Heaven Can Wait
Sermon
Sermons on the Gospel Readings
Series II, Cycle B
In a popular Hollywood movie starring Warren Beatty, Beatty plays a quarterback destined to lead the Los Angeles Rams into the Superbowl. But Beatty is killed in an accident and zoomed prematurely to heaven. Neither he nor heaven are ready for each other, so Beatty is reincarnated into the body of a murdered millionaire, allowing Beatty to buy the Rams and lead them to victory. Heaven could wait. And heaven can wait for us latter-day disciples of Jesus, too.
Our theme comes out of that long monologue and prayer in chapters 13-15 from the Gospel of John. Here John puts his theology on the lips of Jesus. These chapters are some of the richest sources for spiritual understanding in all of scripture. That these words and most of the entire Gospel of John are not the actual words is not of concern. Some contemporary New Testament scholars make this point. They tell us that in passing from a naive understanding of scripture where the words and stories are historically true, we come to a critical phase. Here we discover that much of the Bible is not literally true. Scripture did not fall from heaven infallible and without error. Unfortunately, many of us get stuck in this critical phase, thinking if it is a human document, the result of creative efforts to tell the biblical story, then there is little in the Bible having religious importance or authority. However, there is a phase beyond the critical phase and it is often called the "post-critical" phase.
The post-critical phase affirms that while most of the sayings and stories are not literally true, they may yet impact our spiritual understanding. In this sense, these chapters of John 13-17 can hardly fail to move us as it creatively portrays Jesus speaking to and praying for those who will represent him after his death. Just ponder the claim of this verse, "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another ... By this everyone will know that you are my disciples" (13:34-35). Or think of, "In my Father's house there are many dwelling places" (14:2). And from this same chapter, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you" (14:27).
We can go on to cite, "I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete" (16:11). Then, "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth" (16:13). Who really wants to argue over the historical veracity of such words? Even though they are not the actual words of Jesus, can we not hear Jesus speaking to us through these words? Such words are our Christian treasures and they have and will continue to nourish our discipleship for eons to come. Let us admit what modern scriptural scholarship tells us about the Bible. Historical veracity is not the issue. The issue is whether we can hear Jesus speaking to us through these words. Let us not allow our critical insights to cripple the words of God/Christ that lie behind such humanly created words of scripture. As long as the historical infallibility is not at issue, modern scriptural critics and conservative Christian believers can preach, study, and pray over scripture together.
Heaven Can Wait
Our text for today comes from John 17:6-19 where Jesus is praying for his disciples. Jesus is aware that his death awaits him and he continues his preparation for his followers to bear their witness without him. In this prayer, Jesus prays an interesting thing: "I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but to protect them from the evil one" (17:15). Jesus declares that it is not life from which we are saved. Salvation is rescue from the powers and forces, within and without, that destroy life and corrupt its meaning.
Robert McCracken, who followed Harry Emerson Fosdick at Riverside Church in New York City, told the story of an old-timer who always prayed from Psalm 55 at the weekly prayer meeting, "O that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest." But one evening, someone tired of this weekly life-weary recital mumbled, "Stick another feather in him, Lord, and let him go." We, however, do not need to object to an honest desire to finish one's life. The great American theologian and social critic, Reinhold Niebuhr, suffered several serious strokes in his later years. One day in talking with a friend, Niebuhr confessed that he didn't want to live any longer. His was an authentic wish for death and going over to God's love as revealed in Christ. Niebuhr might not sing the line from Psalm 55, but he might have sung the hymn that describes a solid Christian life,
The strife is o'er, the battle done;
The victory of life is won;
The song of triumph has begun:
Alleluia!
Our problem is that we wish for heaven prematurely. In some Christian traditions, the gospel is reduced to being saved and going to heaven. The whole realm of discipleship in this world -- other than recruiting other saved individuals -- is overlooked. John's Jesus thinks this is a danger for Christians after Jesus' death.
Some in our time have criticized "the Holy Roman Empire." This happened when the Roman Emperor Constantine abandoned Rome to the Barbarians and moved his capital to Constantinople, what we now call Istanbul. This left a political and civic vacuum in the west into which the church stepped, becoming the guarantor of order and security for the whole west of Europe. Ideally, the church ought not to be in the business of direct political and civic rule. The business of the church is to support all political and civic arrangements that coincide with Christian social ethics, and be the severe critic of these arrangements when they have become corrupted.
Yet to criticize the church for courageously taking up the burden of political and civic order when no other institution or force was available is to indulge in an unrealistic charge. Certainly political and civic power corrupted the church in many ways. Today we live in a tradition that disallows these powers to religion and religious institutions. This is what of the meaning of Jefferson's call for "a wall of separation" between church and state means. But in a time and day when there was no other possibility but chaos and intolerable insecurity, to fault the church for its sharp focus on this life -- not upon heaven, is one of the great chapters of church history, today's armchair scholars notwithstanding.
