A Taste of Heaven

Many of you may know that a shorter portion of this morning’s Gospel reading is one of the possible Gospel readings suggested for the Burial of the Dead. Among the suggested Gospels for that service, this one is probably the most popular choice. I read it yesterday at the burial service for Stella Hudson. "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." That was the King James, of course. The translation "mansions" is much beloved and more familiar than the "dwelling places" of the New Revised Standard Version.

I got curious about the difference and did a little reading. Raymond Brown is certainly one of the more notable scholars on the Johannine literature; this is from his commentary on John’s Gospel. "The significance of the Greek term monē is disputed." Monē is the Greek word in John variously translated "mansions" or "dwelling places." We don’t know exactly what it meant in New Testament Greek. "Many have thought that it represents an Aramaic word that means night stop or resting place for a traveler on a journey… and Origen understands John to refer to stations on the road to God…. This may also have been the understanding of the Latin translators who rendered monē by mansio, [meaning] a halting place. (The standard English rendition ‘many mansions’ stems from Tyndale, but in [Tyndale’s] Old English ‘mansion’ meant dwelling-place, and not necessarily a palatial dwelling.)" Brown continues, though, "It would be much more in harmony with Johannine thought to relate monē to the cognate verb menein, frequently used in John in reference to staying, remaining, or abiding with Jesus and with the Father." Staying, remaining or abiding with Jesus and with the Father.

How do you picture heaven? Do you like to think of it filled with grand mansions? Or do you picture a peaceful green pasture? Or angels in the clouds beyond the pearly gates? It’s a question I’m asked relatively often. What is heaven really like? What is life like in heaven? Countless painters, authors, musicians and artists have explored the question. Whether we are brave or honest enough to voice the question, it must be for all of us one of our deepest human uncertainties.

What did Stephen truly see as he gazed into heaven before he was martyred? From today’s first reading: "Stephen gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!’"

What Stephen saw as he looked into heaven was Jesus, gloriously present with God in heaven. And Stephen’s vision, given to him while he was still living, brought him strength, peace and compassion for those who were stoning him. Compassion for those who were killing him. For Stephen, that is what seeing and experiencing heaven felt like. A place where Jesus’ presence conveys to us unimaginable peace and compassion.

In John’s gospel Jesus tells us what heaven is like. Heaven is where we and Jesus and God abide together. Jesus does not tell us that there are palatial mansions in heaven, but he does tell us that he is in heaven, and that we may rest and abide there with him.

Heaven is where God is; heaven is what God is; and God wants us to be a part of it all. Jesus has built the road and comes to be our guide. "I will come," Jesus says to us all today, "I will come and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also." In that case, I don’t think it matters much what heaven looks like.

Today’s lessons seem to refer to heaven as our life journey’s final destination. Stephen is on the brink of martyrdom. As we pray with the psalmist we commend our spirit to God, in words echoing the burial service. Jesus words in the Gospel come from the long final discourse he offers his disciples before his death… before he goes before them in death to prepare a place for them. And most often when I am asked about heaven, it is in the context of anxiety about death. But… when we share Holy Communion as part of a burial service, which is not required, but is always a very good thing to do… when we share Holy Communion as part of the burial service in the special post-communion prayer appointed for that service we pray… "Almighty God, we thank you that in your great love you have fed us with the spiritual food and drink of the Body and Blood of your Son Jesus Christ, and have given us a foretaste of your heavenly banquet."

Participating in Holy Communion… Note I did not say receiving Holy Communion as an individual… When we, as a community participate in Holy Communion, we experience a foretaste of heaven. Communion gives us a taste of heaven. We do not have to wait for our life’s end. Every time we share Holy Communion we experience a taste of heaven.

A taste of heaven. I had this funny tingling in the back of my mind about using that phrase as the focal point of my sermon, so I googled it. Sure enough, the first hit had to do with so-called adult entertainment. Which is blasphemy. For anyone who takes heaven seriously, that is blasphemy! A word we should probably use a bit more. Other references, at least among the first couple of dozen that Google provided, had to do with a vegan cookbook and personal stories of Christian conversion. I didn’t see anything specifically about Holy Communion. But that is exactly what our sharing of Holy Communion is: a taste of heaven. Here, today, in the midst of whatever trials or joys are your life right now. A taste of heaven.

I was sort of orbiting around this sermon topic before I heard Bishop Lee speak at the diocesan Ministry Fair yesterday. Those of you who were there will recognize that I am indebted to him for some of what follows.

Sharing Holy Communion is a taste of heaven. So sharing Holy Communion tells us something about heaven. If you want to know what the experience of heaven is like, experience Holy Communion.

First off, Holy Communion is a shared experience. An individual receiving communion is a contradiction in terms. Communion is communion. Not just with God, but with one another and the living with the dead, sharing communion. All drawn together and united by the shared presence of the living Christ. Heaven is like that.

And when we come together to share Holy Communion, everyone is welcome and welcome on exactly the same footing. Bishop Lee calls it a place, not just of radical hospitality, but of radical human justice. At the Lord’s table there is no injustice. Some people and some times in the church have not understood this. It seems to me that is blasphemy, too. At the Lord’s table everyone gathers side by side. None of our earthly distinctions mean anything. Heaven is like that.

And when we come together to share Holy Communion, everyone receives the fullness of Christ’s presence. There are no gradations in service or quality. It doesn’t even depend upon whether or not you feel worthy. It certainly doesn’t depend upon who you are. The Lord’s table is not a place where the best tippers get the best service. Nor are there USDA gradations on the Body of Christ: prime, choice, select… There is no way to buy, or earn, or qualify for a better quality meal. There are no gradations in quality or service. Everyone is served, offered, the fullness of Christ. Everyone is fed in abundance. The fullness of Christ’s living presence. Heaven is like that.

And remember, finally, that sharing Holy Communion is an experience. It’s not an idea or a theory. It’s not a doctrine. It’s an experience. And it’s an in-body experience. An experience that involves and affects body and mind and soul. As we participate in the experience of sharing Holy Communion, all that we are as human beings—body, mind, and soul—is affected and transformed by being united with the living presence of Christ. Heaven is like that.

Taste and see that the Lord is good, the psalmist says. Taste and see. If you want to know what heaven is like, taste and see.