Warning: The following text may offend some readers.
This Sunday (28-Feb-2010) there will be a 40-day service held for Maria at the Greek Orthodox Church in Queanbeyan. The service (in Greek "Mnimosino" or "Mnimosyno") means "calling to memory". It is where the congregation asks God to show mercy and forgive the sins of the deceased. From my reading of Greek Orthodox authors, this prayer is undertaken at memorial services to intercede in the granting of forgiveness, thereby providing rest to the soul of the deceased before the Last Judgement (i.e. Christ’s return), i.e. as the soul of the deceased is cast into either an ultimate state of blessedness or damnation.
My reading of the above is somewhat like the Catholic belief in the state of "purgatory".
The reason for the 40-day period is that according to Orthodox belief, Christ remained on Earth for forty days after His resurrection.
I am reluctantly attending this Service, but rather doing in respect for Maria's parents. Let me explain why the idea of the Service is so challenging for me...
Firstly, I agree biblically that there will be a Final Judgement and everyone who has left the World before us will also be the subject of this. As a Christian, I believe that God lives in and out of time, which is a concept difficult for us humans to always grasp because we are bound by time while on Earth. Whether the departed have already received their Judgement before God or it occurs simultaneously with us at the time of the Second Coming, it is not in my view relevant because we are talking about a state of timelessness. What IS RELEVANT TO ME IS THIS – because Maria accepted Jesus' free and precious gift of salvation, her belief in Him means that the moment after she breathed her last breath on Earth, she took her next (and first) in Heaven. From an Earthly perspective, that would be taking two consecutive normal breaths without realising whether or not there was a time-gap of any description.
If I've confused you with my ramble in the previous paragraph, let me be a little more direct and succinct on this subject. Simply, it has EVERYTHING to do with the decision we make while alive on Earth as to whether or not we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour.
The whole idea that people can intercede after our death to push us over some imaginary line or out of some "state of purgatory", or even to think we can seek the forgiveness of the sins of others (what if they are not repentant?), in my humble view does not align with Scripture.
SIMPLY, you either believe or you don't. Only WE can make that personal decision, for OURSELVES. To give it a worldly analogy, I cannot force someone to be friends with a third party. The decision rests with the two people concerned. Getting back to my point, Jesus has already made the decision to accept us, but it takes two to tango, so what we need to do to fill our part of the bargain is enter the relationship through seeking forgiveness of sins OURSELVES, then do our best to repent from doing things in future that will fracture that relationship.
Therefore, when we die our pre-death decision means the consequences of our individual belief are also clear. Your decision gives you EITHER eternal life with the Lord OR eternal damnation in Hell.
I'm sorry if I've offended some of you reading this. To me this is a harsh reality that needs to be shared. Maria and I were always called to share the Good News of Christ in all circumstances with everyone, especially the ones we love (like our readers). I'm accountable to God and don't want to feel like I didn't follow this calling. The upcoming event caused me to research the subject of Mnimosino to better understand the rationale behind this Service, which drove me to write this.
My decision to commit my life to Jesus was based on His love, mercy and grace (as it was for Maria). While the whole idea of the alternative (i.e. not to believe and go to Hell) can be sobering, it was not a motivation for Maria and I to enter our own relationships with Him (otherwise it wouldn't be a real relationship based on love). The informed/careful decisions we both made nearly nine years ago were between us "individually", not because someone else forced it on us or any type of group pressure (actually it was probably the group/worldly pressures that keep me from following Him for so many years).
By now there may be some of you reading this with questions such as where my "authority" comes from to speak in such a way? I don't any authority per se and I won't for a moment pretend to be a Theologian. As a Christian who believes that the Bible is the one and only true and living God's word, I seek the answers there and am called to proclaim what I believe is the only Truth.
There is plenty of Scripture on this subject. A couple of passages jump out at me, which may help shed light on the reason why I believe it is too late for those who haven't made that personal decision to follow Christ while alive.
LUKE 16: 19-31
"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'
"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'
"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'
"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'
"'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"
1 JOHN 5: 10-12
"Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life."
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My offer to you
If anyone is serious about learning more about God, or taking that step to enter into a personal relationship, can I encourage you to seek out a Christian who you trust and talk it through with them.
Even though I'm experiencing my own "valleys" from day-to-day, I am always happy to sit down with anyone at any time of the day or night and share what my faith means to me and how it has helped us through this ongoing trial.
