There is no Heaven above. Heaven surrounds us in the
most literal sense, and so does Hell. Alive on this precious sphere rotating
amid the exploding stars we imagine vertical space: ladders; ascendents; as
above, so below. Where were you, when the worlds were formed? They’re still forming.
Advent: Heaven, Hell, Death, Judgement. The Kingdom of
Heaven is within us. Why do the nations furiously rage together? Why,
inflicting hell on earth? We might find God’s judgement more just than our own.
Not yet Christmas bells.
Funeral bells tolling for departed souls; so many.
Each person leaving everything, everyone. “This night thy soul shall be required
of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?” I count
seven friends lost in as many months, as bellringers prepare to ring in the New
Year. I go to the cemetery to place flowers for family now in the realm of the
ancestors; the communion of saints: so many. All ages. Now in the hands of God.
As we rush towards the coming of Our Saviour, we understand we need to be
saved. The Jews say of the dead, “May his memory be for a blessing.” Have you
so lived?
