In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Well, based on the number of folks who are NOT here for this morning’s for Mass at All Saints, it appears the Rapture that Mr. Harold Camping predicted for yesterday indeed did happen; and that we who have gathered for Mass this morning missed it and were left behind to face the judgment that apparently has begun.
However, do not be alarmed dear friends at being left behind yesterday, because now, with so many people apparently gone, you’ll finally be able to get that parking space nearer the front door at Walmart! Carbon emissions and green-house gasses will miraculously be reduced and the planet will be saved from Global Warming since all the hot-air-wind-bags… like Mr. Camping and his ilk… are no longer here. Also, with the Rapture behind us, and Judgment now at hand with all its horrible events that should start any day now, the people who have been left behind will be even more desperate, and our Thrift Store should really thrive!
My friends, I try not to cast a critical eye or say anything too untoward about other people’s faith, but I must say that Mr. Camping, and folks like him, do more harm than good with their nutty, crazy, outrageous and outlandish pronouncements and predictions. I was talking with Deacon Tim in Texas last night (it appears he didn’t make it either!) and we were laughing about all this craziness….the millions of dollars spent by Mr. Camping and his followers on signs and billboards all around the world… the millions spend on radio and print adds. Deacon Tim said that he expects now that more people will be in Church after these fraudulent events. I told him that quite the opposite will be true, and that Mr. Camping and others like him, have just made our work that much more difficult, because the world was already skeptical enough as it was; but these ridiculous predictions have only served to heighten that skepticism and made folks that much more jaded and cynical.
All that, combined with the lazy, indifferent, selfish, self-serving, excuse-making, me-first attitude that IS modern Christianity, and our work of trying to make a difference in THIS world just got that much harder. These radical, fundamentalist zealots with their focus on the end of the world, on “heaven”, and on getting folks ‘saved’ from Hell are nothing more than charlatans and deceivers who masquerade as Christian Preachers and Christian Disciples, and who use the Bible to spread fear, create division, engender neurosis, and raise millions of dollars using tax-exemption. Is it any wonder why Christianity and the Church is in the shape that it is!
The focus of Christianity for too long has been getting ourselves, and our friends into Heaven; and is based on a handful of passages – like the one we read today in the Gospel of John about many mansions. Meanwhile, in our zeal for Heaven, we neglect the earth and the needs of millions who inhabit the earth. Karl Marx, the founder of Marxism, said that “religion is the opiate of the people.” He said that because religions in general, and Christianity in particular, have as their focus the next world and heaven, whilst ignoring the realities of the world we live in now. And he was quite right, in my opinion!
Is Jesus coming back? Well, perhaps the answer is “yes,” based on what we read in the Scriptures and say in the Creeds. But we are here now, and Jesus is here now in us… so why worry about him coming back – we need to be busy being Jesus in the world.
Are their many mansions in heaven? I suppose so, again, based on what we read this morning. However, why focus on mansions in heaven, when there are so many homeless right here on earth!
Will there be a great banquet in heaven, where we will sit down with Jesus and all the saints at what is called the “Marriage Supper of the Lamb”? Well, Revelations says so, but who can really look forward to THAT meal, when there are so many folks right here who are hungry and don’t have enough to eat today, let alone worry about some nebulous sumptuous supper in Heaven!
Will we and all the saints be robed in white garments in heaven? Again, I suppose the answer is “yes” if we accept what we read in the Scriptures. However, with so many folks wearing rags and scraping together a few bucks to buy second and third hand clothing, the promise of a white robe in heaven seems awfully fanciful and remote!
When Christ does return (which I do believe he will!), will he come as the promised Prince of Peace? Well, once more I say that I suppose so, since the Scriptures declare it. However, with wars raging all around the world, with rapes and murders ravaging our society, and with abuse and violence tearing our homes apart, my question is: “Where are the peacemakers that Jesus said we are supposed to be?” that are supposed reject warfare completely and work for peace and reconciliation between the nations and the races and the peoples of the world!
