Worry Less About Heaven and Be More Present

I thought about skipping the lectionary this week because the gospel is problematic.

It is a discussion about the Jewish tradition of levirate marriage, this idea that it a man’s responsibility to marry his brother’s childless widow in order to produce an heir.

It’s very patriarchal and highlights the first-century cultural idea of women as property.

The woman in the gospel had no say in this arrangement.

She was passed from brother to brother like a hand-me-down.

But, as I have said before, we can’t just ignore Scriptural passages that we don’t like.

It’s important for us to talk about them.

And, as he often does, Jesus tries to guide his students—or, in this case, religious leaders trying to trap him—into thinking about things differently.

He doesn’t tell them they have incorrectly interpreted the Law.

But he redirects them.

He tells them, in the age of resurrection, this hypothetical situation is irrelevant.

In our tradition, Luther talks about right-hand and left-hand kingdoms.

The left-hand kingdom is the secular or earthly realm which is governed by law and authority.

Where questions about who you marry matter.

The right-hand kingdom is the heavenly realm which is governed by grace.

Where only spiritual things matter.

In Lutheran terms, Jesus is telling the Sadducees that left-hand kingdom problems are not relevant in the right-hand kingdom.

Because we live in the left-hand kingdom and we have limited capability to understand the right-hand kingdom, this passage is confusing.

Reading something we don’t understand is uncomfortable—especially where our faith is concerned.

We’d much rather things were black and white.

Unfortunately, in matters of faith, there is ALOT of gray.

Worrying what heaven will be like is a useless endeavor.

Because we cannot compare this life to resurrected life.

Most of you know that I like to read.

When I’m reading for pleasure, I will often read Stephen King or Dean Koontz.

Dean Koontz wrote a series of books about a character called Odd Thomas.

Odd is able to see dead people.

Odd’s soulmate is a woman named Stormy Llewellyn.

Stormy refers to this life as “boot camp” because it prepares us for what is next.

But just like the boot camp that prepares soldiers for war, the preparation is incomplete.

Boot camp gives survival skills to soldiers.

But it cannot prepare them for the sights, sounds, and psychological trauma of war.

Similarly, this life can only do so much to help us understand resurrection.

Jesus says in the age of resurrection, we can no longer die.

But so much of our life is defined by our mortality.

It is nearly impossible for us to comprehend what it will be like to no longer die.

Our lives are defined by our finiteness.

We are born, we live, and we die.

In the age of resurrection, we can longer die.

We become infinite, existing outside of time as we know it.

And our human minds cannot grasp all that that entails.

Because finite minds are incapable of understanding infinity.

What we know about the age of resurrection is that it will be wonderful beyond our imagining.

In Revelation, we read “Then I saw new heavens and a new earth. The former heavens and the former earth had passed away, and the sea existed no longer. I also saw a new Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down out of heaven from God, beautiful as a bride and groom on their wedding day. And I heard a loud voice calling from the throne, ‘Look! God’s Tabernacle is among humankind! God will live with them; they will be God’s people, and God will be fully present among them. The Most High will wipe away every tear from their eyes. And death, mourning, crying and pain will be no more, for the old order has fallen.’”

God will be fully present among us.

We will be immersed in divine presence.

And, although we believe in God’s presence is all around us now, we are frequently unaware of it.

The difference is, in the age of resurrection, we will be aware of God’s presence—ALWAYS.

We will revel in it, and it will be like a celebration that never ends.

And death, mourning, crying and pain will be no more.

In the age of resurrection, the thing that can so often dominates our lives—our mortality—no longer exists.

There will be no death—not our own and not our loved ones’.

No mourning our losses.

No pain—physical or emotional.

Only the joy of being in God’s presence.

And we will finally be able to understand the enormity of God’s love for us. 

Now there are some—perhaps even some here—that may be troubled by Jesus’ response.

We want to be with our loved ones in the age of resurrection.

Our idea about resurrection is that we will have all the good things of this life and none of the bad.

I’m not going to stand up here and tell you that you won’t.

All I am saying—all the text is saying—is that the age of resurrection will be different.

We cannot grasp WHAT WILL BE from the perspective of this life and WHAT IS.

And it is futile for us to try to.

I think the real danger in spending time wondering what resurrection will be like is we risk missing the here and now.

I am a planner.

It is hard for me to be in the moment.

Michael is a Disney fanatic and I guess it’s fair to say that he turned me into one as well.

We’ve easily been to WDW over 30 times, sometimes going more than once a year.

Until I met Michael, I was never really a parade person.

But he introduced me to the Disney parades.

I can remember the first one we saw together.

It was called “Mickey Mania”.

In addition to the usual character floats, there were skateboarders and cast members on scooter doing all sorts of acrobatics.

It was quite a spectacle.

Now, I love Disney parades.

I appreciate the creativity and the performance.

But because I am a planner, I have trouble being in the moment.

As much as I enjoy the parade, I’m thinking about the next ride we’re going to go on.

Or where we have dinner reservations that night.

I think worrying about heaven can be like that.

If we spend too much time worrying about what it’s going to be like and who is going to be there, we risk missing out on the present.

Our life in this world is a miracle.

We are witness to the wonders of creation every single day.

But many of us miss them.

We get wrapped up in the minutiae of the day.

So, I challenge you, as I have before, to try to live in the moment.

Don’t spend too much time planning for the future.

It’s not bad to plan but it can become a distraction—or even an obsession.

Be grateful for everything that you have.

Trust that God will provide your daily bread—physical, emotional, and spiritual—everything that you need.

And revel in God’s presence now—in the creation all around us and in our human siblings.

See the divine image in them.

Love them—as God loves you—unconditionally and beyond measure.

And know that, as wonderful as this life can be, the resurrection will be better.

Because when we are God’s people and God is fully present with us—when we are so immersed in the divine presence that we are always aware of God’s presence—we will experience joy beyond our comprehension.

May this contemplation on God’s word keep our hearts and minds on Christ Jesus.

Amen.