Heaven

There’s a story about a Sunday school teacher who was asking his class questions one day. He began, ‘If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale and gave all my money to the poor, would that get me into heaven ?’’No !’ the children all answered. ‘If I cleaned the Church every day, mowed the grass, and kept everything really clean and tidy, would that get me into heaven ?’ Again the answer came back, ‘No !’

‘Well then, if I was kind to all people and animals, and if I gave sweets to children, and chocolates and flowers to my wife, would that get me into heaven ?’ Once again the same answer came back, ‘No !’

‘Well’, continued the teacher, ‘then how can I get into heaven ?’

A 5 year old boy shouted out, ‘You’ve got to be dead !’

Sometimes the most obvious things stare us right in the face, but we miss them, and how true this is so often of our relationship with Jesus. In the gospel reading that we have heard today we have his famous statement, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life (John 14)’, and from the First letter of Peter (Ch.2) we are assured that ‘We are a chosen race, a Royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people…

And it’s those statements that I want to think about this morning, because both of them remind us of our calling… From time to time people tell me I’m the boss in the Church. Helen would no doubt support the fact that I rather like that idea ! Sadly it is not true ! The Church is about the people, God’s people gathered together in fellowship for prayer and worship, for support, for mission and for proclamation of the good news of Jesus.

‘We are a chosen race, a Royal Priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people…’ It may well be that we have not seen heaven. I, for one, struggle to get a picture of what heaven might even be like, but I’m sure that it will be a wonderful place, a place where we live closely with one another and with God.

But to glimpse heaven we do not need to be dead – glimpses of heaven are all around us, and that is what God has intended for us. He has created a world full of good things, and good opportunities. Sadly at times we have neglected our responsibilities in that world, sadly we have sometimes neglected our responsibilities to others, but the fact remains that the world has many wonders and many gifts for us to enjoy, both in beauty and splendour of scenery, and in people all around us.

But even more than just glimpsing signs of heaven around us, we are actually called to be glimpses of heaven for people around us – ‘A chosen race, a Royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people…’ We are called in our lives to live out, to reflect the love, compassion, peace, courage, hope and wisdom of Jesus. With the peace of Christ comes responsibilities…

But we are not given these grand titles for ourselves and then left just to fend for ourselves… Jesus provides all we need to live for him if we live with him. ‘I am the way and the truth and the life’. In some ways this verse is really difficult because it demands that we look to him, and only him for our answers in life, but doing that may not be a bad way to live.

I have said before that the Christians who achieve the most in terms of sharing the gospel or surviving difficult situations are those who give up most of their lives to Christ. God delivers in proportion to what we allow…

‘I am the way and the truth and the life’ is a statement of fact, but it is also an invitation to come closer to Jesus, to live our lives centred on him, to be strengthened by his glorious power, to be filled with his incredible compassion and understanding.

I once heard a little piece about Jesus being all things to all people. It suggested that Jesus may well have been Greek – He went into his father’s business, he lived at home until he was in his 30’s, he was sure his mother was a virgin, and she was sure he was God. Or perhaps he was Irish, he was always telling stories, and he loved green pastures, or perhaps Puerto Rican, his first name was Jesus, he was bilingual and he was constantly harassed by the authorities, or perhaps he was Californian, he never cut his hair, he walked around barefoot and he even started a new religion.

That may have been a joke but Jesus is all things for all people. He is the guide when the path seems dark, he is the light at the end of the tunnel, he is the hope through darkness, he is the wisdom and peace that we so often crave, he is the joy that knows no limits, he is love beyond the love we can even understand…

‘I am the way, the truth and the life’ is Jesus’ invitation to share in his life. It is his call to follow on new and exciting paths of discovery as he opens up the magic of his kingdom to us. Put like that it almost sounds like a fairy story, but this is not fairy story, because Jesus came to address big and serious issues, and he expects us too as well.

When he lived on earth, many people missed him. They were expecting a warrior, a soldier, but he came as a peacemaker. They were looking for a lion, but instead he came as a lamb. They were looking for a king, but he came as a servant. They were looking for liberation from Rome, but he submitted to the Roman cross.

In short they were looking for someone to fit in their mould – Jesus was the mould breaker and they missed him !

We are a chosen race, a Royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, with all of the privileges those things offer, but to enjoy them and to live them out faithfully we must submit to Jesus, the way ahead for us, the truth that is marked out for us and the life that never ends…

People missed him when he came to live on earth, people have missed him and his message since, today people continue to miss him, but millions and millions more have seen him and touched him, and felt him touching their lives… Jesus is the way and the truth and the life – let’s commit ourselves to following him, as we seek to glorify his name, and enjoy the wonders that he has prepared for us… AMEN