Do you believe in Heaven?

XXXII Sunday C Luke 20, 27-38 November 6, 2022 On the steps of our sanctuary and here at our Altar we remember those who have died. To pray for them and to keep their memory alive. What is heaven like? What is it like for those people who we love whom are now with God? What will heaven be like if I make it up there? These are the questions that all of us have who believe in the Resurrection. It was not the question of the Sadducees though. They didn’t believe in the Resurrection. So, they were asking Jesus a trick question, this silly question, “say that a woman marries, and her husband dies, and she gets remarried… and this happens seven times. When she gets up to heaven who is she going to be married too? Gotcha!!! Right now, there are a lot of political ads on Television, when the politicians are asked questions, the interviewers are all asking those gotcha questions. Those trick questions. And the best politicians… They are the ones who know how to not answer the question. What are going to do about the people who live on our streets? The smart politicians will give you this long convoluted answer where they really don’t say anything but talk about how bad the other guy is. For me the worst ones are the ones about abortion. When the politician is asked do they believe life begins at the moment of conception; they give this long answer that is confusing and that they think is going to please both sides of the aisle. Not Jesus!The Sadducees didn’t believe in the Resurrection. They believed that when people died that was the end. But not Jesus. Jesus firmly believes in the Resurrection, and he says so using the Old Testament books that the Sadducees themselves believed in. In another words, Jesus used language that they could understand. In the first part of the question the Sadducees were asking, “what is heaven like?” It is a question that most of us have. I often times think about what heaven is like. I think about my parents in heaven. And I wonder, are my mom and dad up there standing on a cloud with wings and long white robes playing harps, or are they sitting in a kitchen and my mom is at the stove and my dad is sitting at the table reading the newspaper? We have these ideas about what heaven will be like and Jesus says, “No!” Jesus says get these silly ideas out of your head. Heaven isn’t going to be anything like it is on earth. It is going to be completely different. Imagine, if you will how wonderful heaven is and then multiply it times infinity. That is what heaven is like. We can’t know what heaven is like, but we do know is that it is wonderful. Jesus then goes on to answer another more important question. The Sadducees wanted to know what heaven is like, but Jesus answered a more important unasked question. Yes, there is a heaven! The essential point of the reading – the second part of Jesus’ answer – is that yes, there is a heaven. Yes, there is an afterlife. This isn’t just wishful thinking, but rather it is part of the very nature of the God that we believe in. In Jesus’ answer he changes the focus, what is important is not what heaven is like? No, what is important is what is God like? God loves us and God has entered into a covenant with us, a covenant of love. God entered into a covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and God has entered into the covenant with each and every one of us and each and every one of those he loved. God’s covenant is not for 60 or 70 years, it isn’t even for just 100 years. God’s covenant is for every. It is unending. It is forever. We don’t hope that we will rise from the dead. We don’t hope that our loved ones will be in heaven. We don’t hope that we will go to heaven; we believe. We believe in the Resurrection and the life. Politicians will be politicians. They will keep answering questions in the way that will get them the most votes and keep them out of trouble. Jesus was no politician. Jesus was asked, and he answered clearly. At the death of his friend Lazarus Jesus asked Martha do you believe? We answer with Martha, “yes Lord we believe that you are the resurrection and the life.” So, you don’t have to worry what Heaven is going to be like. Just believe! Just believe that Jesus is the resurrection and life and whomever believes will have eternal life.