Get Busy Living

Epiphany 6C

1 Corinthians 15:12-20

St. Matthias

February 17, 2019

           I have always said that when I get to heaven – I get to be 6 foot 2!  I’ve always wanted to be tall and if heaven is a perfect place then I get to be 6 foot 2 or taller.  We know from the Gospel of John that there will be no pain or suffering in heaven and so I am pretty sure that means there will be no calories or heartburn or hay fever.  I expect I get my hearing back.  I must say that I was initially disappointed to learn that I don’t get to be an angel when I get to heaven because I wanted wings, but now I’ve decided that will get to fly anyway just like Superman.  Bishop Sloan says that your good dog will be there with you in heaven.

           Heaven appears in the Bible about 620 times depending on which translation you are using.  The word “Hell” is found far fewer times except that Jesus talks more about Hell than he does about Heaven.  I am guessing there are more sermons preached about Hell - except in the Episcopal Church.  I have no problem believing in Heaven whatever it may be or look like. I struggle with the idea of Hell.  How could God allow such a place?

           Of course, the whole idea and belief about heaven are tied in with our 2^nd reading this morning from Paul’s 1^st letter to the Corinthians.  What happens when we die and are raised from the dead?    There were some members of the Church at Corinth who were telling folks that when you died – there was resurrection, but it was your soul that just sort of floated up to heaven – like Casper the Friendly Ghost.  Your body stayed in the ground – ashes to ashes and dust to dust.  Now, this may NOT seem like a big deal – but it is.  Paul tells the Christians at Corinth that there must be a resurrection of the body because Christ died, was buried, and rose again after 3 days.  His ghost didn’t just walk around pretending to be the real Jesus.  Christ was not revived or resuscitated, reanimated or reincarnated.  He died on the cross and His body was put in the tomb and the stone rolled over the entrance.  He descended to the dead.  You just don’t get any more dead than that!  And then after 3 days, Christ rose again.  Life overcame death.  It was complete and miraculous Resurrection, and this was New Life – Eternal Life.  It was a miracle and so Paul says that it could only be that Jesus was resurrected in the body – resurrected to New Life and everything that can mean.  We know that Thomas touched Jesus' hands – felt the nail prints in his palms.  Jesus ate breakfast by the Sea of Galilee and ghosts don’t eat.  For 40 days, the Resurrected Christ was with the disciples and then ascended into heaven.  And Paul is adamant – it was the resurrection of the Body and this is the very hope of the Christian life.  Because Christ has overcome death and the grave, then we too will be raised again with Him.  Death here is not final.  We have been given the promise of Life after Life.  Eternal life with Christ.  And Paul tells the Corinthians – it must be true because the disciples witnessed it and by faith, we believe it.

           One of my favorite movies of all time is Shawshank Redemption.  It is based on a Stephen King story and the movie is even better in my opinion than the novel.  Andy Dufresne is sentenced to life in prison for murder even though he is innocent.  There he meets Red, an older black man who is also serving a life sentence.  They become fast friends.  Now I will warn you that I am about to give away the ending to the film, but it is one of my favorite parts.  If you want to stick your fingers in your ears – I will understand.  Andy escapes from prison and goes to the Zihuantanejo on the Pacific coast of Mexico.  Several years later, Red is paroled and given a job working in a grocery store.  Red has been in prison so long that he doesn’t know how to live on the outside.  It is hell on earth.  He remembers a postcard Andy sent him from Mexico back when Red was still in prison.  Andy invites Red to join him in this new life on the Pacific.  He remembers Andy’s words before escaping the hell of prison.  Get busy living or get busy dying!  He decides on life – packs his bags – boards a bus – and heads to Mexico.  As he walks on the beach toward his friend Andy who is rebuilding a boat on the shores of the Pacific – there is my favorite line of the whole movie – Hope is a good thing – maybe the best of things – and no good thing ever dies! 

           That’s resurrection!  It’s hope and its joy and its life eternal.  Our hope as Christians is knowing that heaven is real and we will be with God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  We shall see God and touch the hands of Christ.  Life here and now is a foretaste of Glory Divine.  When we come to this altar rail and receive bread and wine – when we feed the hungry and care for the suffering – when we proclaim, “We believe in the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come!” then we are proclaiming the hope of the Christian life.  It’s eternal life.  And we get to start living it here and now.  This is our foretaste of Glory Divine.  It is our hope that never dies.  Maybe I will get to be 6 foot 2 after all.  And if you still have your ears plugged – you can take your fingers out now.  AMEN.