What About Heaven?
Luke 12:13-21
August 5, 2007: Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Rev. Kathleen Crockford
United Congregational Church of Westerly
United Church of Christ
This morning’s hot topic in our “Hot Topics for Hot Weather” sermon series is one that I’m sure we have all wondered about sometime in our lives. We say in our creeds that God is creator of heaven and earth. We know what earth is. But what about heaven? What is there to say about heaven?
The Bible has many references to heaven in both the Hebrew scriptures and in the New Testament. And when we look more closely at how the word heaven is used in the Bible, it appears to describe a what the ancient people imagined was above them. Heaven was simply another word for the skies that stretched above the earth. The ancients didn’t know what we know now about the atmosphere, the Milky Way, and galaxies that might exist beyond our knowing. But they did know that the realm above them—the heavens—were part of God’s creation and within God’s loving care. The beautiful words of Psalm 139 attest to this loving care. The psalmist writes: “Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there…even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast.” (Ps. 139: 7-8, 10)
In the New Testament, John the Baptist announced Jesus’ coming by saying that the kingdom of heaven was near. And Jesus, said that the realm of heaven would belong to those who did the right thing, saying, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 5:10)
Today when we talk about heaven, we are most likely talking about the idea of life after death. Heaven is the name we give to the place where we will spend eternity. I wish I could tell you exactly what it is like. And I’m not alone. Maybe you’ve heard the story about the two baseball fans who were sitting together watching a game. They were having such a good time that they wondered out loud if there would be baseball in heaven. They laughed and agreed that whoever got to heaven first would come back and let the other one know. So when the first one got to heaven, he visited his friend in a dream. “Hey, Sam,” he said to his friend, “I’ve got good news, and bad news. The good news—there’s baseball in heaven. The bad news—you’re scheduled to pitch in tomorrow’s game!”
Well, I really can’t tell you whether there is baseball or basketball or ice cream or any of our favorite things in heaven. But what I can tell you is this. When ABC News took a poll several years ago, 9 out of 10 people in the United States said they believed in Heaven. That’s a pretty astounding number. Barbara Walters interviewed a number of religious leaders, scientists, and others and got a whole range of ideas. One of my favorites responses was from Mitch Albom, author of the bestseller, The Five People You Meet in Heaven. (We read that in our church’s book group awhile back.) He said: “There’s one thing I would say about heaven. If you believe that there’s a heaven, your life here on earth is different. You may believe that you are going to see your loved ones again. So the grief that you had after they’re gone isn’t as strong. You may believe that you’ll have to answer for your actions. So the way you behave here on earth is changed. So in a certain way, just believing in the idea of heaven is heavenly in and of itself.” (http://abcnews.go.com, “Heaven—Where Is It? How Do We Get There? Dec. 20, 2005).
If Barbara Walters were interviewing me, this is what I would say. I believe that heaven—the place where we spend eternity—is close to the heart of God. I know this because I trust in the testimony we hear from Paul to the Romans when he says: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8: 38-39). Even in death we cannot be separated from God and God’s love. That to me says that there is something beyond death. Even if we cannot see it with our own eyes or hear from someone who has been there and come back to tell us, we can know, as one theologian puts it, “there is something beyond death, rather than nothing” (The God We Never Knew, Marcus Borg, HarperSanFrancisco,1997 p. 172). Of this we can be sure.
But beyond that, we have had to use our imaginations to create the images and metaphors for heaven to keep us going. Some imagine heaven as a place where there are no tears, no mourning, no suffering. It is eternal joy and peace because you are at one with God.
Henry Durbanville, in his book The Best Is Yet to Come, tells the story of a man who was facing death with great fear. He feared the unknown. One night his doctor visited him at home and tried to find words to comfort him and ease his fears. But he was at a loss. Suddenly the doctor heard a scratching and a whining at the door. The doctor opened the door and in bounded the doctor's dog, who had come with him on that house-call. At that moment he realized what he would say. He went to the bedside and took the man’s hand and said, "My dog is here. I let him in. My dog has never been in your house before. He did not know what it was like in here at all. But he was on the other side of that door and he knew that I was here. And so he wanted to come through that door in the worst way. I can tell you that I am looking forward to heaven. Not because I know a lot about it. But because my Savior is there, and that is all that I need to know."
One question that you may have noticed that I haven’t addressed yet is the question of how we get into heaven and who is eligible. I’m sure that many of us were taught growing up that all you needed to do was believe in Jesus and be saved and you would go to heaven. But I think there is more to it than that. Salvation as Jesus taught is something that happens to us here and now is this life. It means living a life that strives to be whole and true to God’s way of love. When we focus on heaven as the reward in the next life for good behavior in this life, it turns Christianity into a religion of requirements rather than what it is—a faith based on our love and devotion to God and God’s love and devotion to us. And as far as who is eligible, I believe that God’s invitation to all of creation for all eternity has a similar ring to that invitation we say each week: No matter who you are, no matter where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here!
So, I truly believe that even we don’t know have eyewitness reports about heaven to depend on, we do know that our loving God wants for us freedom, joy, peace, and wholeness in this life, and in death, and in life beyond death. And I don’t know about you, but to me that sounds like a heavenly way to spend eternity. Amen.
Copyright © 2007 Kathleen Crockford