"WHAT COMES NEXT?"

Tradition has determined along the way that this was Jesus talking about heaven– about a place where He will come and get us and take us to live forever.

Most of our long-standing images and notions of "heaven" do have some "biblical" basis. In the Book of Revelation, chapter 21, there is a vivid description of "a new Jerusalem" that time and tradition have adopted as a supposed genuine image of "heaven." Verse 21 says that there are "12 gates" made from "12 pearls." (Hence, we speak of "the pearly gates.") And it says that "the great street of the city" is made of "pure gold...." (Thus, the concept of walking on streets of gold when we all get to heaven.) There are also walls around this place, it says, that are made of 12 layers of different fine and valuable jewels. Makes "heaven" sound fabulous, doesn't it?!

(Of course, never mind that the Book of Revelation is a kind of literature known as an "apocalyptic" in which everything is very symbolic,
and what we are to get from it is the bottom-line idea...in this case, that – in the end – good triumphs over evil: God wins...and so do we!)

Now, along with those pearly gates and streets of gold, we all have
our own personal images of what "heaven" would be...but who's really correct? We all know that you can find out anything on the Internet, right?! So – just for the heck of it – I did an on-line search for "what heaven will be like." My search produced 2,734,851 possible sites. I only scanned over the first 30 or so (I do have a little life going here!), and I discovered that concepts of heaven must be based on personal interests, because among the sites I found were: Programmer's Heaven, Screen Saver Heaven, Nerd's Heaven, Rugby Heaven, Biker Heaven, Veggie Heaven, 8-Track Heaven, Desktop Heaven, Hot Rod Heaven, Video Game Heaven, Hi-Fi Heaven, Homebrew Heaven Brewing Supplies, Fisherman's Heaven, (or for the specialists) Catfish Heaven, Musical Heaven, Wallpaper Heaven, Flora's Chocolate Heaven, Dog Heaven (didn't see Cat Heaven, which doesn't surprise you "dog people," I'm sure), Pinball Heaven, Neanderthal Heaven (wonder which government officials go there?) and... Queen Heaven, which probably comes closest to matching that "biblical" heaven I described...what with the gold and jewels and all).

When Jesus spoke to the disciples about a "house" with many mansions or rooms in it, he may not have been speaking only of a "place" or just about "heaven." Those familiar words that began today's reading come from a section of John's Gospel known as "Jesus' Farewell Discourse." They've shared the "Last Supper" and Jesus has been making references to how He would be going away and to death and betrayals. The disciples are confused and growing quite nervous. "What's next?," they're wondering.

So Jesus says, "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me." Or, as it might be translated, "Keep believing in God; keep believing in me." He's encouraging them...reminding them...directing them to trust that, ultimately, their souls are safe in God's hands.

"My Father's house," in ancient Hebrew thought, would have meant "my Father's family." So, Jesus is saying, in essence, that "there is room for all of you in God's family." The disciples – and we – are joined in a relationship with God, through Jesus Christ, that promises we will always belong with God and will always be a part of God. Jesus said, "Do you not believe that I am in God and God in me?" We also know that Jesus once said to those around Him, "The kingdom – the realm – of God is within you." God in Jesus, Jesus in God. God within us, us in Jesus. You see...it's all about relationship.

In their book, God's Partners: Lay Christians at Work, Barbara Wendland and Stanley Menking wrote, "Biblical faith says you are God's partner. To God, you aren't a slave whose only duty is to do what you are told. You aren't even an employee who agrees to do work in exchange for pay. You are a real partner whom God invites to share the responsibility for carrying out God's plan for the world .... God coming to you in Jesus gives you the freedom to be who you are: God's partner .... God's coming to you in Jesus, however, is not a demand. It is an invitation. God doesn't tell you, This is what you must be! God says instead, This is what you can be! So when you encounter Jesus, you can say not only, There God is, but also, There I am."

Jesus told the disciples that they would do even greater things than he had done! How could that be possible? They were just a bunch of goofballs who had dropped their nets and put down their parchments and left their homes to follow Jesus, but Jesus was, well...God! How could they do greater things than He had done? What would happen to them when He was gone?

If we read on, as we will in weeks to come, we'll hear Jesus tell the disciples about the coming of the Holy Spirit. God was at work in the world through Jesus...now God would be at work in all of us through the Holy Spirit. There is nothing to fear; the relationship with Christ does not end but goes on and on.

We need to believe what Jesus said: "If you ask for anything in my name, I will do it." Now that's not a blank check for every whim we may have; it means that, if we align our desires and spirits with the desires and spirit of Christ, there is nothing we cannot achieve on Christ's behalf.

There is evidence of that truth right here among us who are a part of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches. Just this week, our Fellowship's Founder and Moderator, the Reverend Elder Troy Perry, issued a news release that said, in part: "For the past 33 years, Metropolitan Community Churches have challenged the [worldwide Christian] Church to re-examine God's Word as it relates to homosexuality. Thanks to the boldness, faithfulness and ministry of MCCers like you, the [issue] of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered persons in the Church has moved to the forefront of almost every Christian denomination. Together, we have forever changed the face of Christianity.

"Now comes one of the most significant theological breakthroughs in my 33 years of ministry with MCC. I'm holding in my hands a copy of The New Oxford Annotated Bible, Third Edition. This is the world's premier study Bible -- and in a major breakthrough for GLBT people of faith everywhere -- its footnotes and study materials incorporate many of MCC's biblical interpretations and views. All-in-all, the world renowned biblical scholars who prepared The New Oxford Annotated Bible have adopted a great deal of MCC's own scholarship and theology: There is no biblical [blanket] condemnation of homosexuality -- only prohibitions against its misuse, just as there is no biblical blanket condemnation of heterosexuality, only prohibitions against misuse of that gift."

Church, this really is a major break-through. And it's happened because we – believers within M.C.C. and our friends and supporters all over the world – have continued to believe in Jesus Christ, have continued to work as partners with God to bring forth greater truth to the world...AND because we have believed Jesus' promise that "in the house of God are many rooms" – in the family of God there is a place for ALL of us. A place not just for today but for all eternity!

Some people claim that getting to heaven is the ultimate goal of the Christian life. I disagree! The ultimate goal is to live in an intimate relationship with God, joining in the continuing ministry of Jesus in this life. "Heaven" is the natural "next step" of an eternal life spent in alignment with the desires and spirit of Christ!

Like the disciples, we may often grow confused and nervous, wondering, "What comes next?" But Jesus says to us today, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me." When we enter into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, we are genuine partners...true family...eternally connected to a source of life and freedom and wholeness that nothing can take away!

So when we sing some of the old hymns about "flying away" to a "home" in a "mansion in the sky," they're not meant to be taken as what we literally believe to be true about heaven...but we can enjoy them as symbols of what we believe to be true about our lives: that whatever comes next, we will be alive and free and whole with God. And that is truly something to sing about! Amen!

Amen and God Bless.

MCC St. Louis - Check Us Out!

This page hosted by Get your own, Free Homepage