24 Pentecost 2007 Zion, Washington

During October, the readings were generally about money matters since that's that traditional month for Every Member Canvasses and all of the other stewardship campaigns. But during November, the readings turn to thoughts of heaven, starting with All Saints' Sunday. The theme continues today. The gospel for today is the story of an attempt by a group of Sadducees to expose the absurdity of the idea of the resurrection of the dead by asking Jesus what happens in heaven to people who have been married more than one time. More precisely, what happens to people who are widowed and remarry; in this case, remarry and remarry and remarry and remarry. But, as St. Paul will do later on, Jesus says that life here on earth and life in heaven are two very different types of existence. Jesus says, "In heaven there will be no marriage... because they are equal to angels and children of God."

St. Paul wrote, in I Corinthians 15, "And what you sow is not the body which is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain." Which is to say, life on earth and life in heaven are as different as a seed is from a plant - or to use my favorite example, life on earth is an acorn. Life in heaven is an oak tree. But to try to describe being an oak tree to an acorn would be as difficult as trying to describe life as an air breather to a fetus who is warm and cozy and comfortable and secure in its mother's water-world... or to describe heaven to us on earth.

At the end of the Gospel reading, Jesus says, "But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." This addresses two points: First, Jesus referred to a book of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) which the Sadducees considered the only literal sources of law and truth. So he was referring to a book, the Book of the Exodux, upon which they based their theology. Second, Jesus quotes Moses calling God the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. What you may have missed is that Moses says you are the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, rather than you were the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; inferring that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are still alive.

It may seem like a small point to us, since we accept the resurrection of the dead as a basic tenet of the Christian faith and we are so familiar with these Bible stories; but for the Sadducees who heard this for the first time, as they say, "it was huge!" Quite possibly, it was the first time that they had realized what was right before their eyes. (And please believe me, over the years, I've come across any number of familiar passages of scripture in which I find something new and amazing. And all my life, I've heard wise, old people say, "I never knew that before.") It really is possible that the Sadducees had not considered the verb tense as the crucial, pivotal point that indicates the resurrection of the dead.

Yes. The focus of the readings today is on the nature of heaven, but also take this point: that it really is worth while to read those daily Scripture readings (from Forward: Day by Day) very carefully, even the familiar ones; because you just might stumble on a revelation from God that will change your life and expand your faith in God. And it might be as little a thing as the tense of a verb or a "throw away phrase". (My favorite throw away phrase is in the Acts of the Apostles when the Council of Jerusalem was debating whether or not converts to Christianity had to be circumcised, follow the Jewish dietary laws and follow the Jewish Sabbath laws. The revelatory phrase for me was, "And there was much discussion." Think about it! What a gigantic understatement! They were probably at each other's throats, but all we get is "much discussion.")

And another thing that the Gospel reading does is open up speculation about what heaven is really like; since there's no marriage in heaven and the previous ones are all irrelevant.

So what's your image of heaven? The Greeks and Romans thought of the Elysian Fields. The Hebrews saw life after death as Scheol, the place of shadows. Even today, according to the TV ads, most people think of heaven as a place where you wear a long white hospital gown, sit on clouds, and perhaps play a harp. I side with St. John the Divine. Do you remember last week's reading from the Revelation? "I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and people and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying in a loud voice, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!' And all the angels stood around the throne and round the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God saying, 'Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God for ever and ever! Amen.'"

That, for me, is a closer description of heaven than a place of shadows or the Elysian Fields (or even the Champs Elysees in Paris) or sitting on clouds, strumming harps, because I have been fascinated by things here on earth, and I watched them over and over again. So I think it's completely possible for me to be eternally fascinated by God. And I also know that heaven is beyond the limits of time and space, so the image of heaven in the Revelation to St. John the Divine, is only a partial image, an attempt to describe an oak tree to a bunch of acorns.

