Purgatory

As a Protestant, I've always rejected the idea of Purgatory. The Bible does not explicitly mention it, and I didn't even believe that it implied it until I ran across this today:

Some might say that when persons die they go either straight to hell or straight to heaven, because there is no such thing as purgatory. Do you remember that Jesus raised from the dead a 12-year old girl, his own friend Lazarus, and the son of a widow? If those three persons were already in the eternal glory of heaven, why would God bring them back to earth to suffer more and die again? On the other hand, if they were already in hell, Jesus consistently taught that being in hell is everlasting. Those three persons whom Jesus raised from the dead were neither in eternal damnation nor in eternal glory.

This homily, written in 2006 by a Benedictine monk for mass on All Souls' Day, brings up an interesting point. I have simply never thought of this argument. He has an extremely Catholic (or at least Augustinian) tendency to rely on logic to "prove" extra-biblical concepts. I don't really think he is proving anything definitively, but he's asking a fascinating question. Why WOULD Jesus recall souls from heaven?

The Sunday school answer to this is "To glorify himself." Yeah, yeah, right. However, in this case, I don't know if there is another answer. I know this thoughtful monk rejects the idea that God would be so cruel as to rip these souls from eternal bliss in order to serve his own selfish motivations, but I have to say I believe he is. After all, weren't we created for the ultimate purpose of glorifying God? Isn't that the root of our very existence? That's what I've been taught, anyway. I guess my counter-question is why WOULDN'T God use these souls to that purpose as well? It's not as if when we reach heaven our purpose is fulfilled. Why would we continue to exist purposeless? If God could grant himself more glory by bringing these souls back to earth than he could by leaving them in heaven, then he would. And I guess I believe he did. And if those souls were truly in heaven, in the presence of God, then perhaps their suffering on earth was lessened by the knowledge that God was using them for his ultimate glory. Or maybe not. Maybe God was merciful enough to erase all memories of heaven from their consciousness (unlike poor Buffy).

In any case, it's refreshing to this jaded old Christian to be challenged by new ideas. I ran across this piece while looking for passages in the Benedictine Rule on prayers for the dead, and I got completely distracted. Thanks, brother monk, for the food for thought.