Earthly Things and Heavenly Things

During the Easter Season when we come to Mass and listen to the Sacred Scriptures, we are constantly hearing about heavenly things. First, we hear about the Resurrection of Our Lord from the dead. The Gospels tell us of Jesus’ coming into the Upper Room where the disciples are locked in for fear of the Jews. Locked doors are no barrier to the Master, who so desires to show Himself to those He loves. He breathes upon them, giving them the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins, and then shows them the wounds from His crucifixion and death on the Cross. He walks with two of His disciples on the road to Emmaus, though they do not recognize Him, and He explains all the references to Him in Moses and the Prophets. Going with them into an inn, He breaks bread at table, and when they recognize Him, He vanishes, for He is present in the Eucharist He just consecrated.  He appears to others as well. He is manifesting the things of heaven to those who see and believe.
 
Jesus said, “The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is of earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy. For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God” (Jn 3:31-33). We believe that the One from above is Jesus Our Savior. We also acknowledge that all of creation came from the Will of our Triune Creator, God, and that all creation is good. However, when sin entered the world with the original sin of Adam and Eve, all of creation including ourselves became disordered resulting in our propensity to do evil and subsequently by our sins. We see the evidence of sin all around us and the effects of sin in the world. Hostility and division among peoples, wars waged in various places, error in thinking and the rejection of God and His Will, the destruction of marriage and family life, direct attacks on the lives of the most vulnerable in our midst, such as the unborn and the elderly, and the disregard of people’s right to live in peace and dignity are just some of the effects of sin and evil in human life.
 
We may be tempted to think that the solution to sin and disorder in our world is to dedicate ourselves to establishing a utopian version of the world through the efforts of human progress alone. This espouses the attitude of ‘We got this God, we do not need your help!” Nothing could be further from the truth!  If we listen to the Paschal message of the Gospel, we come to understand that the true solution is to turn to the One who came down from heaven, Jesus, and to turn to the things of His Heavenly Kingdom. By the Redemptive work of Jesus in His Passion, Death and Resurrection we are given the means for the right ordering of all creation which encompasses the salvation of every human person and the restoration of all reality in right relationship with the Holy Trinity.
 
What does this mean for us? We must look to how the Paschal Mystery is dynamically present and active in the world today. This Mystery of Our Lord’s Passion, Death and Resurrection is made present in the Mystical Body of Christ, the Church. At our baptism, we are incorporated into His Body and so are united with Christ who is our Head. We are also united with one another. As St. Paul wrote in the Letter to the Colossians, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church” (Col 1:24). Because we are members of His Body, we are immersed in the Mystery of His Redemption. We see that we are incorporated into an institution that is born of the things above. We are called to be united in prayer in and through the Church. It is most especially at the celebration of the Sacraments and particularly in the offering of the Eucharistic Sacrifice that we set our hearts on the things of heaven. By uniting our prayer, good works, suffering and our very selves with the Redemptive act of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ that we can contribute with the salvation of people and the restorative healing of creation.
 
When we look around us and seek the remedy for the sin and darkness across the globe, we recognize that we must ask the Lord for the power of His grace and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Yes, we should use our intelligence and the gifts that God gives us in the realm of nature. But, first, we must beg for His grace by our prayer, our participation in the celebration of the Sacraments, and our asking for the intercession of Our Lady and the saints.
 
We must seek the things of heaven and trust in God’s Providence.