Those who argue that the same theology runs
from the first chapter of Genesis to the last chapter of Revelation hit a
brick wall when they reach the Wisdom literature of the Hebrew Scriptures.
Not only do we find different theologies; we also uncover a theological
debate lurking just under the surface of these divinely inspired books.
The authors of Proverbs and Wisdom, for
instance, believe insightful people can surface patterns and structures in
God's creation which make His actions in our lives predictable.
On the other hand, the authors of Job and
Ecclesiastes seem to look at life more honestly. They contend that any
question for divine predictability is futile. God's intellect, they
insist, is so far above our human intellect that we can never "psyche
God out."
Riches gone
As Qoheleth observes in (Eccl 1:2; 2:21-33),
"All things are vanity." The author can't even find a pattern in
Yahweh's rewarding and punishing people. "Here is one," he
writes, "who had labored with wisdom and knowledge and skill; and yet
to another who had not labored over it, he must leave property." Evil
people can have more happiness and fulfillment in their lives than good
people.
In a parallel way, Jesus echoes Qoheleth's
pessimism when He comments on the rich man's impending death in Sunday's
Gospel (Lk 12:31-21). "You fool," God says, "this night your
life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will
they belong?"
But before we throw in the towel, remember that
a theologian writing in the third century before Christ lacks a dimension of
faith which his or her counterpart writing in the first century after Jesus
possess: belief in an afterlife.
Shortly before Jesus' birth, some Pharisee
Jews reached the conclusion that those who formed a relationship with Yah-weh
in this life would continue and grow in that relationship in the next life.
Their insight became a biblical Rosetta Stone helping us discover meaning in
situations which, before, no one could begin to understand.
It enables Paul to write those famous lines to
the Colossians (3:1-5, 9-11): "Brothers and sisters: If you were raised
with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of
God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and
your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then
you, too, will appear with Him in glory."
Next life
As a good Jew, the historical Jesus emphasized
our being fulfilled and happy in this life; but, as a Pharisee, He also
pointed us in the direction of the next life. Paul, as a Christian, believes
the risen Jesus is the essential part of that next life.
Yet, both Paul and Jesus teach that we have to
sacrifice some of this life to attain the next. "Put to death,"
Paul writes, "the parts of you that are earthly." And in the
situation of brothers arguing over an inheritance, Jesus warns, "Take
care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life
does not consist of possessions."
One of the most important components of Paul's
and Jesus' belief about the next life is that we can create elements of
our future existence in the way we live right here and now. "Put on the
new self," Paul encourages the Colossians, "in the image of the
creator. Here, there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision,
barbarian, Scythians, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all."
Paul presumes that all the barriers dividing
and separating us on earth will be shattered when we gather in heaven. That's
why he encourages us to sacrifice the security such divisions offer and to
begin destroying those barriers long before we leave this earth. Our
question to become one with all people is the clearest sign that we believe
in a heaven.
(7/29/04)