Christian Teachings: Parousia, Death, and Meaning of Life
Christian Teaching: Beyond the Present
Any preaching of Jesus is marked by the announcement of his coming as Lord at the end of time.
This is known by the glorious name Parousia: the full and final establishment of God’s reign. A reign of peace and justice for all.
The time between the first coming of the Lord and his coming in glory at the end of time is the time of the Church; it is our story. During this time, Christ does not leave us alone but is with us through his Spirit and encourages us to work hard for the establishment of that kingdom.
The Parousia also constitutes a trial. A trial by a merciful God to reveal the real truth of people and history. God will gather all the sufferings of humanity and heal, rejecting all injustice.
God wants all people to be saved.
The possibility of condemnation, though real, is primarily a warning for those who do not live according to the values of the Kingdom of God.
This final event will also be a restoration of the universe. It is not really accurate to speak of the “end of the world,” but rather the “end of the present order and system.” The renewal would affect the entire universe.
The resurrection of the dead is the main event of this restoration. It is not a reincarnation or a resuscitation of corpses. For St. Paul, as for all Semites, the body indicates the whole person: his physicality, his world, his history, his life. Our future condition will correspond to the mode of existence of the risen Jesus, who will transform our lowly bodies into glorious bodies like his own.
Death Is Not the End
Each person is unique; therefore, there is no reincarnation. The person in their individuality is sacred. It affirms the continuity between this life and the future, forming a single life in different modes of existence.
Death is not only the end but the beginning of another mode of existence, the continuation of our individuality. The direction given to death depends on the direction given to life: a threatening or final discovery.
The Meaning of Christian Life
Asking the person is establishing.
Humanity raises all sorts of questions, including the question of the meaning of life. Possible responses are not demonstrable but are accepted by free choice, contrary to the answers to scientific questions. The happiness of the human person depends largely on the success in the responses to questions posed by the meaning of life.
The Question of Meaning Leads to God
But in humanity, there is a thirst for absolute sense. That sense cannot be made only by humanity or by the sensible world, because they are both fleeting and transitory. We must look for both. A reality that transcends humanity and the world and that can ground human life. That reality is God. The question of meaning leads to the question of God.
In the context of different religions, Christianity is the religion of the God who saves and liberates human history itself. After a long preparation through the history of the people of Israel, God’s final action in history is the person of Jesus Christ, his life, and his message. God has definitely approached humanity in Jesus Christ to offer a path, a truth that gives radical sense to human existence.
The Encounter with Jesus
The basic experience that transforms the meaning of the Christian life is the encounter with Jesus.
The relationship with what surrounds us is transformed by meeting Jesus. He becomes the supreme value, and other realities of life are in the assessment that he gives them.
For this meeting to be fruitful, we need a heart conscious of human limitations and, therefore, aware of its need for openness to transcendence, the Mystery, God.
The Meeting with the Brothers and Sisters
This personal decision to follow Jesus leads people to meet with other men and women living the same experience in the Christian community. Faith is not a private matter. That same call to faith normally comes through the Christian community, the church, and we are built into it; otherwise, the person’s own faith would end and die with them.