Sacred Cynicism

I cannot remember being more excited to preach a sermon than I was last week. There seemed to be so much I wanted to say, but I also wanted to respect the time of everyone listening, so I had to edit my sermon accordingly. I know from experience that the sermon I think I am preaching, and the sermon that is heard are sometimes not the same things. So to ensure that there are no misunderstandings, I want to follow-up my sermon on Sunday with this week’s musings.

    The purpose of the sermon on Sunday was to recast our idea of what is meant by “heaven.” It is an image so ingrained in our minds, yet I meet many people who find the typical description unappealing and strangely lacking. To be honest, most of what we describe as heaven is found nowhere in the Bible, but is a product of popular imagination and folklore. My desire was that the sermon gave a rich, robust, and Biblical idea of what heaven is, and will be. Hopefully, this will add to what was stated on Sunday.

    Scripturally, when one reads “heaven,” it is simply where God resides. The wonder of the incarnation was that God came from heaven, and lived among us, as Phil. 2:5-11, and John 1:1-14 so beautifully describe. As a result of the incarnation and the resurrection, heaven and earth are no longer to be seen as separate. This is especially true since we have the Spirit, who can live in us, if we allow Him entry. God not only has lived in our world, He lives in us as individuals, and His presence should live in and through the church. So in a real sense, heaven and Earth are now joined together. The kingdom of God has now been established on Earth. This is why we pray the Lord’s Prayer. If the kingdom has not already been established, praying, “Your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven” would be an impossibility, a cruel joke.

     The clear implication is that the kingdom of heaven is something that has started, and it will find its fulfillment when Christ returns. So the natural question is, what does heaven look like? Some of our old answers just do not match what we find in the Biblical record. We do not find streets of gold, or anyone getting wings or a harp. Most people I have ever known find this description disconnected and estranged from their world. Yet it is the Biblical descriptions, general as they are, which seem to resonate so much with people. God’s kingdom will be a place where beauty is restored. His kingdom will be a place where the righteous will be vindicated. His kingdom will be a place where relationships will no longer be marred by loss, sorrow, and the destruction of sin and death. Beauty. Justice. Love. Relationships. These are the hallmarks of His kingdom, and the avenues we need to use to demonstrate His kingdom here.

     These are also the areas of life where we seem to get glimpses into the coming reality of heaven. When we stand in places that scream the handiwork of God, when we enjoy the presence of people when jealousy, envy and pain are not present, these are times when we keenly feel what will be… someday. Yes, we are to practice and create His will on Earth as it is in heaven, and we are to be a part of this new creation Romans 8 and Rev. 21 describe. While we do this, we must also realize that we live in a place where evil and death still dominate. Sin and loss so frequently intrude in our lives, that we lose sight of what is possible in Christ. My sermon on Sunday was meant to encourage us, and keep us connected with these little glimpses of what the kingdom of God is like.

     For those who are righteous, those who have accepted Christ in faith, heaven will be a reality. Yet instead of a golden place removed from reality, it will be a renewed Creation that we have seen and experienced, albeit imperfectly. The best we have experienced, although breathtakingly poignant and beautiful, is still marred by sin and loss; yet it still proclaims the majesty of its creator, and a hint of what will be. I do not know if any of us can appreciate a street of gold, but we have all experienced moments of intense beauty, of extreme intimacy with others, and indescribable joy. What if these moments were the norm, and not the exception? What if sorrow and sadness were removed, and joy and gladness became the daily experience? What would that be? Well that would be heaven.