We have all heard it said that Heaven will be a place full of extraordinary surprises because we will all see people there who we did not expect to see. And many who are there will be quite surprised to see us in Heaven, too!
So the story goes. To most of us, Heaven will be full of the unexpected because we do not really believe what Jesus says (Matthew 8:11). And for far too many of us, Heaven will be shockingly diverse (Revelation 7:9) because many of us still think we have private claims on God. We simply do not fully understand, not yet.
Nevertheless, when we all get there, everyone will get along famously, even joyously, and that will be a big surprise, too.
But it’s not like Free Will is going to be zapped from our brains or like we will have forgotten our former lives of strife with each other, with the individuals who angered us, with the groups we despised, or with the nations we fought. No.
Fact is, those of us who get there will have finally Freely Chosen to put on our big boy and big girl spiritual pants.
In The Message version of holy scripture (Galatians 3:27), spiritual maturity is described as looking as if we have dressed up in clothes we chose from our “adult faith wardrobe” rather than from among our old worn out childish attire.
Dressed in our grown-up outfits in Heaven, we will be finally full of peace within ourselves and finally full of understanding and compassion for everyone around us, people from every tribe and nation.
We will have a heavenly alliance with everyone— even those we would have felt uncomfortable or even indignant being around, even those with whom we would have never thought it appropriate to join together in worship.
We will be clothed in a level of spiritual maturity in Christ—exhibited by our love for all others—which we finally will have actually yearned for and which we finally will have obtained through the loving and patient guidance of the Holy Spirit. Yes, She will show us all how.
Dressed up magnificently in robes befitting Heaven. Yet, no one outshining another. All worshipping together. In the same place. In the vastness of God’s love. In every language. Hallelujah!
But why wait? On this eve of 2023, aren’t we yet capable of putting on our heavenly attire? Come on! Let’s worship together now! Why not? Why wait until the surprise of Heaven? If we truly pray for peace on earth, why not let our behavior reflect that prayer? Matthew. 6:9-10: “This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
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For further information, see the following article, in which the photograph above can be found: https://readthespirit.com/religious-holidays-festivals/yale-historian-david-blight-helps-us-to-remember-african-americans-invented-memorial-day/
My prayer is that the Body of Christ finds renewal in its ability to worship and work together, as in its earliest beginning: different voices, different perspectives, different gifts, but the same Jesus of Nazareth.
My prayer is for a miracle of unity in the God-made wonderfully diverse body of Christ, not sameness but diversity, not uniformity of ways to love and live and be in our families but the matchless power of love for neighbor (“other”) as self.
My prayer is that we do not give up on that, no matter what. We can do it, by God’s grace. Yes, we can. Let’s remember God’s original promise. That’s the promise to keep! No division! No confusion! What’s not to understand? No, it isn’t easy. It never was. It’s sacrificial.
“And so I am giving a new commandment to you now—love each other just as much as I love you. Your strong love for each other will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
I desire neither earthly kingdom, nor even freedom
from birth and death.
I desire only the deliverance from grief of all those
afflicted by misery.
Oh Lord, lead us from the unreal to the real; from
darkness to light; from death to immortality.
May there be peace in celestial regions.
May there be peace on earth.
May the waters be appeasing.
May herbs be wholesome and may trees and plants
bring peace to all.
May all beneficent beings bring peace to us.
May your wisdom spread peace all through the world.
May all things be a source of peace to all and to me.
Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti (Peace, Peace, Peace).
–M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence
A Sermon: The Greatest Love of All
Webster defines sermon as religious discourse delivered by clergy. The listing for sermon in Dictionary.com includes a modern take on it: long, tedious speech.
Are sermons helpful? Is a sermon a show or a teaching? Is it useful teaching? Or is it typically a soon-forgot familiar weekly distraction for declining numbers of us who might just take a nap while listening to it, like we do during our favorite television shows?
To avoid the tedium of repetition, sermons these days sometimes entertain like television shows, sometimes including video clips or singing shouting athletic preachers.
The ancient sermons of Jesus were far from tedious, though I don’t think he jumped around or sang or whooped. Yet, his teachings were real rousers that unnerved listeners, made some angry, and never put anyone to sleep, as Apostle Paul’s did, as far as we know.
What I admire most about the teachings of Jesus is their freshness, their newness. They never fail to give his hearers fresh new ways to think about whatever he sets them to thinking about, new ways to understand and respond to old traditions, fresh outlooks on divisive cultures.
My favorite is his sermon on the greatest commandments. I’m awakened by his insight that while we’re not God, we’re made like God and can (must!) love thusly. And I’m taken aback by the starkness of his clarification on how we must measure our love for God.
In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great, first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
In our contemporary vernacular, like is not a compelling word. Indeed, it’s a rather weak word: I like frozen yogurt. Susan likes to go swimming. Your brother, Fred, looks like my cousin Henry. A sermon is sometimes like a weekly television show.
But, on the contrary, Jesus used the word like to illustrate critical concepts. He used like to break down something he really wants listeners to get: The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed (Matthew 13:31). The kingdom of heaven is like leaven (Matthew 13:33). The kingdom of heaven is like hidden treasure (Matthew 13:44). Using their everyday language and familiar experiences, Jesus helped his first-century listeners perceive truth.
What is that truth?
The kingdom of heaven is like a tiny mustard seed which, when planted by a farmer, can grow to be the biggest of plants, even a tree that will be a place where birds can live!
What is that truth?
The kingdom of heaven is like the smallest bit of yeast which, when a baker mixes it with a large amount of flour, will cause it all to rise!
What is that truth?
The kingdom of heaven is like hidden treasure! Like a young sheepherder whose own family doesn’t see his king potential. Like a child, born in a barn, whose vast greatest is yet to be known.
What is that truth?
We are all made by God to be lovers of God; yes, we can! But the only true measure of our success at that is the measure of our God-like love for all others: our inclusive love of all our neighbors, a love as deep as the love we have for ourselves, for our own families, for our own countries. Yes, we can, and we must! All right theologies, all purposes of God, every aspect of obedience and honor we show to God rest on that.
This morning when I was going through some bibles, notes, and other such worship materials belonging to my mother (who died in 2014), I noticed a well-worn pamphlet her lifelong best friend gave her more than forty years ago when she was facing difficulties. My mom faced and overcame many difficulties. The pamphlet is titled, Scripture Confessions for Healing: Life-Changing Words of Faith for Every Day.
I’d like to share one page from it with you:
I Will Not Give Up
“Even though I may be surrounded by oppressors, I am never smothered or crushed by them. I may suffer embarrassments and become perplexed, and it may seem that there is no way out, but I still will not be driven to despair. Even though I may be pursued, persecuted, and hard driven, God will never desert me and make me stand alone. Even though I may be struck down to the ground, I will never be struck out or destroyed. No matter what difficulties or obstacles may come my way, I will never, never, never quit!I will not faint in the time of adversity because God is with me. I am strong and very courageous. I am persistent and undaunted in my faith. I shall never quit, and I will not yield. I will not bow my knee to sickness. I am steadfast and unmovable. I am valiant and fearless, determined and resolute in my faith. I am strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. No weapon formed against me shall prosper. I will not lose heart; I will not weaken or cave in. Victory is mine. I am relentless in my pursuit of total and complete wellness and wholeness for my body.”
Scripture references: Joshua 1:9, Hebrews 13:5, 2 Corinthians 4:8-10
A sermon by Valarie Kaur presented at Middle Church on April 28, 2017
The Well of Dyersburg 