Technology and Resurrection

Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Immortality 

I am sure by now you are aware that all types of data is being collected on each person everyday.    The news is rife with stories of privacy issues, data breaches and eavesdropping.  Every time you visit a website, purchase products online (or just with a credit card in a store),  rate or write a review of something, or click that harmless looking thumbs up button on Facebook or Pandora that data goes somewhere.  On top of that wearable tech such as Google Glass and the Samsung Dick Tracy watch are in their prototype stages.     Will these be collecting other types of data?  Could they be used to capture emotions and reactions to events and record them with the images the camera is collecting while tracking your location?   If so, could someone then collect all his or her data and use it to create a realistic profile of her or himself.    Could that profile then be combined with a process of artificial intelligence to create a newly regenerated virtual person?   Can this person then be downloaded into a piece of tech that can communicate and interact with the world?  If the answer to these questions is yes, have human beings found a way to be immortal through their own devices?

Not yet, but people are actually working on these very types of things.

Hell 

The whole problem with this is, that if we can construct an immortal life through our own efforts we would be simply carrying our broken pasts into a dark future.   The traumas lived through would be carried on into eternity.  There would still be pain, there would still be loss,  there would still be evil.   These experiences of our sinfulness wear us down and tinge our lives with sorrow.   As we carry these burdens forward, time itself would loose all meaning,  there will be no urgency to do anything, experience would pile upon experience.   We would find that we were not damned to hell, but that we had created it ourselves for all eternity.   It is the reason why the Bible portrays God as expelling Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden. (Genesis 3:22) Then the LORD God said, "See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"--  (NRSV)  This was not done out of spite or punishment, but as an act of grace so that no person would be condemned to unending suffering.


Forgiveness and Hope

While we may know the hope we have from a life of faith is an eventual eternal life,  it is not the first hope we have.  For the hope we have in Jesus Christ is first and foremost grounded in forgiveness.   Forgiveness breaks the cycle of evil that has been built up in our lives over time.   It heals the relationships we have with God, others, and the division within our own hearts.   If not forgiven, we can not be healed, if not healed we are not prepared for eternal life.   It is why when God sent Christ to the Cross it was first and foremost and act of forgiveness.   Jesus would show his wounds to his disciples to prove that he had forgiven them.   That the pain of Good Friday could be reconciled, proved that God can reconcile any division imaginable.   If you don't think that one really needs forgiveness to live eternally,  do this experiment.   Review the major news stories of the last week,  count how many are tragic or even evil.   Then take that number and multiply it by 52 and get an idea of how much pain just one year exists in an broken world.  Then think about that going on year after year with out end.   Unless the cycle is broken there will be no hope; it is the ultimate blessing for us that God has chosen to break the cycle of sin with the cross of Christ.  

Living out that hope in tangible ways is what we call discipleship.  True disciples don't wait for the forgiveness to appear in some distant future, they work on it now.   By advocating for the vulnerable, feeding the poor,  encouraging the downtrodden, we provide signs of hope that point people to a God who wants to heal, restore, and forgive.  In a life of Christian discipleship the best way to use technology going forward will be to use it as a tool of discipleship to do Jesus' work of being there for the least of the world.


Isaiah and the LORD's Mountain

One of the earliest references to resurrection in Scripture is comes from  the prophet Isaiah.   He gave us this vision of hope:  (Isaiah 25:6-8) On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.  (NRSV)  Notice that God does not just give the eternal life alone.   The promise is for the removal of tears (pain) and disgrace (shame).   Before these gifts are mentioned, Isaiah speaks of God destroying the shroud.   The removal of the shroud or sheet is the removal of the division between God and people, it is this removal that makes a blessed eternal life possible.  It is forgiveness that gives us hope.    So as we live out the greatest three days in history, perhaps it is most healthy to move beyond a childlike desire to merely live forever to mature faith that hopes for forgiveness.

May all have a happy and blessed Easter

Pastor J. David Knecht

Humility is for Losers!

Unappreciated Humility 

A recent study by the most respected Christian church social science researcher George Barna asked practicing Christians what qualities do they think are essential for Christian leaders to have.(you can find the article here) I was surprised to find out that humility was only mentioned by 7 percent of the respondents.

