Our True Home is Heaven

When you check in for a flight, one crucial piece of information guides every decision you will make on your trip. This bit of data is rarely overlooked because it determines the flight you board, where your baggage ends up, and what part of the airport you walk (or, if you are late, run) toward. It is your final destination. Seems obvious, right? In today’s readings, the “final destination” isn’t as obvious to some people. The first reading is a little bit difficult to stomach; seven brothers are tortured in front of their mothers for refusing to eat pork. Their torturers couldn’t fathom why this family refused to eat the meat when it would mean their death. I mean, who doesn’t like bacon? For the family, it was more than a simple rule – the command to avoid eating pork was given by God to Moses and was about more than a dietary restriction. It was about presenting one’s self as clean and holy as God commanded. They knew their final destination was heaven, and in the ultimate act of obedience they demonstrated to their captors that God had the real authority.

Paul challenges us to have “endurance” in the second reading. He was establishing new Christian communities, but when they encountered persecution or wickedness, they began to lose sight of their final destination. They were on a journey to heaven; and if they kept their eyes on that final destination, God would provide strength. Jesus points to the final destination of heaven when questioned about the resurrection. The Sadducees were trying to trap Jesus with a trick question, but he quickly turns the table. Our final destination is heaven, a place of unity with God. The Sadducees focused on our existence on Earth as the final destination but were missing something far more incredible – our true final destination is also our home in heaven.

A common misconception about heaven is that everyone in heaven is an angel, and that when humans die and go to heaven they become angels. Jesus debunks this myth; when we enter heaven we become like angels. We see God face-to-face and worship Him (Revelation 7:11, Isaiah 6:3) like angels do, but unlike angels we remain human – a unity of body and soul.