Thoughts of heaven
Today's readings point us towards thoughts of heaven. Heaven has often been a subject of discussion and debate in the church - it has also been used as the great contrast to hell. But simply to judge in such a black and White way is to ignore the grace of God in calling his people to him.
For years some preachers have earned their living out of frightening people about what hell might be like - heaven is not a wonderful gift but an alternative to the darkest and most painful experience imaginable.
The American preacher Billy Graham once said, 'it is so easy to receive Christ that millions stumble over it's sheer simplicity.'
Heaven is a gift and a gift isn't something that is earned but something that is freely given to give joy to the person receiving the gift.
And so our thoughts should never be on the perils of hell but on the benefits and privileges of having a place in God's kingdom. Our thoughts should not be on how we or others may be punished but on what we or others might miss out on.
The prophecy of Isaiah (25:1-9) offers a wonderful picture - a place where tears will be wiped away, a place where there will be for all people a feast of rich food and well matured wines.
It will be in this place that God destroys the shroud that covers people - that shroud of fear or loneliness or anger or hate or worry... That shroud that stops us from connecting perfectly with our neighbour or even with God...
Isaiah tells the people 'let us be glad and rejoice in salvation'.
And this theme of rejoicing is continued by paul in his letter to the Philippians (4:1-9).
Paul, writing his letter from Rome knows that his life is under threat, that there are plenty of people ready to kill him, but he doesn't care - he will work in the time God gives him on earth to proclaim the God who saved him and who wants to save others. And he will do it with rejoicing - the theme of rejoicing continues and it's a great lesson for the church and for us as individuals today - we should be seen to be people rejoicing as we celebrate good news of a Saviour who gave his life for us...
And then we have the gospel (matt 22:1-14) and the parable of the wedding banquet...
Invitations are sent out but people don't agree to come, and so the king sends out his messengers with more detIls - details of The food and how grand it will all be - but still people don't come - and so eventually anyone is invited...
And that is the Christian gospel message today - invites are out for everyone - all we need to do is respond. But sometimes we can over-complicate things - sometimes we rely on our own ideas and methods, sometimes we're too busy to do something or we think it should be someone else's job... Sometimes we get our priorities confused and think material things will be all we need to be happy or work a bit harder to get more money which we then may not even have time to spend...
It's easy to make excuses for not doing something - it's easy to find things which can get in the way of a relationship with God or our commitment to his church - but Isaiah and Paul are reminding us that the more we give, the more we get...
That is the gospel - by giving nothing at all God invites us into a relationship with him for ever, and by committing ourselves to that relationship we can begin to experience something of the incredible riches that God has promised for us, something that will bring us more and more joy and peace, even when life seems tough...
Surely goodness and loving mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever... Says Psalm 23 - this is the promise, a promise that God will never break...
And so we are invited to the feast of God's kingdom not in the future bit now - as we seek to make this kingdom more apparent in our lives, in our church, amongst family and friends and our communities and out into the world .
A Russian youth became a conscientious objector through reading Tolstoy and the new testament - he told the judge of loving enemies, doing good to those who are spiteful, of his belief that good wins over evil, love over hate...
The judge was quite understanding but he said 'these laws you talk about are the laws of the kingdom of God and it has not come yet'...
The young man replied, 'sir, I recognise it has not come for you, nor yet for Russia or a lot of the world. But the kingdom of God has come for me! I cannot go on killing and hating as though it had not come'
God's kingdom is here - may we recognise that fact, share in the joy of that knowledge and do our part in opening the kingdom to all people...
Let's not complicate the message or be distracted from sharing the message - God, through Jesus, made it simple... Accept the invitation, live in the joy that nothing can separate us from God's love, and rejoice so that our rejoicing is noticed and people can't help asking us where to pick up their invitation...
God has redeemed us, he strengthens us and supports us, he loves us and wants us to share that love.... Amen
For years some preachers have earned their living out of frightening people about what hell might be like - heaven is not a wonderful gift but an alternative to the darkest and most painful experience imaginable.
The American preacher Billy Graham once said, 'it is so easy to receive Christ that millions stumble over it's sheer simplicity.'
Heaven is a gift and a gift isn't something that is earned but something that is freely given to give joy to the person receiving the gift.
And so our thoughts should never be on the perils of hell but on the benefits and privileges of having a place in God's kingdom. Our thoughts should not be on how we or others may be punished but on what we or others might miss out on.
The prophecy of Isaiah (25:1-9) offers a wonderful picture - a place where tears will be wiped away, a place where there will be for all people a feast of rich food and well matured wines.
It will be in this place that God destroys the shroud that covers people - that shroud of fear or loneliness or anger or hate or worry... That shroud that stops us from connecting perfectly with our neighbour or even with God...
Isaiah tells the people 'let us be glad and rejoice in salvation'.
And this theme of rejoicing is continued by paul in his letter to the Philippians (4:1-9).
Paul, writing his letter from Rome knows that his life is under threat, that there are plenty of people ready to kill him, but he doesn't care - he will work in the time God gives him on earth to proclaim the God who saved him and who wants to save others. And he will do it with rejoicing - the theme of rejoicing continues and it's a great lesson for the church and for us as individuals today - we should be seen to be people rejoicing as we celebrate good news of a Saviour who gave his life for us...
And then we have the gospel (matt 22:1-14) and the parable of the wedding banquet...
Invitations are sent out but people don't agree to come, and so the king sends out his messengers with more detIls - details of The food and how grand it will all be - but still people don't come - and so eventually anyone is invited...
And that is the Christian gospel message today - invites are out for everyone - all we need to do is respond. But sometimes we can over-complicate things - sometimes we rely on our own ideas and methods, sometimes we're too busy to do something or we think it should be someone else's job... Sometimes we get our priorities confused and think material things will be all we need to be happy or work a bit harder to get more money which we then may not even have time to spend...
It's easy to make excuses for not doing something - it's easy to find things which can get in the way of a relationship with God or our commitment to his church - but Isaiah and Paul are reminding us that the more we give, the more we get...
That is the gospel - by giving nothing at all God invites us into a relationship with him for ever, and by committing ourselves to that relationship we can begin to experience something of the incredible riches that God has promised for us, something that will bring us more and more joy and peace, even when life seems tough...
Surely goodness and loving mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever... Says Psalm 23 - this is the promise, a promise that God will never break...
And so we are invited to the feast of God's kingdom not in the future bit now - as we seek to make this kingdom more apparent in our lives, in our church, amongst family and friends and our communities and out into the world .
A Russian youth became a conscientious objector through reading Tolstoy and the new testament - he told the judge of loving enemies, doing good to those who are spiteful, of his belief that good wins over evil, love over hate...
The judge was quite understanding but he said 'these laws you talk about are the laws of the kingdom of God and it has not come yet'...
The young man replied, 'sir, I recognise it has not come for you, nor yet for Russia or a lot of the world. But the kingdom of God has come for me! I cannot go on killing and hating as though it had not come'
God's kingdom is here - may we recognise that fact, share in the joy of that knowledge and do our part in opening the kingdom to all people...
Let's not complicate the message or be distracted from sharing the message - God, through Jesus, made it simple... Accept the invitation, live in the joy that nothing can separate us from God's love, and rejoice so that our rejoicing is noticed and people can't help asking us where to pick up their invitation...
God has redeemed us, he strengthens us and supports us, he loves us and wants us to share that love.... Amen
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