In the first reading today, from the Book of Sirach, we are reminded to not place our complete trust in wealth, or our own abilities, but in the Lord. We are also told to not be presumptious… “Great is his mercy, my many sins he will forgive.” And then we commit the sin anyways, because, “Oh, God will forgive.” No, this is an abuse of his mercy and the sin of presumption.
In today’s gospel, Jesus is giving us a wake up call on the severe consequences of sin and how we should avoid it at all costs. He expresses this by warning that, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the Kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.”
I feel compelled, therefore, to reflect with you on this topic that we often shy away from in our conversations about faith: the reality of hell. It may seem uncomfortable or harsh, but as followers of Christ, we cannot ignore the clear and unambiguous words of our Lord in today’s gospel, regarding sin and the eternal consequences that may follow.
Our Lord speaks openly about hell, describing it as a place of permanent and painful separation from God. In fact, eighty percent of what we know about hell comes from what Jesus himself taught about it. If we step away from the traditional imagery for a minute, concerning the “Last Things,” Paul gives us this nugget of hope: “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
What we have in the Bible then are terms that strain the limits of language and human intellect. Hell’s endless fire and deathless worm are metaphors, just like heaven’s white robes and harps. But they’re extremely significant metaphors, because they tell us all we can know, given our current limitations. And what’s more, who is to say there aren’t white robes and harps in heaven? The point is, there are so many details we cannot know to the full for now, and hence, this is where faith comes in. We choose to believe Jesus when he tells us that this is a place of unimaginable torment.
Perhaps Emily Dickinson was on to something when she said that the parting is all we need to know about hell. Hell is a permanent parting from God. Just like union with him is really all we need to know about when it comes to Heaven, because Heaven without God there, would never be heaven really—it would be hell. It’s about the relationship, and what is secondary to that are consequences of the state of that relationship. Hell is a permanent choice for something other than God. That should be, for a Christian, the worst thing imaginable — worse than a fire that burns you or a worm that eats at you, and yet this too will depend on where you’re at in your relationship with God.
Let us pray today for the grace to recognize the eternal weight of our choices and the profound depths of God’s love who accompanies us through all of them if we but let him, as he reaches out his divine hands and heart, always ready to carry us through the storms which seek to set us off course.
Our Lady, Star of the Sea, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Amen.
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