Will I Know You in Heaven?
This is the question Eric Clapton asked in the heartbreaking song “Tears in Heaven” which he wrote following the tragic death of his 4 year old son Conor who had fallen from an open 53rd story window in New York. He sings,
“Would you know my name
if I saw you in heaven?
Would you be the same
if I saw you in heaven?
Would you help me stand
if I saw you in heaven?
Would you hold my hand
if I saw you in heaven?”
This is something we mortals have always wanted to know. We may believe there is life after death. But is there any continuity between this life and the life to come? Is there any memory of our life on earth that can survive the trauma of death? Is there anything about the person I am today that I will carry with me into the life to come? Are the lessons I have learned while here on earth any kind of preparation for something as yet unrevealed in the future? Will I know you, or myself, in the life to come? Or does everything we have known in this life just end in nothingness?
We are certainly not the first to want to know the unknowable. 2000 years ago, these were the kind of questions posed to Jesus in our scripture lesson for Sunday. It is one of the very rare times when he would speak specifically about the life to come. I hope you will plan to be present on Sunday when we explore the meaning of his message. See you soon!
Grace and Peace,
Callie
