We have been hearing a lot of different parables in the Gospel readings at mass lately. Today, we just heard the parable of a huge net that hauls in all kinds of fish, in which the fishermen will separate the good from the bad. Jesus explains that at the end of the age, the angels will take the wicked, separating them from the righteous, throwing them into a fiery furnace where there will be anguish. There was a fiery place outside of Jerusalem called the Valley of Hinnom, also referred to as Gehenna. Jeremiah refers to that valley as a place where the pagans sacrificed children as offerings to the false idols. Both Isaiah and Jeremiah refer to that place as a symbol of the destiny of the wicked, as a fiery furnace and a place of torment where there will be no consolation or comfort for those who will be excluded from God’s divine blessing in eternal life. I remember once when I attended a Friday evening synagogue service, a rabbi was asked a question by a Christian about the specifics of heaven and hell, of how the Jewish people conceptualized those two places. The rabbi explained that the Jewish faith places greater emphasis on their conduct in this current life, in obeying God’s will and following his laws and commandments, as opposed to trying to speculate as to what heaven and hell will be like for them when life has ended here on earth. May we follow God’s love and mercy in our lives, praying for those who have who have chosen to live life away from the faith.
No comments:
Post a Comment