Loving like hell to get into heaven
1 John 4:7-10
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God;
everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love
does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to
us: God sent his only-begotten Son into the world so that we might have life
through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us
and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.
One of the most vexed questions of
all human history is who will be saved, who will make it to heaven; just like
we’ve been asking in college football all year: “Who’s in and who’s out??” The Jewish people in the Old Testament
believed they were “God’s chosen” so only they would be saved. Christians argue over whether only Christians
will be saved. There are many Christians
who doubt that Catholics will be saved, and I am one of them! I’m not sure I’ll be saved! By the way, doesn’t it send a cold shiver up
your spine when your pastor wonders if he’ll be saved - what does that mean for
you guys? I’ll never forget a brief
conversation I had with a grocery store cashier shortly after Pope John Paul II
died. He noticed my Roman collar and
said, “I’m sorry for your loss.” I
replied, “Yeah, he was one of the good guys.”
The cashier was apparently wan
ting to cheer me up, so he added, “Well,
there’s one Catholic that’s going to heaven!”
I smiled and said, “Well, I hope there’s room for two Catholics up
there.” Nowadays, people wonder if their
family pet will go to heaven. Brother
Richard Sanker, who taught at Catholic High, said, “If for you to be happy in
heaven, you need your dog there, then your dog will be there.” Notice, he said that your dog will be in
heaven for YOUR happiness, not for his.
The modern mentality knows that all dogs go to heaven, but are not sure
if Pope John Paul II will.
Today’s reading from the first
letter of John seems to weigh in on this issue as well. John the Seer says, “Beloved, let us love one
another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and
knows God.” Now, obviously, the Bible
says a lot of other things about salvation, too, but one key ingredient is
love. In other words, if there’s one
crucial condition to get into heaven, it is love. If you don’t have love, you don’t get
in. Whatever else you have on your
resume, love is the only credential that counts in heaven.
Throughout
history there’s been an undercurrent of thought called “apocatastasis.” It’s the idea that eventually everyone will
be saved, and that ultimately there will be no hell. I think anyone who can pronounce the word
“apocatastasis” should be saved. Now, in
contrast to apocatastasis – universal salvation – the Catholic Church soberly
says, “The teaching of the church affirms the existence of hell and its
eternity” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1035). In other words, just like heaven is a possible
destiny for us, so, hell is a real possibility, too. But the good news is that the same ticket
gets us into one and keeps us out of the other, namely, love. You see, the Bible and the Church don’t teach
that everyone will be saved, but they do teach that everyone has a shot at
salvation, even Pope John Paul II.
Praised be
Jesus Christ!
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