You would think that the church whose head humiliated himself to the point of going to the cross for our sins would look upon humility more favorably and value it more highly as a quality for Christian leaders than we apparently do. But alas, it seems that no one values humility anymore. We value things like assertiveness, independence, strength, and power. It beguiles me how so many can miss the importance of this central quality of Christian leadership. To be sure integrity scored highly, but I do not know how one can have integrity without being humble. For younger people authenticity seems to be highly valued, but how can one be truly authentic if one is not humble first?

Humility Defined 

According to the survey, the definition of humility is a willingness to give credit to others. This makes its lack of respect by those who attend evangelical and mainline churches even more surprising. How can one be truly Christian leader if one does not give credit to God and others? Humility according to this definition is the central characteristic to help us live out the great commandment to love God with one's heart, soul and mind and to love one's neighbor as oneself.

Perhaps the decline being witnessed in Christian communities across the board has something to do with the lack of appreciation of the concept of humility. If one pays attention to the various contemporary media outlets, one will see whether one is liberal, or conservative, hip or intellectual, that self promotion is the current modus operandi of our culture. There is apparently no such thing as bad publicity. To give credit to others according to a common worldly understanding is to throw away a valuable resource. Why do it if I do not get the credit? Asks the world.

Biblical Humility

However by living this way and ignoring the contributions of God and others in our relentless search for credit, we damage the relationships necessary for us to live a life of peace and wholeness as God intended. The Biblical definition of humility has a different nuance than that we have seen so far. We can see the Biblical view of humility in Peter's words "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time." 1 Peter 5:6 (NRSV) To humble oneself is to allow God to work within you. If one does not live humbly one therefore does not live for or with God.

Perhaps when Christians ignore humility we are really just revealing our attitude of wanting to go it alone. In the end, if we go it alone all the time our lives will be less full than they could be. We see this wisdom written in Ecclesiastes " Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help." Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NRSV) Humility is essential to facilitate community and build relationships.

The Humble One 

This is the exact reason why God sent his Son Jesus in humble fashion; he wanted to create a community of people in relationship to him. God does not want us to go it alone. Paul wrote the Christians in Philippi "he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross." Philippians 2:8 (NRSV) I gave this posting a provocative title because this is how the world views the humble these days. However there is often truth in satire, Jesus himself reminded us that world will always view the humble as those who lose, but that when one loses that which is temporary one gains the eternal. "For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it." Matthew 16:25 (NRSV)

In the Bible sometimes losing is winning, especially when one is giving up that which keeps him or her removed from The Lord of Heaven and Earth. In the eyes of his Roman executioners the humble Jesus was a loser because he did not challenge their political dominance. Yet this same empire would itself be conquered by the followers of Jesus who used humility to defeat injustice and evil. To be humble is to appreciate life as it actually is. So consider the humble, you may just see the stuff of life in them.

Keep the Faith,

Pastor Knecht

The Truth about the Book of Revelation

The Last Book of the Bible

No book of the Bible has sparked more controversy than Revelation. No book of the Bible has had more inaccurate things said about it. No book of the Bible has used more by unscrupulous people to build narcissistic cults around themselves than Revelation. It has led to plenty of bad movies, and even more destructive theological schemes designed the scare the wits out of people. It is a book loved by many including the early church father Irenaeus, and many 19th and 20th century socialists who viewed chapter 18 as a statement against capitalism. It has been viewed with suspicion by others(Calvin) and disliked by still others.(Luther).

During the fourth century AD deliberations about which books of the Bible would be included in its final form, many argued for it's exclusion. They did for basically two reasons: 1. It was not written by an apostle. Contrary to the popular understanding the writer is not John the Apostle son of Zebedee. The text itself leads to this conclusion, as the author speaks of the apostles as being men other than himself in Rev. 18:20, 21:14. 2. It's theology seems inconsistent with much of the other writings of the New Testament especially Paul's letters.

It survived because in the end people realized it was a book that articulated the hope of the Gospel in profoundly beautiful way. The final chapters provide some of the most wondrous images of the entire Bible to give a holistic vision of the hope we will have at the end of days if we cling to Christ. Revelation mines the Hebrew Bible for much of its imagery with Daniel and Ezekiel being most prominent. It communicates the truth that there will be a final victory over all evil,  and that God will redeem his children. People will be at peace, and live in harmony with God, others and creation.