The Real Danger -- We Can't Wait On Life
In our text we must remember that Jesus' prayer says that the real danger is "the evil" one. John believes in the "evil one" as some force destroying faith and discipleship. But is John's and Jesus' "evil one" simply something that keeps us from the goal of heaven and deserting our earthly duties and responsibilities? There were many religious movements in John's day that understood religion as a means of escaping from this world and going over to the securities of immortality. The mood of John may have been infected by this take on religion.
However, biblical religion, including most of the New Testament, is not an otherworldly faith. The Bible does not disregard the next life with God. However, it's focus is on this world and this life. Jesus' call to inherit the kingdom of God was a new way of living in this world and in this life. Jesus' kingdom, driving his teachings and actions, was an earthly kingdom where God was in charge, and where love, justice, peace, and well-being were lived out among humans. Jesus' message was built upon the vision and hopes of the prophets of the Hebrew Bible. His concern was that the kingdom might arrive and we would be unprepared for it -- individually and socially.
The "evil one" tries to mask this calling for an earthly enactment of God's kingdom. The "evil one" feeds us with religion based on getting to heaven. So we take this comfort into ourselves and the evils of this world go on, unchallenged by much Christian teaching this day. There is a sense of serenity and peace about this individualistic gospel, pushing us toward heaven before our time -- at least in spiritual expectations.
However, when we dare to be Christ's witness in and for this world, we notice a peace and serenity that can outreach the rush for heaven's consolations. Jesus, in all of the gospels, tells us that when we care for the worldly needs of persons and society, we notice a quiet joy beyond all of the suffering and injustices we see. Yes, we can "burn out" in going this way. But the quickie-heaven folks experience the same thing. We must have places and structures that care for those who dive into the human mess and get worn-out in the struggle. Even in our worn-out moments, we can have a satisfaction that beats getting to heaven too quickly
Bottom Line
We can be thankful for this line in Jesus' prayer. He does not want to fish us out of this world prematurely. He simply wants a shield against the evil that wears down our worldly witness and work.
This does not mean that heaven has no meaning, or includes no hope for us. Granted a few Christian theologians have renounced belief in a life after death. They often just depict at death, our falling into the eternal ocean of God, like a drop of water. Conscious personality is not part of their convictions, but such a view is a tragic one. There is too much unresolved suffering for us not to care about those who never had a chance in life. And when Christians and people of other religious traditions have done their best for justice and love in this world, we must think of them too, being received into God's eternal grace. Heaven is an undeniable must, even for worldly Christians. Our only problem is that we want to get there too soon. Perhaps Jesus' prayer will keep us focused on the tasks at hand.
Our theme comes out of that long monologue and prayer in chapters 13-15 from the Gospel of John. Here John puts his theology on the lips of Jesus. These chapters are some of the richest sources for spiritual understanding in all of scripture. That these words and most of the entire Gospel of John are not the actual words is not of concern. Some contemporary New Testament scholars make this point. They tell us that in passing from a naive understanding of scripture where the words and stories are historically true, we come to a critical phase. Here we discover that much of the Bible is not literally true. Scripture did not fall from heaven infallible and without error. Unfortunately, many of us get stuck in this critical phase, thinking if it is a human document, the result of creative efforts to tell the biblical story, then there is little in the Bible having religious importance or authority. However, there is a phase beyond the critical phase and it is often called the "post-critical" phase.
The post-critical phase affirms that while most of the sayings and stories are not literally true, they may yet impact our spiritual understanding. In this sense, these chapters of John 13-17 can hardly fail to move us as it creatively portrays Jesus speaking to and praying for those who will represent him after his death. Just ponder the claim of this verse, "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another ... By this everyone will know that you are my disciples" (13:34-35). Or think of, "In my Father's house there are many dwelling places" (14:2). And from this same chapter, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you" (14:27).
We can go on to cite, "I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete" (16:11). Then, "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth" (16:13). Who really wants to argue over the historical veracity of such words? Even though they are not the actual words of Jesus, can we not hear Jesus speaking to us through these words? Such words are our Christian treasures and they have and will continue to nourish our discipleship for eons to come. Let us admit what modern scriptural scholarship tells us about the Bible. Historical veracity is not the issue. The issue is whether we can hear Jesus speaking to us through these words. Let us not allow our critical insights to cripple the words of God/Christ that lie behind such humanly created words of scripture. As long as the historical infallibility is not at issue, modern scriptural critics and conservative Christian believers can preach, study, and pray over scripture together.
Heaven Can Wait
Our text for today comes from John 17:6-19 where Jesus is praying for his disciples. Jesus is aware that his death awaits him and he continues his preparation for his followers to bear their witness without him. In this prayer, Jesus prays an interesting thing: "I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but to protect them from the evil one" (17:15). Jesus declares that it is not life from which we are saved. Salvation is rescue from the powers and forces, within and without, that destroy life and corrupt its meaning.
