Hell and Hope
ONE
Hope is the virtue whereby the individual strives for Heaven as something which is possible, but not guaranteed.
a. So hope involves three things:
1. First, an active pursuit of God and Heaven
2. Second, a realization that the attainment of Heaven is possible (after all, if it wasn’t possible to get to Heaven, why would anyone even try to get there?)
3. Third, a realization that failing to attain Heaven is also possible (after all, if getting to Heaven was guaranteed, why would you have to try to get there?)
b. So a vigorous hope implies an awareness that hell is a live option.
a. But many people think it’s not a good idea to bring up the idea of Hell. Why do you think people don’t want to think about Hell?
TWO
3 Reasons people think it’s unhelpful to acknowledge the existence of Hell.
Obviously, nobody likes the idea of Hell. Who would?
But everybody knows that sometimes we have to acknowledge unpleasant things if we’re going to avoid them.
Your kids have to know a bit about car crashes if they’re going to avoid them; your elderly parents need to know a bit about internet scams if they’re going to avoid them.
It stands to reason, then, that we need to be aware of Hell, so we can be sure to avoid it. In which case, why are Christians so determined to ignore the fact that Hell even exists?
There are probably three primary reasons why people don’t want to talk about Hell:
a. First, they think; “How could a good God keep anyone out of Heaven?”
b. Secondly, they think; How could a good God design an eternal torture chamber and actually put people there to suffer in agony forever?
c. Thirdly, they think; Even if there were a Hell, how could thinking about it make us better Christians? After all, the Christian life is about love, especially love of God, and it doesn’t work to say, “Love me, or I’ll punish you horribly!”
These are very reasonable concerns. Let’s address them, one by one.
THREE
The choice to live without love.
a. Have you ever had a relationship where, every time you tried to get close to that person, or maybe reconcile, the person just used it as an excuse to push you farther away?
a. Haven’t you ever heard of husbands – maybe even husbands who had already been unfaithful – but their wives and children begged them to stay, and these men left their families anyway?
b. The terrifying truth is that we are capable of turning our backs on love – of choosing to live in selfish, lonely misery, rather than admit we were wrong and accept the forgiveness and the generosity of others.
a. And if we can decide to do that in time, who’s to say we can’t decide to do it for eternity?
c. That’s why St. Catherine of Genoa says that God doesn’t force souls to go to Hell – they choose to go there.
a. Pope Benedict said Hell is simply the definitive choice to live without love, to live without God
1. And it’s a choice we’re all capable of.
FOUR
The pains of Hell.
a. Everybody knows Scripture talks about the “fires” of Hell, and that the children of Fatima saw the “flames” of Hell.
a. But we know that these fires and flames don’t primarily signify physical pain – for the simple reason that there are no bodies in Hell.
1. And it’s not clear how you could set an angel or a soul on fire any more than you could set a thought or a feeling on fire. How do you set an immaterial thing on fire?
b. But then - why the familiar imagery of fire?
a. Well, we all use metaphorical torture language to describe deep emotional, psychological suffering
1. We might say, “It’s killing me; it’s eating me alive; it’s tearing me apart.”
b. Now imagine the psychological pain that comes from knowing you’ve ruined everything, that you can never even hope to be happy again – that you’ll never rejoice with another soul, you’ll never love, you’ll never even want to love again.
1. To capture that kind of pain, you might say something like, “It’s like I’m on fire – it’s like a hideous burning that never stops.”
c. The point is that Hell isn’t a place where God tortures us. It’s a place where we torture ourselves, where we continuously and eternally resolve never to be happy.
a. It’s awful to think about.
b. But if we’re honest with ourselves, we can think of times we’ve done that before – where we’ve thrown a fit and hurt a relationship and made ourselves miserable out of our own pride and self-will.
1. Now is our time to curb that impulse. Now is the time to stop ourselves from becoming frightful and permanent monsters of selfishness.
FIVE
Why it’s so Important not to forget Hell;
a. So Hell isn’t God kicking us out of Heaven; it’s us choosing to live without love.
b. And Hell isn’t God torturing us; it’s us making ourselves miserable.
c. So why even think about it?
a. The point of talking about hell is not to motivate us to love out of a fear of external punishment, or external suffering.
b. The point of a meditation on hell is to remind us of the horrific results of selfishness – results that are capable of becoming permanent.
1. That kind of reminder does motivate love. Every so often, it’s good to remember – “If I don’t keep fighting my sins, my vices, my selfishness; if I let them get the best of me, they’ll ruin my life. They’ll ruin me. They’ll turn me into an abomination.”
2. Then you think, “I don’t want that.”
3. And then you pray; “Dear God, please save me from myself. Dear God, please help me to love better. Please make me into the sort of person who, when this life ends, chooses happiness with you and with everyone else.”
c. That’s how, surprisingly, meditating on hell – at least occasionally – can strengthen our resolve to hope.