us pause each and every day.
That said, it should also fill us with hope. We pray in the third Eucharistic Prayer that “We look forward to [Jesus’] second coming.” If we’re serious about being disciples, if we really do love the Lord and aspire to please Him in everything we do, then that day shouldn’t make us nervous or anxious. That’s why the early Church prayed “Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!” This brings me to the image I’ve been praying with. I recently watched the series “Masters of the Air,” about the 100th Bomb Group in World War II. In the final episode, the war has ended at last. By this time, the surviving pilots are utterly exhausted. They’ve lost dear friends in battle, some have been liberated from P.O.W. camps, some have been badly maimed, and all of them have been traumatized by the reality of war. But now the war is finally over and they’re heading home! It seems too good to be true. They board their planes and prepare to fly over the Atlantic to reunite with spouses, children, parents and friends.
As I watched these final scenes, I suddenly noticed I was crying. This is going to happen for you and me! One real day, the conflicts that we all go through in life will be over, the enemy of the human race will be destroyed, we will be reunited with all those we miss now who are no longer visible to us, and we will at last enter into our true home — the Kingdom of God.
Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!
ACTS XXIX Prayer Intentions
June 2024
For Bishop David Kagan and the presbyterate of Bismarck, North Dakota and the retreat we’ll be leading for them.
For the many leadership teams across the country who will be attending the Leadership Immersives on our campus.
For all bishops and priests throughout our country, especially those who are celebrating anniversaries as well as those who are suffering with illness.
For our Board of Directors, our Episcopal Advisory Council, our benefactors and prayer partners.
For protection upon Fr. John, our team, and all our families.