Afterlife

      As usual our Sunday school teacher was late. He and his wife have a new baby so they're late for everything these days. We were just sitting around talking as people do. We were discussing the play I just finished directing.
      Billy started it by saying that the play's view of the afterlife was "theologically unsound. And I thought it was very Catholic in its approach," he said. "The whole working off demerits to get into heaven. Isn't that like purgatory?"
      "I don't think that's exactly how the Catholics look at it," I said.
      "Leave it to you to direct a sinful play," Elena said, grinning at me.
      "I don't think that was the point," I said, inwardly tensing for yet another discussion about how my creative work isn't Christian. I looked at a chair and wondered if I could grab one and use it to hit people before they wrestled me to the ground.
      Donald surprised me, though. "I wonder if they believe it. I wonder if anyone believes anything totally." He looked at us. "I mean about death. No one really knows. The only people who do are dead."
      "I believe what the Bible says," Billy said. "That settles it for me."
      "But you don't really know," Donald said. "You can't because you haven't died."
      "So are you saying that you don't believe the Bible?" Billy asked with a slight edge to his voice.
      "No, I believe it," Donald said. "I didn't mean that. I just mean that no one really knows. We can believe it and hope that it's true, but we can't know until we die."
      "That sounds like you don't truly believe," Billy said. "I suggest prayer and reading the Bible more."
      Elena rolled her eyes behind Billy's back.
      Donald shrugged. "You can think that if you want, but that's not what I said."
      "I've always thought that what happened to us after we die is a bit confusing," Elena said. "The whole 'streets of gold' and 'pearly gates' sounds kind of ... well ... boring."
      Billy looked at her like he had just swallowed a lemon.
      "I know," Loree said. "I mean, it doesn't seem like that's the way to spend eternity. You'd think we'd be doing things."
      "Like what?" Donald asked.
      "Helping people or something," Loree said. "I think I'd rather do that than just walk down streets of gold and live in my heavenly mansion."
      Donald and Elena nodded.
      "Heaven will be wonderful," Billy said stiffly. "I wonder if any of you really understand that. It's not just gold and mansions. It's being with God. It's having all the questions answered! It's singing His praises forever!" His face reddened. He looked at me. "Why aren't you saying anything?"
      "I'm just listening," I said pleasantly. "I like to try it sometimes. You?"
      "I'm going for a drink of water," Billy said, standing up and walking out of the room.
      "Why aren't you contributing?" Loree asked me. "Ordinarily we can't shut you up."
      They all laughed.
      "So?" Donald asked.
      "So I think life is too short to worry about what Heaven is going to be like," I said. "I think this world has enough problems for us to work on to keep us busy. Heaven will be as Heaven is. Doesn't matter what we think it be. I do know one thing: It's not going to be anything like we think it's going to be. It's going to be different. I try to not waste my time trying to learn the unknowable."
      Our teacher entered the room, followed by Billy. Billy didn't sit by us.
      "Do you always have to have the last word?" Loree whispered to me.
      I winked at her. "Yes."
      Class started.

(Names changed to protect me!)