The Things that  Last 

Dear Alumni and Friends:
One of the courses I teach at the School of Theology is Christian
Eschatology. I find this a fascinating subject and I always look
forward to the class times. Eschatology can be defined in several ways.
Traditionally, it has been presented as the study of the “Last Things;”
that is, an exploration into the themes of death, judgment, heaven,
hell, and purgatory. To be sure, the future priests of the Church must
be exposed to these topics because the men and women who will be
entrusted to their care need guidance regarding their ultimate destiny.

Karl Rahner, however, offers what I consider to be an intriguing
alternative to conceiving of the content of Eschatology. Rather than
being the study of the “Last Things,” he suggests that we should see
it as the attempt to understand “the Things that Last.” I find this a
necessary perspective for our times. What are the things that truly last?
What are the realities that endure within the flow of time?

These are, I believe, crucial questions because they lead us to
consider the authentic objects of hope. In what should we, as a
Christian people, place our ultimate hope? Too often we place
ultimate hope in penultimate things. Political parties, social agendas,
economic philosophies of one sort or another belong to the ephemeral
level. Our outsized passion for the immediate can only lead to
disappointment and to the intensification of the divisions already
at work in our society.

Advent is, above all, an eschatological season. It is a time for us
to reflect upon the things that last and are thus worthy of our hope.
During this Jubilee Year dedicated to the virtue of hope, we must be
living signs to our brothers and sisters of those realities that will never
pass away. Let us be witnesses to the Eternal God of love who remains
with us always in a world of passing things. We read in Matthew 24:35:
“Earth and sky will pass away, but my words will never pass away!”
Let this message be our guide during this Advent season
and always.

Blessings,

Rev. Gladstone (Bud) Stevens, P.S.S.

Rector