Hello,
This morning I took my four-wheel drive Ford Ranger to church. We’ve had some snow, so the trek up and
down our lane and up and over the ridge is more reliably made with all four
wheels taking hold of the road, rather than just the front two wheels on my
Mini. The other difference between
my pick-up and my Mini is that I have my radio stations preset in my Mini, and
I don’t in my truck. So, when I am
in my truck I am sort of stuck listening to whatever I was listening to when I
was in a truck-driving mood. This
morning I found myself listening to the “Oldies” station, which is the music
that I grew up listening to. The
song that was playing was “Imagine” by John Lennon of Beatles fame.
If you have heard this song, you, can understand why I found it ironic
to be listening to it on my way to church.
“Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try.”
There
I was on my way to church, and I was being asked to imagine something that, if
true, would tell me that my journey to church was nothing less than a wild
goose chase and that I should turn around and go back home.
Although I do not believe that heaven is
the central concern of Christianity (I believe that Jesus is.), heaven is
certainly a pretty thick cord entwined in the rope of the Christian faith. So, having said that, if I were to do
what John Lennon was asking,,,to imagine there’s no heaven….the first thing
that I would find myself asking is, “What is heaven, that I might imagine it’s
nonexistence.”
As I read the Bible, I see the Bible’s
answer to be, “Heaven isn’t a “what”.
Heaven is a “when”. Heaven
is when the presence and the grace of God is all in all….when God’s presence
and grace is no longer bound by time or space….when God’s presence and grace is
no longer tainted by suffering and pain….when God’s presence and grace is so
full and complete that darkness vanishes….when God’s promises are no longer
faith, but sight.
Given that, I find myself agreeing with
John Lennon. It is easy to imagine
that there is no heaven, because when I look around me it seems like heaven
will never happen. There is so
much hatred to be seen. I see so
many people being treated as if
they are worth nothing, and sometimes I feel that way about myself. I see the might of tragedy take
people’s lives and crush them into dust.
I see my ability to dig myself into deeper holes thriving like an
antibiotic resistant bacteria, leaving me hopeless in an ever darkening
pit. Given what I see when I look
around, it is easy, as John Lennon says, to imagine that there is no heaven.
But when I get to church and see a God who
is so at one with creation that God would incarnate himself in creation….when I
see a God whose love for his creation is so all consuming that he would take on
all the suffering and pain that the creation could stir up….when I see a God
who on Easter morning trampled upon the power of death as if it was no mightier
than a picnic troubling ant….when I see a God whose promise takes hold of me in
splash of water that will never dry…..when I see a God who is so determined
that I know the depth of his love that he shoves his love and forgiveness down
my throat at the communion table.… when I look around at what God – not the
world – puts before my eyes – well, it’s not so easy to imagine there’s no
heaven. As a matter of fact, it’s
hard to imagine that there isn’t.
Come to church and see and imagine for
yourself!
Have a great week.
God’s grace and peace,
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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