From The Pastor - July/August Spire

"Heaven on Earth"

On Sunday, May 22, I preached the sermon printed below. I received many comments about it, so thought it was worth sharing with the entire congregation. I do so for two reasons. The first is that, while many if not most of us are in agreement on this issue, it continues to be a divisive one for many Christians, including some in our own communities. While we may know what we believe, finding the appropriate language to express our beliefs can be difficult. Perhaps what I have written will help clarify this issue for you. The second reason has to do with the diverse culture in which we live and the importance of finding ways to hear, honor and respect our diversity, including our religious diversity. We need to be able to have meaningful dialog if we have any hope of addressing the plethora of issues that confront our world. For people of faith this includes allowing our faith to be a source of unity instead of division. This sermon is meant as a way to enter such a process, and as always I welcome your thoughts.

Peace,
Eric

"Heaven on Earth" – John 14: 1-14
Recently in our Wednesday evening study we talked about why we believe in God. What motivates our desire to be good or faithful? Naturally questions emerged:
•    Are we good so that we can get into heaven?
•    Is it all about after we die, or is there more to it?
•    Is it about the way we live now—our relationship with God amid the everyday?
•    Do we hope being ethical will lead to a reward or blessing that allows us to be spared from the tragedies and unhappiness of life; or do we live our lives in response to God’s love of us, out of gratitude and thanksgiving?

This led to a discussion about who goes to heaven. This response came about, not because yesterday was May 21, but in response to a book by Rob Bell. Rob Bell is the pastor of the Mars Hill Bible Church, a non-denominational church in Michigan with 10,000 worshippers on any given weekend. Bell, a conservative evangelical, broke with the traditional views of evangelicals calling them "misguided and toxic." (Thomas Long, Christian Century, May 3, 2011 pg. 55) He now believes non-Christians go to heaven and he cites the case of Mahatma Ghandi, who he believes is in heaven.

I suspect that for most, if not all, of us this is not new thinking. We don't take literally "No one comes to the Father except through me," and we can think of many people we expect to see in heaven because we are open to the possibility that Jesus is not the only way.

Moderate and liberal Christians and scholars hear the words, "I am the way, the truth and the life" (v.6) believing that for those of us who follow Jesus Christ sets a pathway before us, and through following his path, we experience God's presence in our lives. [These words are an] affirmation that God is at work in our lives and in the world, providing us with pathways to wholeness and giving us the power to be partners in personal and planetary healing and salvation. Our ability to do great things is grounded in our relationship to God. (Bruce Epperly, processandfaith.org/lectionary for Easter 5)

We believe this because while Jesus is one way to God, he is not the only way. Our Buddhist, Muslim and Jewish friends, as well as others, have a legitimate relationship with God that is just as significant as ours. I believe that this is what the writer of John is saying when he writes:

Believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these...(11, 12)

Jesus may be our way, but he is not the only way. What Jesus taught by word and deed is what is involved in having a meaningful and life transforming relationship with God; but it is not the only way to have such a relationship.

I am a part of a Tuesday morning lectionary study group that meets to discuss the scripture and sermon ideas for the following Sunday. This week we began by jokingly putting our collective feet up saying that with the world ending on May 21, we won't need to prepare a sermon. Then we had an intense discussion about this passage. We wondered just how many people in our congregations worry about getting into heaven. We also wondered how often folks think about "heaven on earth", God’s reign among us; God guiding our lives in the here and now offering us and our offering to others opportunities to catch a glimpse of the Kingdom.

For me, the discussion came back to "I am the way, the truth and the life..." I say this because it is very possible to do "good works" without being in touch with God. People do it all the time. I believe the good works are different when they are done in God's name because one’s attitude or approach is different. We no longer are doing for someone else. We are doing with someone as we stand in relationship with that other person. We do what we do, not because it is the right thing to do. We do it because we see Christ in the other. Whether or not the other sees Christ in the exchange doesn’t matter. It is not about the other or us; it is about God. For me, this is the true meaning of "I am the way, the truth and the life."

It is not about our claiming we do this all the time or even most of the time. It is about our being aware of those times when Christ is the source of what we do, because I believe these times change our worldview, our perspective. They give us hope as we catch a glimpse of heaven. For as Thomas Long writes:

Heaven is the life now coming toward us from God, the life of ‘the world to come,’ a life that overcomes our present age. The opposite of heaven is not hell, but instead the ‘world that is passing away.' Heaven is God’s unbounded love breaking in every situation, stronger than any loss, even death. We don’t go to heaven; heaven comes to us.    (Thomas Long, CC,5/3/11)

In this context it is easy to understand how Jesus could say: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me." (v.1)

John also writes: "Believe in me because of the works themselves." (v.11) God's healing grace and mercy brings heaven on earth. The opportunity to see and share in this heaven is all around us. It is found, not in the good things we and others do, but in the healing that comes when we recognize that it is not we who do good works, good things, but God working in and through us.

God is with us in all the seasons of life. When we trust in God’s care we discover how God is the source of hope; and also the creative transformation which empowers us to reach out to others even amid our own trials and tribulations. This is so, not because God will reward us at some future time, but because God journeying with us now reveals the hope that is and will be. Amen.