Consequently, I understand us, here at Zion, to be surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, who also, beyond time and space, worship God. Some of us have felt the presence of a person who has passed away, as though that person is right beside us. I can believe that and also understand that that person is also worshiping God at the same time. It would be difficult for a fetus to grasp the idea of flying in an airplane or going to Wal-Mart or breathing air. How can we not expect it to be difficult for us to grasp what existence is like in heaven?

Perhaps the most compelling line in the scripture readings for today has nothing to do with describing life in heaven, but rather calls our attention to the most important thing in heaven. Job said, "I know that my Redeemer lives, and at last he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then from my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not as another." Or as the Prayer Book translates it, "I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though this body be destroyed, yet shall I see God; whom I shall see for myself and mine eyes shall behold, and not as a stranger."

Our heavenly reward is not Scheol: the somber Place of the Shadows of Judaism nor the great pleasure gardens that Islam describes, but rather the holy and glorious Presence of God, in whom we will take a perfect delight to worship, as God has taken a perfect delight in us, in the company of tribes and nations and tongues that are too many to number.

Consider this: There have been times when you have come into this holy room and have felt the Presence of God, or experienced a profound and calming sense of serenity, or been and converted to a deeper level of faith in God. This really is a fore-taste of heaven. This really is the House of God. The readings for today, as the Church year ends, point us toward heaven.

And, as you've seen from the opening hymn, today is also Veteran's Day. Frankly, I had an organist, once, who refused to play, "Onward, Christian Soldiers". But we were in Maine at the time and it was terribly important to be Politically Correct and to ignore some of the realities of life. The fact of the matter is that war is part of life on earth. The fact of the matter is that soldiers and veterans are part of life on earth because of war.

War is the most dramatic example of predatory evil that emerges from Greed. I can't think of a war that didn't have Greed as its primary motivation. I can't think of a war that didn't have devastating results for both the aggressors and the resistors. The Duke of Wellington, after inspecting the carnage on the battlefield at Waterloo, said, "The next saddest thing to a battle lost is a battle won."

But in the face of aggressive Greed, there are only two choices: to capitulate or to resist. Capitulation surrenders to the powers that be and to the consequences of those greedy powers. But resistance requires soldiers, fighters, whether they are active or passive, and the consequences are always costly and painful. Even the most passive resistor in modern history, Mahatma Gandhi, was killed by an assassin's bullet.

So, today as a nation, we honor our military veterans, whether they were part of a war or part of a peace; since the best way to maintain peace is to be prepared for war. And for anyone who has seen battle or befriended those who have, today is not a happy day, but a somber day, that is characterized by gratitude more than anything else. How can we not be grateful for those who have defended us from predatory evil, from greed and destruction?

The people who want to politicize this holiday or to celebrate it with any lightness, have no appreciation for the work of those men and women who are honored today. William Shakespeare wrote, "He jests at scars who never felt a wound." Yes. There are many more veterans who never saw action in battle - Thank God. And yet, there are those men and women who did see battle in one form or another, for whom gratitude is inadequate if it is not accompanied by support and encouragement as they move forward with their lives.

It's too easy to say, "Thank you" and move on. But the on-going costs of war require on-going attention, support and encouragement. Consider the scandal of the conditions at Walter Reed Hospital and the hardships that all of our veterans face when they have to seek medical treatment or other veterans' services. Simply saying "thanks" is simply not enough. We do well to find effective ways of addressing the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of veterans who find themselves in distress, so that our actions will speak louder than our words on days like today.

 Last week was the United Thank Offering Fall In-gathering because we, as Episcopalians, understand that gratitude without actions of generosity or sacrifice are functionally meaningless. So we put money in a box to fund good projects as visible evidence of our gratitude to God for our daily blessings.

On Veterans' Day, it serves us well not only to thank God for the good work of our veterans, but also to do some substantial good work to help in the on-going well-being of those who have served in the military. Today, we have considered heaven, and also give thanks for peace on earth.