The Mysterious Encounters of Joseph Tropea

We are told in the book of Hebrews that, among many other things, Jesus became a human being in order to set free all those who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of death. (Hebrews 2:15) If there is one thing we often run from (perhaps all our lives) it is the impending truth of our own mortality. Yet, we are told in the book of Ecclesiastes it is better to go to a house of mourning rather than a house of feasting. (Ecclesiastes 7:2) Why? So we will number our days, remember God, and admit to ourselves that we are on this earth only for a little while. Even if a little while means 80+ years old. This is where Joseph Rafael Tropea (Tro-páy-ah) finds himself. He is an octogenarian dying in a nursing home in rural North Carolina. Joe is nearing the threshold of this life and the next. As a long-time Christian, now in a withering body, he longs for heaven in the midst of the fear and darkness he too often experiences. Yet, to his astonishment, he realizes that God is not quite done with him. God has more to reveal to Joe and more to reveal through Joe. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit work together behind the scenes in order to get him as far along in the becoming-relationally-holy process before bringing him home. This leads Joe into several mysterious encounters, some earthly and some other worldly. These encounters are meant to inch him down the salvation road. Yet, not without also using him to help another onto the same road before he enters heaven . . . the place where life truly begins.