- Tytuł:
-
Czy w niebie będzie „wieczny odpoczynek”?
Will there be „eternal rest” in Heaven? - Autorzy:
- Nowacki, Wojciech
- Powiązania:
- https://bibliotekanauki.pl/articles/2166009.pdf
- Data publikacji:
- 2013-12
- Wydawca:
- Wyższe Seminarium Duchowne Diecezji Elbląskiej w Elblągu
- Tematy:
-
Eschatology
eternal rest
Heaven
Eternity - Opis:
- Topics of leisure and rest usually concern temporality. It is on this earth that man works and rests. However, the meaning of human life cannot be confined to this life only. Especially if his life on earth is filled with work and effort beyond measure, and while it lacks happy moments of respite – this raises an expectation that finally he will rest after death. Yet this is not a prevailing attitude, even among believers. Eschatology, the study of last things, does not seem extremely appealing. We expect our desires to be fulfilled immediately. Moreover, in contrast to the earthly forms of relaxation and leisure activities – extraterrestrial future appears quite an uncertain and vague reality. Also the Christian faith in the resurrection – which is a central content of Christian hope – is sometimes questioned or abandoned in favor of others, such as the Eastern theories of reincarnation. Some difficulty is also created by a common understanding of „eternal rest” in Heaven, perceived as an unattractive reality, usually associated with a kind of pious procession. The biblical symbolism of the final destiny of man is not always clear and understandable to a modern man. It speaks to us in ambiguous images of feasts, weddings, Heaven, paradise or a new city. Besides, we associate rest with a certain passivity, or at least certain distance from strenuous activities and compulsory duties. Temporal rest is interim, it separates out periods of work – the main activity of our lives. Eternal rest could therefore be seen as an ongoing „sweet doing nothing” – however, in the long term, this situation does not seem attractive. Our eternal rest shall not be perceived as continuous time, with no limits. It is a reality going beyond time. Eternal life should be understood as freedom from any kind of restrictions. When a man is admitted to the eternity of God, his limitations disappear and he receives life to the full. According to the classical definition of Boethius (†524), „eternity is the complete and perfect possession of unlimited life.” Eternity is not defined as the time extending indefinitely, but as living life to the fullest – with no risk or danger. Eternal rest from the Christian perspective is a growing and boundlessly intensifying dynamism. Its source is rooted primarily in a meeting with the infinite God, whose inexhaustible mysteries more and more reveal their unfailing depth that we are unable to reach the end of. This is “rest in love”, in its most sublime and noble meaning. It comprises also meetings with other people – in love that reveals still new aspects of myself and others. Eternal rest is the joy of interpersonal relationships, ultimately freed from anything that burdened them in the earthy life, it is the dynamism of a perfect community. Besides, this rest is associated with the continuous discovery of new opportunities for self-development, new opportunities for self-realization. If the experience of a close, personal relationship with God and the orderly and harmonious relationships with others in the temporal are the source of happiness and they determine the true value of rest – you can reasonably expect that the best forms of temporal rest compared to the eternal one can only be a modest appetizer before the main course. Pope John Paul II described the essence of eternal happiness in the following words: „For the believer, Heaven is not something abstract, a metaphor, an unrealized object of his desire or a physical place, but this is a living and personal relationship with God in the Holy Trinity: the encounter with the Father, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit. Jesus has already opened the gates of Heaven by his death and resurrection. Thus we are destined for eternal happiness with God”.
- Źródło:
-
Studia Elbląskie; 2013, 14; 241-252
1507-9058 - Pojawia się w:
- Studia Elbląskie
- Dostawca treści:
- Biblioteka Nauki
Artykuł