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You don't often hear reflection on these two ancient theological concepts in contemporary Australian church life - at least within the mainstream. One might pontificate on all the reasons why this might be so, but I would like to focus in on the futuristic notion often attached to thinking and proclamation through recent decades. When the church spoke of heaven and hell, it was usually framed within the question "What would happen to you when you die?"
Perhaps in bygone eras it could ignore the living hell which was many people's reality, but with the advent of news technology which spans the globe, we become acutely aware of the straitened circumstances many face, whether it be at a personal level, a communal level, even a national or continental level. In this context the idea of heaven as a future reward didn't seem to mitigate the living hell which many endure, nor did a future hell - with pitchforks and barbecues abounding - seem to be too high a price to pay for the pleasures of this life, particularly if it seemed that all one's mates were going to be there.
Jesus didn't seem to postpone either heaven or hell.
The Lord's prayer asks us to pray "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven..." In other words, part of the church's mission was to see heaven incarnated on earth (an eerie echo of Jesus' own life and mission).
There are still (too) many christians who believe that the only thing that matters is what happens after we're dead, and therefore pay no mind to the damage we do to other communities (we do tend to get up in arms when our own community is implicated), or to the creation as a whole. Why bother with Kyoto when we'll be in heaven? That sort of callous disregard for our fellow human beings seems to echo the religious attitudes which made Jesus angry.
Of course we are not God and cannot impose or enforce heaven. But then, neither did Jesus. The challenge is to bring heaven on earth without force, so that we might see more of earth in heaven. Jesus' attitude of service, of sacrifice and of surrender (sorry for the alliteration - still a preacher at heart!) doesn't hold much popularity in the messages of of the gospel, but are the example we need to try to depict - not just to show others, but first and foremost to incarnate the kingdom on earth.
Heaven can wait? No it can't! We have to begin incarnating it today.
Posted by gary at February 18, 2005 03:21 PM
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