Eternal life offers quality not quantity
Eternal life is not more of what we have now for an indefinite period of time
April 29, 2007 -- Fourth Sunday of Easter
By Fr. Michael Stubbs
After meeting the saints, and learning the secrets of the universe, would a person run out of things to do in heaven? Would life in heaven become boring? Is it only a matter of strumming on golden harps, singing hymns and floating on clouds? Many people find it difficult to get through an hour-long church service. How will they manage if it lasts an eternity? After all, if eons and eons of years stretch out in front of us, anything could sound wearisome. Is that what eternal life means?
We might consider the gospel of John as the expert on eternal life.
John's gospel mentions the term "eternal life" seventeen times, while Matthew's gospel mentions it only once, and Luke's gospel not at all. To a certain degree, the concept of eternal life holds a similar place as the concept of salvation in the synoptic gospels. At the same time, it is not just a difference in terminology. They are different concepts, although related.
At any rate, eternal life is clearly an important concept for John. For example, in Sunday's gospel reading, John 10:27-30, we hear the Good Shepherd promise his sheep, "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish."
We should notice that "I give" is in the present tense. The eternal life which Jesus gives is a present reality. But it is not simply the present life extended into the future. It is not more of what we have now, for an indefinite period of time.
Rather, eternal life denotes a different kind of life. It is a more intense and true life than what this world has to offer. It is primarily a difference of quality, not quantity.
Another passage in John's gospel might clarify this point. Jesus tells the Samaritan woman at the well, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:13,14)
Jesus draws a contrast between the water of this world, which never completely quenches our thirst, and the water which he has to offer. Similarly, this life never completely satisfies all our needs and desires. We always want more. It is an endless chain of desire, followed by moments of temporary satisfaction, repeated by more desire.
In contrast, Jesus promises to fulfill all our hopes and desires through eternal life, which he can give to us now. Through eternal life, we can escape the limitations of time and experience union with God. In that eternal moment, we will find total fulfillment.
When, and how, and where, does John's gospel propose that we experience this moment of ecstatic joy, that is to say, find eternal life? It clearly comes to us through the Risen Christ. He continues to live in the midst of the community of faith. He continues to speak
through the words of Scripture. He continues to feed us through his own Body and Blood in the Eucharist. That is why John's gospel puts such a high priority upon the community of the church. It is the place where we find eternal life.
(Fr. Stubbs, a priest of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, has a master's degree in theology from Harvard.)
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