What the Hell?

 Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time   A 

Readings

The Four Last Things

Part III: Hell

It’s been said that in heaven the cooks will all be French, the police will all be British, the lovers will all be Italian, and everything will be organized by Germans.  On the other hand, in hell the cooks will all be British, the police will all be French, the lovers will all be German, and everything will be organized by Italians!

I want to thank you all for your prayers during this past week while I was on retreat.  It was truly a graced time of prayer and reflection—without a doubt, the best retreat I’ve ever made.  In fact, I could say it was a little “taste of heaven”…even if the cook was Italian and not French.  The greater irony is that, coming off of this heavenly experience, I jump back into our homily series on the Four Last Things by preaching to you today about uplifting topic of hell.

We’ve just heard Jesus tell us his parable of the talents.  When we hear this story, it’s easy enough to think of it in terms of our natural abilities—our “talents”—and many a homily has been given on it inviting folks to get more involved in their parish and share their God-given gifts.  It also brings to mind the stewardship of our financial resources, providing many a pastor the opportunity to talk about increasing the collection.  Those things are good and important, but this Sunday we’re going to consider something far more decisive.

The “talent” mentioned in the gospel was an ancient unit of money, and it’s value varied.  A single silver talent was worth between 15-20 years’ wages of manual laborer.  A bronze talent was worth a bit less; a gold talent, a bit more.  In any case, we’re talking here about a considerable amount of wealth.

The master entrusts his fortune to the care of his servants according to their ability.  Two of his servants are obviously quite capable, given the large amount they each receive.  And they didn’t disappoint him: by trade and investment, by their effort and risk-taking, they earn him a 100% return.  (Don’t you wish you could find a stockbroker like that?) 

Then there's that poor third servant, who's quite the opposite of the industrious woman, the worthy wife, described in such glowing terms by Solomon.  This one gives back the exact amount he had received.  Even if he’d only earned a small return, that would have been better than nothing at all.  But he made no effort, took no risk, and simply buried the great wealth that had been given to his care.

The master’s response to this lack of initiative can seem awfully harsh, especially since nothing was actually lost: the servant had not squandered his money nor run off with it.  It’s harsh…unless what we’re talking about here is something more valuable than money.  In fact, it’s nowhere near too harsh if what this parable is really talking about is our salvation.

This Sunday, instead of taking stock of how we’re using our skills and our finances, let’s take stock of how invested we are in our Catholic faith.  God has entrusted us with things worth far more than even a huge heap of bronze, silver, and gold.  After his Death and Resurrection, before making the return journey to the Father, Jesus handed over to the care of his followers some incredible treasures: he’s given us the Church, the seven sacraments, the holy scriptures, prayer, his Mother Mary and all the saints.  By his Blood, Jesus won for us all the means necessary for our salvation.  What are we doing with them while we await his Coming?  Are we putting them to good use?  Earning a high return?  Or have we buried and hidden them away for safekeeping?  We know our Master’s high expectations; what are you and I doing to fulfill them?

You see, if we haven’t proven ourselves trustworthy and industrious in this world, how can we expect to inherit the next?  If I’ve only prayed halfheartedly here, should I expect to one day enter into the fullness of joy?  If I don’t always make time for Mass, can I reasonably expect happiness that never ends?  If I don’t read the Bible, ought I hope for what it promises?  If I give my time to sitting in front of the TV or surfing Internet but never to adoring the Blessed Sacrament, can I rightfully anticipate to behold God face-to-face?  If I don’t keep company with God’s holy ones on earth, can I assume I’ll be comfortable dwelling with them in Paradise?

You and I were made by God, and you and I were made for God: to enjoy life with him eternally.  That’s been God’s plan from the very beginning.  In God and with God is found our true meaning, our deep fulfillment, our real happiness—now and forever.  Hell is being separated from all of this—to be separated from God: from the one for whom our hearts long; from the destiny for which we were created.  To close oneself off from God’s love and mercy, to die in mortal sin without repentance, to fail to make any investment or return—even a small one—on the priceless means of salvation with which Christ has entrusted you, means being separated from the Lord forever.  That’s not the whim of some strict, angry God.  Hell is our own choice.  We damn ourselves.

It sounds kind of crazy, but the real possibility of hell is actually a necessary element of God’s boundless love for us.  Because he loves us, God has the highest respect for us and for the free will that we’ve been given.  If we weren’t truly free, we could not truly love him in return.  Which means we can choose to love…or choose not to love.  And love, of course, isn’t just a matter of some nice words or vague feelings; it’s a matter of action, it’s an entire way of life.  Our human freedom would be a big sham if the winning score were already fixed regardless of how we play the game.  Do you think the Son of God would have gone to all the trouble of becoming man and dying on a Cross if heaven were simply automatic for everybody?  God will not force himself on us. 

God does not want us to go to hell.  And the Church fervently prays that none of her children will be lost.  But the decision, my friends, belongs to each soul.  We must choose, and follow through on our choice.

So, how do we grow the Lord’s investment in us?  How do we make a responsible return on the immense spiritual wealth that we’ve been given?  (1) For one thing, on a personal level, we need to remember that faith, like the muscles of our bodies, needs to be exercised in order to grow and get stronger—and it’s not enough to do so only on rare or special occasions.  As with money: put your faith to work, and it will work for you.  (2) Secondly, on a wider scale, we grow our faith by spreading it around.  If we hope to see faith increase in the world, then we must be willing to share it with others.

Like our reflections on Purgatory a couple of Sunday’s ago, such talk might seem awfully old fashioned.  I suspect it’s been quite awhile since you’ve heard a homily on hell.  In fact, it’d be easy to think that modern, enlightened Catholics shouldn’t even talk about this stuff any more!  But just listen to what the Bishops at Vatican II had to say on the subject, citing this Sunday’s parable:

Since we know not the day nor the hour, we should follow the advice of the Lord and watch constantly so that, having finished the course of our earthly life, we may merit to enter into the marriage feast with him and to be numbered among the blessed and not be ordered to depart into the eternal fire like the wicked and slothful servant, into the outer darkness where "there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Lumen Gentium, 48).

Now you might be thinking, “Father, I come here to Mass hoping to go home with a good feeling.  Thoughts of hell don’t exactly leave me with a smile on my face.”  My silly opening joke wasn’t enough to do that!  But my task as your parish priest isn’t to get you to smile for an hour or two; it’s to make sure you share in the happiness that never ends.  These teachings may be sobering, I know, but the stakes are that high.  Hell isn’t there to cause us to live in fear and trembling, but it does call us to get serious about the heavenly treasures placed into our hands.  Each one of us will be called upon to give a full accounting.  What return will you make?