Heaven is not some distant
place in the future

Speaking of Religion
The Rev. Dr. Tim Griffin

Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, "The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you. (Luke 17:20-21)

Last week I wrote about Ascension Day and the symbolic significance of Jesus ascending to heaven to join God the Father. In that discussion I indicated that Luke’s depiction of Jesus being elevated from the Earth and whisked away to God on a cloud was an instance of symbolic language, i.e., that Luke very likely knew that God is not confined to a place/time "up there," so to speak.
Instead, Luke used this popular imagery to make a point about Jesus’ status vis-à-vis God, i.e., since God is so clearly revealed in Jesus’ life, it is only natural that he would join God. In addition, Luke employed the imagery as a way of showing the community of Jesus’ followers — the Church — that it would also join the Father by continuing Jesus’ mission and ministry.
I want to continue that discussion, and in particular the discussion of the meaning of "heaven," in order to illustrate a way of looking at Scripture.
It is sadly often the case today that we are presented with the following dilemma: we must either reject our current understanding of the nature of reality or we must reject Scripture. But this is a false dichotomy because it assumes that Scripture is a text book in which the events depicted are "facts" and to be understood in the same way as one understands a text on American history or Newtonian physics. This approach to Scripture misunderstands its intent and purpose and oversimplifies the world view of those, like Luke, who sought to make Jesus’ life, intelligible to his readers.
For Luke, "facts" about Jesus’ life were less important than understanding the significance of Jesus’ person and the importance of the mission and ministry that he left to his followers. It is likely for this reason that the early Jesus movement was referred to as "The Way," because it is a way of life — a way of doing and being — modeled upon Jesus’ life (including his death and resurrection) and his teachings.
So with that as background, what are we to make of "heaven?" If heaven is not a place, then what is it? In the passage from Luke’s gospel cited above, Jesus rejects the idea that the kingdom of God, heaven, is a separate place or time. Rather, he says the kingdom is among us; it is in our midst.
We are mistaken, then, in supposing that heaven is some far away place or some far away time. And, of course, that is as it should be — indeed as it must be — because there is no reality apart from the present. The past is gone, and the future is yet to come. Only the present is real.
But Jesus’ words suggest something more. They suggest that the kingdom is accessible to us only in and through our relationships with one another.
Isn’t that what he means when he says the kingdom is "among you?" It is present here, but it is not my possession or yours. It comes to be only in our midst; only among us; only through our relationships and our treatment of one another.
If we connect this theme with that of "the way" alluded to above and Jesus’ emphasis on inclusion, particularly inclusion of the poor and the marginalized, we get a fairly clear idea of the Jesus’ understanding of heaven. Heaven is a way of life — a way of doing and being.
More specifically, heaven is a way of life in which we treat one another with respect and dignity; where we give up our prejudice and bigotry, and strive for justice for all. It is, in other words, a way of living fully in the present and fully with others.
I believe that this understanding is somewhat at odds with the common notion that heaven is a place of reward for a life well lived. Sadly when we look at heaven in this way, we lose the opportunity to experience it right where it is — here and now; in our midst; among us.
So the question is, what is keeping us from realizing that heaven is right here, among us? ••
Father Tim Griffin is priest-in-charge at the St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, at 1946 Welsh Road in Bustleton.