What kind of sermon could capture an imagination like mine? What sort of drama was unfolding which so drew me in that time as an ontological reality ceased to exist?
Heaven.
Ok. So why is that so interesting? Harps and clouds, and singing and seeing family. Sort of like a picnic, only forever, no beer and no shouting. Right? Dude. NO. That totally doesn't sound right to me. Nor does it sound like any fun. And that's what God totally wants for me, right? Fun?
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So I've been thinking a lot about what Jesus talked about when he was rollin' country-side that got him in so much trouble that they essentially skinned him like a moose, dragged him, half-dead (which is different than all-the-way dead), through the streets of Jerusalem, and then left him nailed to a tree to die (that would be all-the-way-dead). Frequently the gospel writers say he went out "preaching the good news" or saying that "the kingdom of God is near." Ooooookay. What in the world does that mean?
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I think a lot of Christians (and probably as a consequence, a lot of non-Christians) believe that Jesus was a teacher of morality. That he taught a life-code that if sought after diligently, would lead to happiness. or peace with fellow-man. or would entitle you to enter Heaven. They often look to the sermon on the Mount, otherwise known as the Beatitudes. If I have to do all that to get into heaven, I'm so screwed. And I know it. That's going to make me happy? Yeah, no.
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What if Heaven doesn't have anything to do with morality. I mean, let's face it, you and me both know people who's moral code appears to be whiter than the driven snow. They don't have anything to do with Jesus, or maybe they have everything to do with Jesus, or Mohommed or Buddha, or whatever.
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How do you think of heaven? Do you think of heaven? Does what you think of heaven, or the after-life affect your day to day? I think that's why I'm so excited, and in such rapturous condition over this series. I don't think Jesus preached forgiveness simply for the sake of getting to Heaven. I think he might have even scoffed at that just a bit. If that were all there was to it, why all the blood and gore?
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I'm excited because my back hurts. Sometimes my neck too. My knees used to hurt, but that was when I used them more.
I get excited because I love talking to people, but usually when I do, I offend them. I don't mean to. I mean, most of the time. I'm just stupid like that.
I am excited because my dad and me, I mean, we loved each other and all that, but I don't think we really lived together like we should have. And I definitely haven't been the brother that I should have been to my siblings.
I'm exhilarated because I used to love to smoke, but I knew it was terrible for me, so I hated myself for doing it. And I couldn't quit, so I felt like a total addict, and hated myself even more for that.
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That little list could go on, and on, and on. But I won't bother you with all that. Plus I gotta leave stuff for other entries, right? My point? My hope isn't that when I die I will go to heaven. I mean, really? If God thinks heaven is so great why did he plant a freakin' garden? Why didn't he just (poof!) make us all in heaven? right away? Because he intended life to be good, in a physical way. At least, I think so. I think that's why Jesus had to rise from his own death. I think that's why instead of mass-groups of Christian suicides, you have groups like the Salvation Army. And Christian food pantries, and free medical clinics, and safe havens. Because life, now, matters. And it always will. And someday, the world could actually be a safe place. A pleasant place. I think that's what God intended all along. A world like that, well, it wouldn't really need morals.
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I don't think Jesus was necessarily preaching morals. I think he was preaching to tell people what life would be like someday, when God fulfilled his mission to repair a broken world. I think that's why I get so wrapped up in this stuff. Because I look ahead to a time when my back doesn't hurt, my neck isn't stiff, I can talk and be understood, I can listen and understand, and just live-with everybody, the way God built us to live. And that's what the resurrection is all about. Forget Heaven. I'm lookin past that.
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