The Four Last things: Jay Mason

THE FOUR LAST THINGS

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

By Jay Mason

The winter is a time to tell stories and talk of serious things in the Navajo culture. For Christians the year ends in November with the Feast of Christ the King. During that period, we should take time to think about the Four Last Things, namely, Death, Judgment, Hell, and Heaven. The new Christian year begins in December with Advent in which we are to prepare for the coming of Christ with penance and sacrifice. It is not all Christmas parties and presents. It is time to think about our life on this earth and hopefully the life to come thereafter.

The first last thing is Death. We all fear death. It is naturally human to do so. Most of us don’t want to think about it. There is a Navajo taboo about even talking about death or taking action to plan after death. I have lost count of the number of disputes in tribal court that could have been avoided if the deceased person had just written a will to say how they wanted their possessions to be distributed after their death. Because, guess what, we are all going to die someday.

As a Christian, I need to think about the death of Christ. It was not pleasant. The Gospels tell us the story of the agony of His death. I always wanted to die peacefully in my sleep. My lovely wife says if I don’t get a CPAP machine that is exactly what is going to happen. But Christ has bequeathed us an unpleasant experience that resembles His own death. Death is not fun. That is the point; we give up our life in an agonizing fashion to receive something greater that transcends life as we know it - an eternal life hopefully in Heaven with God.

The second last thing is the Judgment. There is a preliminary judgment just after we die, but I am talking about our Final Judgment. We make judgments about things every day. The courts pass judgment on people who commit crimes. We are cautioned by Christ, “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” We are asked to forgive those who trespass against us. We should avoid judging others especially as to their ultimate fate. That is God’s job not ours. Our secular world rebels against the idea that any of us will be judged for our actions (unless we violate the law and get caught). That same world says, Merry Christmas

“Do whatever you want to do; life is short. Eat dessert first. Don’t worry about it.” I would suggest that we might want to consider that there might be an ultimate judgment of each one of us by God.

I have a four-year-old grandchild, John Marie. He went to lunch with his dad and grandpa and overheard our conversation about the terrorist tragedy involving the truck running over cyclists in New York City. He interrupted our conservation to tell us, “Jesus is going to tell the mad guys (he says mad instead of bad) that he loves them all the way to the moon and back; if they don’t change into good guys, he will hiyah them, and they will change into good guys….I hope.” The wisdom of little children should not be ignored.

Some people say, “I will go to Heaven, no matter what.” I say no, and so does the Bible in many places. “Work out your salvation in fear and trembling.” Philippians 2:12. As I get older, I am in a constant state of fear and trembling. If my Final Judgment is anything like the judgment my lovely bride expresses about my actions at times, I am in real trouble. I need forgiveness and the sacrament of confession. There is hope, even for me. I am still here on this Earth; I still have a chance to get my soul in a proper condition to see God faceto-face. The Bible says in the Book of Joel that the final judgment will take place in the Josaphat Valley near Jerusalem. I hope to see everyone there, and that it comes out all right.

The third last thing is your worst nightmare, Hell. Many people, even Christians, don’t believe that Hell exists. They believe that all of us will eventually find our way to Heaven. In my lifetime I have seen people and nations in our world create

Hell on earth. There is evil in this world. Our time has certainly demonstrated that fact. God doesn’t create war and famine; man does. God does not attack the most innocent among us, the very young, and the very old; man does.

What if what the Bible says is true? Satan exists, and we can choose on our own to go to a place where there is no God forever, namely Hell. It is also a place of constant sorrow and torment. We have that free will given to us by our Creator. We make the choice while we are here on this Earth. Later there will be no choice, and only God knows what choice we have made. Remember the parable of the rich man who died and finds himself in Hell. He had five brothers. After his death, he begs Abraham to send the beggar Lazarus to tell his brothers that Hell exists and that they should turn away from sin. What happens? He is reminded that his siblings must make their own choice just as he did.

Merry Christmas

Just so we don’t get too depressed and lose hope, let’s talk about the last, last thing, namely HEAVEN. Just about every religion on Earth believes that there is an afterlife or Heaven.

Christianity is no different. Many non-believers have tried to build Heaven on Earth with fame, money, or power. All have failed. Trust me, it is not here. This is the good news. We do not deserve Heaven. We cannot earn it. It is given to us by the grace of God. We can only have faith and do God’s good work while we can. Now we come back to preparation. Our time to prepare is here and now. In this time of Advent when we prepare for Christ to come on this Earth to save us, we can prepare our own soul for the ultimate gift of Heaven. It is not easy. We must be honest with ourselves about our shortcomings. We must pray for grace from God. But what a reward! To live forever with God without pain or sorrow is the greatest gift of all. Let us take advantage of the time that remains for us. Merry Christmas!