Are the streets of heaven paved with gold? Again, I suppose they are if we accept the descriptions in the Bible. But what good is heavenly gold, when poverty and ignorance keep so many enslaved in our world, and give rise to revolution and violence! What good is heavenly gold when greed and avarice compels even ordinary people – many who sit in Church – to cheat others, use others, rob others, and take advantage of the misfortunes and needs of others just to line their own pockets!
Will there be an end to sickness, disease, pain, and suffering in Heaven? Yes, according to what we read in the Bible. But what good is health in Heaven, when so many people here are sick and suffering – some from terrible conditions that could be treated, but who also have little or no access to the basic medical care they need, or the necessary funds to pay for that care. What good is a new body in heaven when so many suffer in body, mind and spirit, and the treatment they need is regulated and doled out by insurance companies who may or may not permit you seek treatment or provide coverage for your condition. We proudly proclaim that life as a God-given right in our "Constitution", but apparently a "healthy life" must not be!
Will we have the mind of Christ and know all things in Heaven? Once more, I defer to the pages of Holy Scripture, which says we will. But what good is all that knowledge and wisdom in heaven, when so many people – particularly children – right here on earth and some right here in our own county, who still cannot read, cannot write, and because of prejudice and contempt, are defrauded from having equal access to a quality education.
Will all the peoples and nations of the world be present in Heaven? Again, Revelations seems to indicate it. But what good is that, when right here on earth, we resent and even hate immigrants and complain because people won’t learn a particular language. When people of other nations and races come here looking to escape poverty, war, disease and desolation, we defraud them of basic human rights, deny them access to honest work, target them for special prosecution, and suppress them and fill them with fear – all because they didn’t get the right form or document! And all the while, in our smug, superior, selfish way, we sit on our backsides and complain that they are stealing our jobs – jobs that we wouldn’t do anyway, especially for that little bit of money.
Will there be justice and equality in Heaven? I suppose so, since we read in the Scriptures that God will judge the nations with equity and truth. But what good is that, when equality under the law so perverted, when the courts are themselves are so unjust, and justice extends to those who can afford to pay for it.
Yes, all from accounts, heaven indeed does sound like a wonderful place; but having the rapture and heaven as the primary focus of one’s faith indeed does act like opium, for it keeps us deluded and distracted and disabled and even blind to the realities of the world in which we live. This escapism brand of Christianity is, in my opinion, hateful and contrary to what Jesus stood for, preached, and taught – especially when one considers that He said, “The Kingdom of God is within you!”
My friends, I do not need the promise of heaven, or the rapture, or even the hope a resurrection to motivate me in doing what I do or to be who and what I am. I believe firmly in God, and I also believe firmly in my fellow human beings – whom God has created in his own image. Further, I believe that it is my responsibility to love God and love each and every one of my fellow human beings as much as I love myself, and to treat them as I wish to be treated. I also believe that this love for God and Others should be all the motivation one ever really needs in order to make a difference in THIS world, by helping to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, teach the uneducated, eliminate poverty, work for justice, strive for peace, and respect the dignity, equality, and human rights of every single person. I don’t need Heaven to do that! I need Jesus to help me do what is right and righteous – right here and now! And if my feeble body rests in the ground and returns to the dust, then the spirit of all I have sought to do in God’s Name for the betterment of mankind and the preservation of His Creation will live forever.
And if I do all these things and work in Jesus’ name to make a difference in the world around me, then if there indeed IS a heaven as promised in the Scriptures, then I’ll be there. If there indeed is supposed to be some kind of “rapture” – then I will go. I trust my soul to the Providential Care of Almighty God and I don’t worry about it. But if and when and until these things do happen, it is my intention to stay busy doing what Jesus wants us to be doing, and not worry about the future. No opium here…. Because my religion and faith are firmly grounded in responding to the needs of those around me and making a little heaven right here on earth.
May God silence those who make such ridiculous claims in the name of Christianity and religion, such as we have seen in recent months; and may he empower us who live by a rational, reasonable faith and religion, to be more and do more, as Christ himself would have us be and do.
In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