Robert McCracken, who followed Harry Emerson Fosdick at Riverside Church in New York City, told the story of an old-timer who always prayed from Psalm 55 at the weekly prayer meeting, "O that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest." But one evening, someone tired of this weekly life-weary recital mumbled, "Stick another feather in him, Lord, and let him go." We, however, do not need to object to an honest desire to finish one's life. The great American theologian and social critic, Reinhold Niebuhr, suffered several serious strokes in his later years. One day in talking with a friend, Niebuhr confessed that he didn't want to live any longer. His was an authentic wish for death and going over to God's love as revealed in Christ. Niebuhr might not sing the line from Psalm 55, but he might have sung the hymn that describes a solid Christian life,
The strife is o'er, the battle done;
The victory of life is won;
The song of triumph has begun:
Alleluia!
Our problem is that we wish for heaven prematurely. In some Christian traditions, the gospel is reduced to being saved and going to heaven. The whole realm of discipleship in this world -- other than recruiting other saved individuals -- is overlooked. John's Jesus thinks this is a danger for Christians after Jesus' death.
Some in our time have criticized "the Holy Roman Empire." This happened when the Roman Emperor Constantine abandoned Rome to the Barbarians and moved his capital to Constantinople, what we now call Istanbul. This left a political and civic vacuum in the west into which the church stepped, becoming the guarantor of order and security for the whole west of Europe. Ideally, the church ought not to be in the business of direct political and civic rule. The business of the church is to support all political and civic arrangements that coincide with Christian social ethics, and be the severe critic of these arrangements when they have become corrupted.
Yet to criticize the church for courageously taking up the burden of political and civic order when no other institution or force was available is to indulge in an unrealistic charge. Certainly political and civic power corrupted the church in many ways. Today we live in a tradition that disallows these powers to religion and religious institutions. This is what of the meaning of Jefferson's call for "a wall of separation" between church and state means. But in a time and day when there was no other possibility but chaos and intolerable insecurity, to fault the church for its sharp focus on this life -- not upon heaven, is one of the great chapters of church history, today's armchair scholars notwithstanding.
The Real Danger -- We Can't Wait On Life
In our text we must remember that Jesus' prayer says that the real danger is "the evil" one. John believes in the "evil one" as some force destroying faith and discipleship. But is John's and Jesus' "evil one" simply something that keeps us from the goal of heaven and deserting our earthly duties and responsibilities? There were many religious movements in John's day that understood religion as a means of escaping from this world and going over to the securities of immortality. The mood of John may have been infected by this take on religion.
However, biblical religion, including most of the New Testament, is not an otherworldly faith. The Bible does not disregard the next life with God. However, it's focus is on this world and this life. Jesus' call to inherit the kingdom of God was a new way of living in this world and in this life. Jesus' kingdom, driving his teachings and actions, was an earthly kingdom where God was in charge, and where love, justice, peace, and well-being were lived out among humans. Jesus' message was built upon the vision and hopes of the prophets of the Hebrew Bible. His concern was that the kingdom might arrive and we would be unprepared for it -- individually and socially.
The "evil one" tries to mask this calling for an earthly enactment of God's kingdom. The "evil one" feeds us with religion based on getting to heaven. So we take this comfort into ourselves and the evils of this world go on, unchallenged by much Christian teaching this day. There is a sense of serenity and peace about this individualistic gospel, pushing us toward heaven before our time -- at least in spiritual expectations.
However, when we dare to be Christ's witness in and for this world, we notice a peace and serenity that can outreach the rush for heaven's consolations. Jesus, in all of the gospels, tells us that when we care for the worldly needs of persons and society, we notice a quiet joy beyond all of the suffering and injustices we see. Yes, we can "burn out" in going this way. But the quickie-heaven folks experience the same thing. We must have places and structures that care for those who dive into the human mess and get worn-out in the struggle. Even in our worn-out moments, we can have a satisfaction that beats getting to heaven too quickly
Bottom Line
We can be thankful for this line in Jesus' prayer. He does not want to fish us out of this world prematurely. He simply wants a shield against the evil that wears down our worldly witness and work.
This does not mean that heaven has no meaning, or includes no hope for us. Granted a few Christian theologians have renounced belief in a life after death. They often just depict at death, our falling into the eternal ocean of God, like a drop of water. Conscious personality is not part of their convictions, but such a view is a tragic one. There is too much unresolved suffering for us not to care about those who never had a chance in life. And when Christians and people of other religious traditions have done their best for justice and love in this world, we must think of them too, being received into God's eternal grace. Heaven is an undeniable must, even for worldly Christians. Our only problem is that we want to get there too soon. Perhaps Jesus' prayer will keep us focused on the tasks at hand.
