THE SECRET BOOK OF SAINT WOOD OF THE CROSS: Heavenly Rewards
Aeon Byte Gnostic Radio: THE SECRET BOOK OF SAINT WOOD OF THE CROSS: Heavenly Rewards
Matthew 6:
1"Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
2"So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3"But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you."
What are heavenly rewards? Is it a mansion in the sky, or is it 70 virgins? Is it a "good" reincarnation? If any of these things are "heavenly rewards", then what makes them different from rewards on earth? Why not seek out earthly rewards for not only would they definitely be a more immediate gain, they are also more tangible than such promises. What makes these "heavenly rewards" better than earthly rewards? I think that when we put it in perspective, if we believe heavenly rewards to be prizes or trophies, we might be setting ourselves to be seriously let down, because it's probably not going to be anything that we expect. Also in doing deeds for these "heavenly rewards" how are we being any better than the "hypocrites" who "sound the trumpet" at what we have done. An excellent parallel to this passage can be found in the Gospel of Thomas:
Thomas 6:
His disciples questioned him and said to him, "Do you want us to fast? How shall we pray? Shall we give alms? What diet shall we observe?"
Jesus said, "Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate, for all things are plain in the sight of heaven. For nothing hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain without being uncovered."
While this passage may appear to some as a "Do what thou wilt" admission, the saying is conveying the same message as the passage in Matthew-- to do good for the sake of it being good. The Christian path, a path that includes Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, Mormons, and Gnostics alike, is focused on receiving heavenly rewards as opposed to earthly ones. "So what are heavenly rewards?" one might be asking by now. If it's not prizes or trophies in the afterlife then what else could it be?
I am not completely sure myself to be honest. I have not been blessed as some have been with any visions of what is in store for us when we die, but allow me to speculate a bit on what these heavenly rewards based on what we know. Heaven, in Hebrew, and by extension Christian thought is related to the mind and spirit. This means the reward is probably going to be mental and spiritual in nature and is most likely the reward of being loving (loving in the sense of agape) for the pure sake of being loving. Meaning being a decent human being for it's own merits alone. While many of us need incentives to be loving, I am very guilty of this myself, we are called to rise of above this desire for being rewarded for what is expected.
To illustrate, this means getting ourselves to a point where if we saw a hitchhiker on the road we think, "Hey this person needs a ride, I am going to help this person because he looks like he needs help." As opposed to thinking, "What kind of profit or praise can I get for going out of my what to help this hitchhiker?" For those of us seeking heavenly rewards, it would be better to not help this hitchhiker if we are thinking the later.
Now I probably have you thinking at this point, "Wow Robbie, you are a grade-A dick. How could you suggest something so cruel and still claim to be loving?" I'm NOT one who believes in "God helps those who helps themselves" as Benjamin Franklin did. I am by no means saying that we should not help this hypothetical hitchhiker. What I am doing is pointing out that we are children, for the most part, along our journey to Home. Like children who are asked to do household chores by our parents, initially we are going to need some sort of motivation. Why? Because like children we are going to need motivation since we often fail to or don't fully understand why our parents would ask us to do chores (This is assuming that the parents CARE about their child's wellbeing, not abusive, dysfunctional individuals). As we grow and mature, we begin to understand why we do chores, not because our parents promise a wage or allowance nor because they threaten to "ground me for life", but because they are good and necessary for their own sake.
Starting out on the Christian path, we may believe in various prizes or trophies for following the Law of Agape (Love God and love your neighbors and enemies as yourself). Being the children that we are, that's totally fine. If it helps you starting out to believe in mansions in the sky, then by all means go for it. However, if heavenly prizes are your sole motivation for following the Law of Agape, then what motivation is there if we start doubting these promises of "sky mansions" or whatever prize we are expecting? Though I personally doubt it, I'm going to throw this out there, what if "this" is all there is? I don't care who you are but every person on their seeking of the Kingdom goes through a period of doubt that can be very brief or last a lifetime, Mother Theresa comes to mind here.
We must recognize that any prize we imagine is just a belief. Beliefs, when used properly, are excellent tools in helping us spiritually grow. In the Christian context, growing means following the Law of Agape for its own goodness. That this Law becomes "written on our hearts." If we are seeking heavenly prizes in the afterlife we must put "such childish things behind us." Heavenly rewards are not prizes nor trophies in the afterlife that we brag about or rub in others faces but rather it is the knowledge of the Law of Agape being the reward unto itself. That it shapes us into the people that we wish to become and the people our Heavenly Father-Mother would like to see us become.
Thomas 106
Jesus said, "When you make the two one, you will become the sons of man, and when you say, 'Mountain, move away,' it will move away."
