MaryBeth LaMont

Are you familiar with the word eschatology? When I went to seminary I heard this word for the first time when Dr. Burgess called something eschatological, I thought it had something to do with cleaning up after a pet. I learned it had to do with a different end; end times.

Though we may or may not be familiar with the word eschatology, we can’t escape talk about the end times. It seems many generations have different fears about an imminent end time. When I was in elementary school we were afraid the end might soon come from a nuclear war. Now it seems climate change is pushing the end times needle.

Eschatology matters. At least our thoughts regarding it matter. Our view of the end can lead to how we live now. Baseball great Mickey Mantle had an eschatological fear hang over him his entire life. His father, Mutt Mantle, a miner, died at age 40. Mickey was convinced he also would have a very short life-span, dying at a young age. Because of this Mantle lived life to the fullest; abusively so as it turned out. He didn’t take care of his body and surprised himself by living to the age of 63.

Toward the end of his life Mantle shared with many his surprise at living even into his 50’s. Had he known he was going to live as long as he did, friends were told, he would have taken better care of himself. Yes, how we view the end can determine how we live in the meantime.

You and I all know people who have very pessimistic thoughts about where the world is heading. We know people who also think their life won’t be a very long one. Every birthday and holiday my paternal grandmother would say, “This will be my last birthday. I won’t be here next year.” Her comments on major holidays mimicked her “won’t be here” line from birthdays. After I became older whenever she would say she this to us, I would always ask, “Why, where are you going, Grandma?” My response always brought a smile to her otherwise dour mood.

Life is not about how long we live. It is more about how well we lived. For what, for whom did we live besides ourselves? What impact did we have on those around us? What impact would we like to have during our brief sojourn on earth?

Does the end of human life have meaning? That is, does life simply end with a last breath and no longer matters? Can life only have meaning and purpose while we are alive?

Advent often looks ahead to some end time. It reminds us such ending is beyond our control and even our knowledge. We are aware that our genes are passed on. Are we aware also that some part of us, some part of our life, some part of what little or large contribution we have made to life continues on as well? Part of some lives were altered because we had lived. Some lives may have been shaped because we lived and had influence on them. Some with whom we shared our genes may look a bit like us. If we also shared our life with them, some part of them may act, respond and live as we did.

As we think about end times and our own end time, we need to look beyond our gene pool and even people who have helped to make us as we are. Sometimes the view we get by looking around can be like Mantle’s; a self-fulfilling prophecy. But God has some prophecies for us as well. We need to look above our own life and past ourselves and even loved ones. What do we see in the promises of Jesus? What do we hear in God’s various addresses to God’s children? Where might we see and hear God pulling us beyond our view of who we are?

Eschatology. God’s eschatology. We are more than the sum of our parts. Eschatology; a big word that really has to do with a much bigger God. Allow that vision to shape your present.