Easter 5 (4/20/08) “Heaven”

John 14.1-14

Ever since my youthful days at summer church camp, I’ve loved the wonderful collection of songs we call African-American spirituals. We’d gather around the campfire and set loose with “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” or “Every Time I Feel the Spirit.” When the mood was more somber or reflective, we’d sing “Were You There” or “Steal Away to Jesus.” The spirituals captured the emotions in a way few other songs could do.

When I got older, I became more interested in the history of the spirituals—particularly in the way that in the days of slavery these songs would conceal very subversive thoughts. The masters would think it was lovely that their slaves were so happy, singing these simple and rhythmic songs; but all the while, the slaves would making it clear that things weren’t really so happy and certainly not so simple!

Perhaps the best example of this was a spiritual called “I Got Shoes”—“I got shoes, you got shoes, all God’s chillum got shoes; when I get to hebben gonna put on my shoes, gonna walk all over God’s hebben.” So far it’s a commentary on the fact that the slaves were kept shoeless so that they couldn’t run away, and it expresses the confidence that in God’s heaven, there is no slavery and all will have shoes. But then the singers would get to the refrain, they would glance up at the master’s house and sing, “Everybody talkin’ ‘bout hebben ain’t goin’ there”—a not too subtle proclamation that while they would indeed have their shoes in heaven, their masters, who were always talking about heaven as a way to keep the slaves docile and content, would in fact be spending their eternity elsewhere!

Of course wondering about heaven is not just the speculation of slaves. Christians have always wondered. Golden streets, pearly gates, heavenly choirs—lots of images, many based on the Bible, others not so much. But almost everyone thinks at least occasionally about what heaven might be like.

Interestingly enough, this is something Jesus didn’t spend much time talking about. Our gospel reading this morning is one of the few places where our Lord really talks about that place we call heaven. For that reason this passage is often read at funerals—but perhaps we don’t otherwise pay much attention. This morning let’s reflect on what Jesus says, and see if we can figure out what it means for our daily life.

Let’s review the setting. The conversation takes place just before the events in Jerusalem at the end of Jesus’ life. He has been talking about what is to come, and the disciples are confused and upset. “Don’t be worried,” Jesus tells them. “Believe in God, believe also in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s house.”

The first thing to notice is that phrase, “my Father’s house.” Whatever heaven is like, the most important thing we should know is that it will be like home—a place where we feel comfortable, a place where we feel we belong. When we go on a long journey, we almost always say it, don’t we? “It’s so good to be home.” Home is the place you can sink down in your favorite chair and relax, and let all your cares go. That’s what heaven is like—it’s like coming home after a long journey.

Henri Nouwen was a professor at Yale when I was there. One day someone asked him what heaven would be like. He thought for a moment, and then said, “Heaven will be like returning from a trip on an airplane. As you enter the terminal, you see all those faces, straining, trying to recognize you. God will be there, and he’s the one who will recognize you. He will say, “Hi Henri! Welcome home! I can’t wait to see your pictures!” Heaven, you see, is not only like being home, it is a place where Someone recognizes you, welcomes you, even loves you enough to be interested in your pictures! And of course that Someone is God Himself!

Jesus goes on to say that in the Father’s house “there are many rooms, and I am going to prepare a place for you.” Two things to notice here. The first is the “many rooms.” In Jesus’ time, people had the idea that heaven was a rather restricted place. Only a few privileged people would get in; the rest were out of luck. But that’s not what Jesus says. “Many rooms!” Plenty of room for all God’s children. No one needs to be left out. This, of course, was Jesus’ frequent message: that even the outcasts, the sinners, the rejected, the unwelcomed on earth, find a place in God’s house.

The other thing to notice is that Jesus prepares a place for us. That means we don’t have to worry about dropping in unexpectedly! Our place is ready. That’s a very comforting idea to me. Few of us are really ready to face death. Sometimes, when people are quite elderly or sick, they feel ready to die. But most of us are not ready; death usually comes quickly, unexpectedly. But God is never caught unexpectedly! He is ready for us, prepared for us, whether we live to be a hundred or die in our youth. And so his welcome is something that can be counted on, no matter what.

Then finally Jesus says, “You know the way that leads to the place I am going.” Thomas—always brutally honest—says, “Lord, we don’t have a clue where you are going; how do you expect us to know the way?” Jesus responds, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” Even here, in this private conversation with the disciples, Jesus refrains from saying very much about the place he is going. That’s a really important point: for Jesus, it isn’t important for us to understand all about heaven, our destination. What is important is to be on the right path.

When I was about eight years old, I went out for a walk in the park one day. Bidwell Park in Chico is 2400 acres—a huge park that goes for miles. I got to thinking about some things back home, not paying attention to where I was going, and before I knew it, I was lost. That’s often the way it is in life, and Jesus knew it! If we concentrate on the destination too much, we lose sight of the next step. What is important is to live each day, to follow Christ who is the Way, and not to worry too much about things we can’t really understand anyway. There’s an old gospel song that makes the same point: “Farther along we’ll know all about it; farther along we’ll understand why; Cheer up, my brother, live in the sunshine. We’ll understand it all by and by.” Our concern, you see, must be to live in the sunshine of God’s grace, to walk on the path today, trusting that it will, in fact, lead us to God.

E. Stanley Jones said it this way: “Jesus came, not so much to get people into heaven, but to get heaven into people.” We know that whatever lies at the end of our journey is going to be wonderful; we know that because Jesus himself has prepared it for us. But beyond that certainty, we can’t know much—and Jesus suggests that we not be overly concerned about things we cannot understand. What is important is to live each day in the way he taught us: to love one another, to serve God in all things, to follow Him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And if we walk in his ways, then the joy and wonder of heaven will be part of our lives right now. We will know, even as we live each day, his goodness and mercy; and we will look forward to dwelling in his house forever.