“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)
A thirteen year old healthy boy named Julio woke up screaming in pain one night, as he clutched his head. He was rushed to the hospital and after emergency surgery for a ruptured brain aneurysm, his mother was informed that there was very little chance that her son would survive.
The next part of this true story contains some elements of Catholic Christianity, which I hope doesn’t offend non Catholic readers, but it’s an amazing true story, which shows all Christians that God works in mysterious ways, whatever faith tradition we are aligned with.
A Catholic friend of Julio’s mother had a relic of John Henry Newman, a 19th century saint. She had the relic for a long time, waiting for the right time when a miracle would be needed. After she heard about Julio, she gave the relic to Julio’s mother, hoping and praying for a miracle.
Julio’s mother knew nothing about Saint John Newman, but she placed the small relic on her son’s body, while he was lying unresponsive and comatose in the hospital. Then she prayed out of desperation that God would heal her son.
A few days later, the relic vanished, and no one, including the medical staff, knew where it was, but on that same day, Julio woke up from his coma. He opened his eyes and the first thing he asked was, “Where did my friend, John, go?”
His mother asked, “John who?” Then he shared a dream he had while asleep in a coma. He was playing with a new friend named John and after they had a lot of fun outdoors together, John told Julio to open his eyes, because it was time to wake up, and then John vanished. Although Julio’s dream had everyone puzzled, he made a miraculous and full recovery.
His mom wanted to learn more about Saint John Newman, so she found a nearby shrine dedicated to him, and after Julio’s recovery, they went to visit it. They saw pictures and stories from different stages of Newman’s life, and as they walked by a glass case with old photos, Julio suddenly stopped and pointed to a particular photo, saying, “That’s him, that’s my friend, John!” It was an old childhood photo of John Henry Newman, the same boy who played with Julio in his dream.
Newman was 79 when he died, so how could he appear as a child to Julio, much less, appear to him at all, during a coma? There are many unanswered questions, but one thing we can know is that there is no such thing as time, space or aging in heaven. Some people who have had near death experiences, saw a deceased relative who appeared at a younger age than the age they actually died at.
In the movie, Heaven is for real, a four year old boy had a near death experience, and saw Jesus, and his deceased grandfather who he never met. The man he saw was a younger version of his grandfather, even though he died at an old age. Heaven is a mysterious place when it comes to the concept of time and aging. Both boys nearly died, both were healed, and both are alive and healthy today.
We may not have all the answers here and now, but an all powerful God can permit those who are in heaven to appear at any age, to anyone He chooses, according to His purpose achieved through it.
Whoever the “cloud of witnesses” includes, is not explicitly defined in scripture alone. They could be angels, famous bible characters, faithful deceased friends, relatives, or holy believers from generations past. People in heaven are living people, and some may be praying for us, or even visit us in a dream. God welcomes all prayers, whether from heaven or on earth.
God’s ways are above our ways, and His thoughts are above our thoughts. A boy named Julio had no interest in saints, theology or doctrinal debates. He simply related what he saw and heard while dreaming in a coma, and he was healed.
Faith, hope and love will last forever, and the souls in heaven live in that reality. Instead of seeing a tragedy from a devastating perspective, we can rest assured that there is a faithful cloud of witnesses in heaven, praying for us, so that we can continue to run this race of faith with fortitude, for the rest of our days.
Worry distracts us from these truths, destroys our hope, and leads us to focus on the negative, but faith keeps us looking up to a loving God, whose ways surpass all of our human understanding, who is still performing miracles today.
Lord, thank you that your ways are far above our ways. Help us to trust in whatever miraculous way you choose to intervene in our lives. Amen