Matthew 6
10 Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
By Robert Wood
Aeon Byte Gnostic Radio: THE SECRET BOOK OF SAINT WOOD OF THE CROSS: Heavenly Rewards
Matthew 6:
1"Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
2"So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3"But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you."
What are heavenly rewards? Is it a mansion in the sky, or is it 70 virgins? Is it a "good" reincarnation? If any of these things are "heavenly rewards", then what makes them different from rewards on earth? Why not seek out earthly rewards for not only would they definitely be a more immediate gain, they are also more tangible than such promises. What makes these "heavenly rewards" better than earthly rewards? I think that when we put it in perspective, if we believe heavenly rewards to be prizes or trophies, we might be setting ourselves to be seriously let down, because it's probably not going to be anything that we expect. Also in doing deeds for these "heavenly rewards" how are we being any better than the "hypocrites" who "sound the trumpet" at what we have done. An excellent parallel to this passage can be found in the Gospel of Thomas:
Thomas 6:
His disciples questioned him and said to him, "Do you want us to fast? How shall we pray? Shall we give alms? What diet shall we observe?"
Jesus said, "Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate, for all things are plain in the sight of heaven. For nothing hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain without being uncovered."
While this passage may appear to some as a "Do what thou wilt" admission, the saying is conveying the same message as the passage in Matthew-- to do good for the sake of it being good. The Christian path, a path that includes Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, Mormons, and Gnostics alike, is focused on receiving heavenly rewards as opposed to earthly ones. "So what are heavenly rewards?" one might be asking by now. If it's not prizes or trophies in the afterlife then what else could it be?
I am not completely sure myself to be honest. I have not been blessed as some have been with any visions of what is in store for us when we die, but allow me to speculate a bit on what these heavenly rewards based on what we know. Heaven, in Hebrew, and by extension Christian thought is related to the mind and spirit. This means the reward is probably going to be mental and spiritual in nature and is most likely the reward of being loving (loving in the sense of agape) for the pure sake of being loving. Meaning being a decent human being for it's own merits alone. While many of us need incentives to be loving, I am very guilty of this myself, we are called to rise of above this desire for being rewarded for what is expected.
To illustrate, this means getting ourselves to a point where if we saw a hitchhiker on the road we think, "Hey this person needs a ride, I am going to help this person because he looks like he needs help." As opposed to thinking, "What kind of profit or praise can I get for going out of my what to help this hitchhiker?" For those of us seeking heavenly rewards, it would be better to not help this hitchhiker if we are thinking the later.
Now I probably have you thinking at this point, "Wow Robbie, you are a grade-A dick. How could you suggest something so cruel and still claim to be loving?" I'm NOT one who believes in "God helps those who helps themselves" as Benjamin Franklin did. I am by no means saying that we should not help this hypothetical hitchhiker. What I am doing is pointing out that we are children, for the most part, along our journey to Home. Like children who are asked to do household chores by our parents, initially we are going to need some sort of motivation. Why? Because like children we are going to need motivation since we often fail to or don't fully understand why our parents would ask us to do chores (This is assuming that the parents CARE about their child's wellbeing, not abusive, dysfunctional individuals). As we grow and mature, we begin to understand why we do chores, not because our parents promise a wage or allowance nor because they threaten to "ground me for life", but because they are good and necessary for their own sake.
Starting out on the Christian path, we may believe in various prizes or trophies for following the Law of Agape (Love God and love your neighbors and enemies as yourself). Being the children that we are, that's totally fine. If it helps you starting out to believe in mansions in the sky, then by all means go for it. However, if heavenly prizes are your sole motivation for following the Law of Agape, then what motivation is there if we start doubting these promises of "sky mansions" or whatever prize we are expecting? Though I personally doubt it, I'm going to throw this out there, what if "this" is all there is? I don't care who you are but every person on their seeking of the Kingdom goes through a period of doubt that can be very brief or last a lifetime, Mother Theresa comes to mind here.
We must recognize that any prize we imagine is just a belief. Beliefs, when used properly, are excellent tools in helping us spiritually grow. In the Christian context, growing means following the Law of Agape for its own goodness. That this Law becomes "written on our hearts." If we are seeking heavenly prizes in the afterlife we must put "such childish things behind us." Heavenly rewards are not prizes nor trophies in the afterlife that we brag about or rub in others faces but rather it is the knowledge of the Law of Agape being the reward unto itself. That it shapes us into the people that we wish to become and the people our Heavenly Father-Mother would like to see us become.
Thomas 106
Jesus said, "When you make the two one, you will become the sons of man, and when you say, 'Mountain, move away,' it will move away."
Matthew 6
10 Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
By Robert Wood