Where the hell is "hell"?

In Sunday's Gospel reading from Mark 9:38-48, our beloved Lord uses that horrifying 4-letter word "hell" over and over again. By talking about cutting off body parts and being thrown into an "unquenchable fire," our minds are full of every terrifying horror movie ever produced mixed in with our own nightmares of whatever "hell" is.

The problem is that Jesus NEVER used the "hell." The word that gets translated as "hell" is "Gehenna," which was literally the garbage dump in Jerusalem. Guess what they did with their garbage in Jesus' time - they BURNED it. With a never ending source of fuel, Gehenna was constantly on fire (and probably smelled awful too!).

Our concept of "hell" - fire, devils and pitchforks - is from Milton's epic Paradise Lost, not the Bible. Our own understanding of the biblical text is co-opted because of the connotations the word "hell" has for us. As a result, the point Jesus was trying to make to his disciples is lost.

Garbage is thrown out and burned. If something is unuseful, it should be thrown out. If your eye is not being useful, i.e. helping proclaim the kingdom of God, then cut it off and through it into the garbage fire.

Unfortunately, this passage as been used for many years as a way to coerce "proper" behavior with the fear of being burned in hell. As far as I am concerned, hell is where God isn't and that would be a horror more unthinkable than devils with pitchforks. A garbage dump may not be what our modern concept of "hell" is, but it is where unuseful things become useful again. That is the message of redemption Jesus would want us to hear and believe.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Christmas Poem

‘Twas a week before Christmas and all through the land The Church reminded us that the Savior’s birth was at hand. The season is not about the perfection of glitter But about a loving God who would not leave us bitter. And so God sent us the Son wrapped up like a present In the garb of our mortality, the human flesh of a peasant. The cookies may not be made, the decorations may not be hung, The cards may not be sent, the lights may not be strung. Yet let us all make the true preparations for the coming of our Savior And open our hearts and lives to the Lord’s loving favor. No more precious gift has ever been received. It is up to us to remind the world what we truly believe. Not in jolly old elves, talking snowmen or reindeer in flight But in God, who loves us with all of God's might. So stop for a moment and take a deep breath, As we await the Christ, the true conqueror of death. Let go of the need to fulfill a secular call to perfection
Read more

Give God the Glory

Reflections on Chapters 12-14 of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles Years ago, I had a grandparent chargingly ask me if it was OK for her to be proud of her granddaughter, because she had been taught, “Pride goeth before the fall.”   I assured her that being proud of her grandchild was not a sin when the feeling was offered in thanksgiving of the accomplishment and not boosting up one’s own ego. “Look at what I have done,” has been the down fall of many people because they neglect or forget those that helped them achieve their goals. The Book of Acts shares story after story of the importance of acknowledging that all power and might comes from God, to whom we should offer our thanks and praise.   When our egos take over and we congratulate only ourselves for what we have done, we become idolatrous. Chapter 12 records an terrible story of King Herod’s response to the apostles.   He outright kills James and then arrests Peter, who is guarded by over 30 men. Yet, despite
Read more

A Sloppy Track

Reflections on Acts of the Apostles Chapters 15-17 This past Saturday was the 144 th running of the Kentucky Derby.   As with all outdoor events, it is at the mercy of Mother Nature, and sometimes she doesn’t seem to care that the humans prefer sunny, dry weather.   However, a certain horse named Justified was the odds-on favorite to win if it was a sloppy track.   And indeed it was.   Rain poured down for most of the day and it didn’t stop by the time the big race was scheduled to start.   The track was a sloppy as I have ever seen a horse race track be.   Justified loved it – and won. It seems counter-intuitive to me that such adverse conditions could led to victory.   What I would consider ideal conditions (sunny, warm but not hot, dry) was the complete opposite of what made Justified thrive.   The reality is that “ideal” conditions are rare – there is always something that is a bit sloppy or not exactly to our liking.   What is important is how we choose to act in those
Read more