ACTS 17:1-15

PSALM 66:1-8

1 PETER 2:1-10

JOHN 14:1-14

Sermon – 4/28/02

Last week, we reflected on the so-called “Good Life” which a focus on materialism promises but doesn’t deliver in contrast to “The Abundant Life” which Jesus Christ offers and delivers on. The so-called “Good Life” as now promoted by a vast tidal wave of advertisements is a perversion of the original vision of “The Good Life”, which promised “enough” for all people willing to work hard and live right. The warped current false promise of “The Good Life” is an invitation to endlessly seek more and more material things and become permanently unhappy because one always wants more and has forgotten the meaning of “enough.” Years of seeking more and more corrodes a person’s spiritual life, strains or fractures one’s most important relationships and leads to stress and unnecessary debt - at best.

The “Abundant Life” offered by Jesus includes serenity, contentment, inner peace, improved relationships and – yes – enough material possessions. God knows our needs, and God also knows that our wants can be the biggest barrier to satisfying our needs! So, as our “St. Barnabas theme song” says, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness, and all these things shall be given unto you, alleluia, alleluia.”

All this is enough reason to seek the Abundant Life and disregard those peddlers of perpetual pennilessness who want us to spend all our time spending more than all our money – with them!

But there’s another, major, reason to make Jesus the Lord of our lives and not the forces which know the price of everything and the value of nothing. All the glamorous promises of materialism are limited-time offers. No matter how much stuff you accumulate, it could all disappear at any time in an eyeblink, and will absolutely be out of our reach forever – when we die.

There’s a bumper sticker which says, “The one who dies with the most toys wins.” Wrong! The one who dies with the most toys...still dies. And leaves them all behind. And his or her destination after this life will not be upgraded by having “more toys” than anyone else in the world. On the contrary.

On the other hand, the Family of God is the only group you can join and get a longer-than-lifetime membership. Think about it.

The ultimate reality check for the fans of materialism is death. Indeed, “You can’t take it with you.” Oh, people try...like the people who get buried in their cars. Funny, though, the cars never move afterwards. “Are we having fun yet?”

People can picture the here and now and usually have a hard time picturing the hereafter. When they do picture the hereafter; people usually have an easier time picturing Hell than Heaven. Dante’s Inferno has also won more readers than his Paradiso. This, as C. S. Lewis noted has to do with our human limitations: we generally have an easier time imagining suffering greater than we’ve ever experienced than bliss greater than we’ve ever experienced – but that doesn’t mean that bliss doesn’t exist, just that it is literally better than we can imagine.

Those of you who have been around St. Barnabas for a while know that I rarely preach about Hell, and that is so because I more often focus on the impact of living better Christian lives for the here and now, because I would rather evangelize via attraction to the Good than by fear of punishment, and (primarily) because Jesus spent a lot more time on other subjects besides Hell.

However, it must be said that the Christian faith is clear that not everyone will go to Heaven when they die. Some people seem to have spent their lives trying hard not to go to heaven, and I suspect they will get their wish. Jesus was (and is) clear that our lives are not for practice but for real: as much as God loves us and is gracious and merciful to us, there are consequences for those who reject God, consequences the Catechism describes as “eternal death”. What that’s like, exactly, I leave to your imaginations; my imagination leads me along the lines of eternity with all of one’s worst qualities reigning unfettered next to hordes of other people with their worst qualities also reigning unfettered. Or, perhaps as one person said, “Hell is getting your own way all the time forever.” Or perhaps eternal death is merely extinction. I don’t know, but I don’t really want to find out.

Especially when the other option is eternal life. If the best things anyone in history has ever received from God – serenity, courage, wisdom, joy, faith, love, special relationships, among other gifts – are like “appetizers” from God’s banquet, what would the main course be like? And the next day...and the next week...year...century? Could joy really be boring? I’ve never found it so in the small quantities available in this life; why would a limitless supply be boring?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus says to his disciples, on the night before he died, “’Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that were I am, there you may be also.’”

Now, imagine you have a friend who you trust completely and who you know cares a lot about you. Suppose you have never actually been to the friend’s house, and your friend invites you over to the spend the weekend. Would you demand to see photos of the friend’s home and an hour-by-hour plan of the weekend before you accepted? Or would you expect to be content because you had confidence in your friend?

Likewise, we don’t need to know exactly what “The Father’s house” looks like or what we will do if we come there: all we need to know is our host. And Jesus is Someone we can come to know, and trust, and love, here and now – including trusting him with the details of The Next Life.

So the Abundant Life is offered to us now – to begin now – and potentially to continue forever! Of course, our first response should be to offer our thanks to God through our Lord Jesus Christ for his great mercy in offering us forgiveness of our sins, a fresh start, coaching by the Holy Spirit, gifts and abilities to make the most of the challenges and opportunities we face and – The Abundant Life, now and forever.

There’s another practical side, too, however, which Christians should be especially willing and ready to deal with because of the hope that is in us.

We hope for heaven. One consequence of that is that we should be able more than most people to prepare for our own deaths.

If this congregation is representative of the country, most adults do not have wills, and most of those who do have not revised them in the last five years. Christians need to be far better than average here, to care for our loved ones (especially any adults who have children under 18!) and for our tangible possessions.

Having a will is one way of proclaiming we acknowledge our mortality and our hope for heaven and of meeting our responsibilities to those who survive us.

Well, I have good news and bad news for those who have not written their own wills. The good news is, you do have a will. The bad news is, it was written by The State of New Jersey, so guess who’s in charge of the disposition of your money – and your children! Yes, the State.

In your service leaflet is a copy of the “John Doe/Jane Doe” will which is your will if you don’t have one. Whatever you want, this isn’t it. Take it home and read it. It’s sobering reading. Then call your lawyer. And if you want to say “thank you” for this reminder to save your children and your assets from the control of the State, include the church in your estate planning.

The second insert I also ask you to take home. It deals with Health Care representatives, Advance Directives, and organ donations – all questions to think about now, when healthy. When it’s too late, it’s too late.

As always, if you want to talk with me about any concerns regarding any of these issues, please call me and set up an appointment.

In conclusion: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness, and all these things shall be given unto you.” And, “Jesus answered, ‘I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the father but through me. If you really knew me, you would know my father as well.’”

Let us pray. Lord, we thank you for offering us Abundant Life both now and forever: may we so order our lives, and prepare for our journey to ultimate fulfillment in the next life, that the Abundant Life in you may be our focus and our joy.

(The Rev. Francis A. Hubbard)

St. Barnabas Episcopal Church