I do believe that singing in heaven will be less taxing for all of us!
As countless mothers remind their children, anything worth having is worth the work. Work, in fact, is the cause of a great many joys in my life: beautiful music, beautiful art … delicious meals, neat schoolwork, completed chores. Surely then we would agree that heaven will be worth the work put into attaining the joy of paradise.
Well, it depends upon when you ask me. In the midst of the usual daily grind, when I am forced to clean up yet another scatological mishap, it is my heavenly aspiration to do so without complaining and self-pity. And, it would appear that most days I lack sanctity. At the end of the day, when I consider the bad mood that ensued, and the nasty comments I uttered within earshot of the kids, I then worry about the Last Judgment.
Many people have ambivalent feelings about the Last Judgment precisely because sanctity appears to involve too much work. There are 10 Commandments to worry about, and gradations of sins within each category, and unconscious habits we don't even know about! Indeed, who could dare to hope for heaven?!
But I do dare! It is a crazy hope, but I cling to it with all my heart! Heaven is not earned by mere mortals. Heaven is a gift granted to those mortals who open their hearts to act upon the possibility of Jesus' healing love and forgiveness. God knew we could not become holy without Him. He sent His Only Son to buy back heaven for every single person. The actual work has already been completed on this project. It remains for us only to receive the fruit of Jesus' labors.
Jesus teaches us to sing in the choirs of heaven gradually. The Church is a haven for sinners, not saints. In fact, the saints are already participating in the divine life by their union with the will of God. They are happy, because they are doing what God has created them to do. To the extent that I fulfill the will of God, my happiness will be complete, and my complaints will fade into heavenly harmony.
In this passage from the book of Revelation, only the 144,000 know how to sing the song at the foot of the Throne of the Lamb. (Don’t be thrown by the number — the numeric expression is likened to “a multitude” rather than an actual head count of a heavenly “in-crowd.”) The work that God gives us to do in our daily vocation is part of the gift. Every time I conquer myself and clean up quietly, I learn yet another stanza of the song I was created to sing in heaven.
Lord, help me learn the whole song, so that I may praise You in heaven with all Your angels and saints.