The Gift of the Book: Worship 

Revelation like Daniel and Ezekiel, was written during a time when the faithful experienced both internal and external threats. The key to understanding what these are is to pay attention to Chapters 2 and 3, where John of Patmos, outlines the situation for seven churches in what is today Turkey. The external threat was the big bad Roman Empire which destroyed Jewish temple in 70 AD.; The earliest supposed date for the book puts it during the reign of the Roman emperor Vespasian whose son Titus destroyed the Jewish Temple. Most put place it during the reign of his other son Domitian, who persecuted Christians and Jews to reassert the prominence of the Roman gods throughout the empire. The internal threats were twofold, accommodation with pagan culture and immorality.   John of Patmos wrote the book to give the answer for both these threats, worship.   The simple premise and point of the book of Revelation is this: To encourage the faithful to keep centered on the Jesus Christ as Lord through worship no matter what their circumstances. 

Worship is the key to understanding the whole book. It is used as both a commentary on the action unfolding in the book and as the central practice for the faithful to engage in. In Revelation 1:3 we read that blessed are those who keep what is in the prophesy of the book. This clearly alludes to a practice. The practice that is most prominent is worship.

If you are a church goer and are reading the book of Revelation for the first time in depth, you will notice that much of the language will be strikingly familiar. Many hymns and the traditional communion liturgy quote Revelation directly. This would probably warm John's heart because that is what he set out to do when he wrote down his vision to the seven churches. He wanted them to make the choice to worship the one true God even when the culture was doing everything in it's power to keep them from doing it. John calls this faithfulness "victory". If you read Revelation and ignore this you are missing the entire point of the book. All the end-time speculations and schemes (every one has been wrong so far!) mean nothing if one does not take the bold step to worship the God of Jesus Christ. Revelation like good worship, uses imagery to communicate to us on an emotional level the love and justice of God and the hope we have in the risen Jesus Christ.

This makes John of Patmos' book a most relevant one to our time. Today is not the 1950s' in New Jersey. There are no longer any advantages to people attending worship intrinsic to our culture. In fact, in a typical workplace these days, men in our area are more likely to confess to going to strip club than going to church. Church is seen by our culture as something to be ashamed of and kept in the dark. John of Patmos' message to worship boldly is a challenge to contemporary American Christians to keep the faith through worship. For it is only by staying close to Christ that we will have any hope.

Easter Season at Holy Cross 

As a theme for the Sundays following Easter at Holy Cross this spring we will be exploring the book of Revelation and what it can say to us about worshiping God in our culture and time. In addition to exploring the themes in worship during the sermon, I will be leading a close reading bible study on Friday evenings at 7PM beginning April 12.

May God bless you with the Joy of knowing the Risen Christ.

Keep the Faith,
Pastor Knecht.

Tolkien's Gospel: Mortality (Recap week 2)

J.R.R.Tolkien wrote the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings in order to create a mythologythat would transmit timeless virtues to a culture that he feared was losing itssoul as it hurdled toward modernity. Tolkien a life long friend and colleagueof C.S. Lewis, also used his devout Christian faith as a source of the virtueshe wanted to share with through his stories. These facts make the storieswonderful sources to illustrate the nature of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.While contrast to Lewis' Narnia, no one figure represents Christ, each virtuouscharacter in Tolkien's works represents Christ in some way despite their faultsand weaknesses.

No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:3 NRSV

In this week's scene we see Arwen declare her love for Aragorn.   She does more than that, she agrees to become a mortal so she can live and die with the one she loves.   Arwen is an elf.  In Tolkien's Middle Earth she is an immortal.  However, if she wants to bind herself to a mortal, she must embrace death for herself.   On the real earth, this is exactly the same pattern of activity that God has done for us in Jesus.   Jesus is willing to bridge the chasm between God and humans to the point that he is willing to die for them.   Jesus puts his life on the line to love.   It is one's willingness to die that proves love.   In The Lord of the Rings, Arwen proves her love by being willing to die.   While this love seems great, God's love is greater.

For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.  Romans 5:10 NRSV

Jesus' love resulting from his compassion for humanity is boundless.   This is the very essence of Grace! He did not give his life for those who would be able to love him back in equal measure, he gave it for those who would be unable to repay him.   Jesus commits to go to his death so that people will live.  It seems strange at first, but the truth is that Jesus must embrace death so that the world may share in the resurrection.  In our contemporary world we do so much to keep death out of our minds.  We rarely speak of it, we ignore its coming.   Many unhealthy religious thoughts have sprung up in our culture that deny the reality of death in this world.  Mormonism with its doctrine of the uncreated eternal soul, Budhism with reincarnation,  and positivist thinkers who believe that technology can overcome death are just a few examples.  

Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”  Mark 13:2  NRSV

On October 29th and 30th of this year we were reminded that nothing lasts forever as hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc in our area.   Mark 13 not only tells us about  the downfall of ancient Roman Jerusalem, Jesus teaches the disciples in the text about the mortality of our world.  Even what seems immortal and permanent in this life will one day pass away.   One finds in The Lord of the Rings a narrative with lots of references to ruins of civilizations passed.   Great monuments to powerful and heroic rulers lie broken and scattered and overgrown by forests and fields.  It is a reminder to us that nothing is permenent. This is one of the major points apocalyptic Biblical writing.  Our world like us, was born, grew to maturity, and will one day die.  Just as we hope for a new birth in the resurrection to come, our entire created world hopes to be one day reborn anew (See Romans 8, and Revelation 21). 

Then the Lord God said, “See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— Genesis 3:22NRSV

One of the important themes of Tolkien's writing is the grace that exists in mortality; death is called the gift of men.  This idea though not popular with those who preach a watered down version of the Gospel, is found in the Bible and in classic Christian thought.   The premise is simple, in a sinful world humans can not handle immortality,  the constant sorrow will eat away, isolate, and destroy the true essence of the person.  Eternal life without forgiveness is not heaven; it is hell.  Tolkien's elves demonstrate this, they are almost always written in sorrowful and tragic terms.   In their undying state, they have just witnessed too much evil.  Even more profound, their lack of ability to die makes them unable to commit to fighting for their world.   It is Arwen, when she commits her life to a mortal and embraces death, who shows what it means to really be alive.  Death makes us take stock of the gift of life. 

Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. John 12:24NRSV

To deny our eventual death would show a lack of faith.   The mistake that we make when avoid dealing with death is that we accept death as the final word.   The life, cross and resurrection of Jesus prove to us that death does not have the victory  because Christ is risen from the dead.   He shows us the way from death to life.   Now we must all die to rise again,  and while we can naturally fear the process, we should have no doubts about its outcome. Christians have always seen this as hope for today as well as the hour of our eventual death.   Luther spoke of our need to die to sin and rise to new life daily through repentance and by remembering our baptism into Jesus.  Paul reminds us to "Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry)" (Colossians 3:5).   If we have the courage to ask ourselves what are we willing to die for?  We might just find the answer of who are we willing to live for?

Keep the Faith, 
Pastor Knecht 

Tolkien's Gospel: Compassion (Recap week 1)

J.R.R. Tolkien wrote the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings in order to create a mythology that would transmit timeless virtues to a culture that he feared was losing its soul as it hurdled toward modernity. Tolkien, a life long friend and colleague of C.S. Lewis, also used his devout Christian faith as a source of the virtues he wanted to share with through his stories.   These facts make the stories wonderful sources to illustrate the nature of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.  While contrast to Lewis’ Narnia, no one figure represents Christ, each virtuous character in Tolkien’s works represents Christ in some way despite their faults and weaknesses.  


 "I have to believe I can come come back"

Our attempts at Christian compassion are rooted in the understanding that we are all in a common humanity.  Each of us is created in God's image, and each of us is in someway broken because of disunion with God, others, and self.  Christians more easily enter into a compassionate way of life when they make connections of events from their own lives with the lives of others. In the scene we viewed this week we find Frodo demonstrating compassion toward the creature Gollum.  Frodo has realized that it was Gollum's carrying of the Ring that led to his change from ordinary being to monster.  He sees the danger that he too may become like this, a scared and broken shell of a person.   He hopes for Gollum's healing because he can see his own hope in it.   This is a deep Christian idea.  We care about the healing, forgiveness, and reconciliation of others because we can see hope for ourselves in the redemption of others.  We can love others more easily when we see, feel and understand what they are going through.

But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

The true source of our compassion is the compassion of Jesus Christ.  The word compassion is itself a perfect expression of the Gospel.  It is a word derived from Latin that means "to suffer with".  It is a perfect expression of what God did through the sending of his Son Jesus.   It explains both the incarnation (Christmas) and the Cross (Good Friday and Easter). God proves his compassion for us by demonstrating that God knows what it means to be human, because God has lived as a human.   The moment Jesus cries out the words "my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?", we see that Jesus is not only God's Son, but one of us.  God has compassion for us, because God has lived with us and knows what we are going through, all of it, our burdens, joys, successes, failures,victories, and most poignantly our wounds. 

“Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! Mark 12:38-39

Compassion is also a knife that cuts through our thoughts, actions, and behaviors.  The presence of compassion in our lives confirms the presence of God.   The Pharisees are not criticized by Jesus because of their piety, they are criticized for their hypocrisy and their lack of compassion.  The simple truth is no compassion, no relationship with the living God. Compassion is the default mode of true Christianity.   It is how we can discern the spirits of our lives and see whether or not our spirits walk with God's Spirit.   Compassion is also more than mere sympathy.  It must contain concrete acts of love and sacrifice for it to be genuine.  Compassion is love concretely expressed.   Frodo demonstrates compassion for Gollum by learning his real name, trying to share his food,  and even extending his trust at times.   In the wake of the recent storm we have seen compassion at work in almost every neighborhood in our area.  


Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” Mark 12:43-44

In Tolkien’s mythological world of Middle Earth compassion plays a primary part in driving the virtues actions of its heroes.  This is most plainly seen in the actions of the main characters of the drama, the hobbits.   Hobbits represent the little people.   Ordinary folks who go to work, make respectable homes, and enjoy life’s simpler pleasures.   Tolkien modeled them on the regular people he met in his day to day existence.   One of the main themes of the Lord of the Rings is that little people fueled by compassion can accomplish great deeds.   Where the great and powerful will fail because of tragic flaws, the little ones will succeed because they are fueled by compassion.   Compassion is a powerful thing.   In the above quote from Mark 12 we see how compassion fuels a simple “little” widow to put it all on the line for God.  Jesus sees and admires the woman because he knows compassion and he knows what it means to be from an ordinary little place.   In many ways Jesus was a “little guy”,  he grew up in a small town backwater, practiced a trade where he worked with his hands.  Compassion became the fuel that drew him to proclaim the coming Kingdom of God, heal the sick, and take the long walk up the hill to Calvary to do the greatest deed of all, the cross and resurrection.   So as Christians we should never fear to take a risk to be compassionate,  for compassion is the fuel of our ministry.   It is the reason ordinary people are capable of great deeds.  

Keep the Faith,
Pastor Knecht 

What happens when we die?

Questions from our Culture: Final Week Recap

The Science fiction series Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009) spoke about many of the issues of faith that people in our time are wresting with.  It did this by taking elements of  different faiths and dividing them up between the different characters of the drama.  In no way do the religions of the show completely conform to an actual human belief system, but they do have ideas in common with contemporary and even historical faith communities.  The result is fascinating portrayal of a life in a universe with competing religious ideas. We are using this portrayal at Holy Cross to engage some of life's most important questions.  These are not only found on TV but in the Bible itself.  Even better, the Bible begins to lead us to some answers to these life changing questions.

I was there...

Our final scene from Battlestar Gallactica depicts  the female lead Laura Roslin in dialog with a fellow cancer patient about the afterlife.  Her friend is telling her story of a vision she had of the next life.  Roslin is skeptical choosing to only believe what she can concretely experience while lucid and in her right mind.  Her  friend Emily is adamant, she was there in the border between this world and the next.   She will recount a number of important points.   First she was scared, but at the same time there was an assuring voice in her ear that said "I am with you."   Second,  she recounts the words of the recurring character Gaius Baltar, when she says that there is more to this world then what we can see with our eyes.   Finally she saw on the far bank of the river those whom she had lost of her family and friends.  She was comforted by this vision but was insistent that this vision gives a complete accounting of reality.   The scene shows two women, one open to the next world another skeptical, working out their questions in a meaningful conversation.  The question about what happens when we die is clearly found in the Bible in a number of places and the promises portrayed in this hospital room conversation are some of the same promised by God in Scripture. 

I am with you...

Emily's anxiety about her vision is calmed with a voice stating that he is with her.  Being assured the presence of the Divine through life and death is one of the central promises of Jesus Christ.  This coming Sunday churches around the world will celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, where God's presence was poured out for every land and nation.   Jesus promises in the Great Commission that he will be with us until the end of the aeon.   In the final book of the Bible, the key promise of the reconciliation and final healing of the world is the complete presence of God experienced fully by His people.   "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them;  (Revelation 21:3 NRSV).  A look into the original language of John of Patmos' vision will reveal that the word used for home in the above verse is σκηνὴ, which literally means "tent."   So Revelation shows an image of a reconciled New Jerusalem where God is not in a temple but camping out with those whom He loves.  It is an image of God's intimate presence with us that shows that his being with us is the first solution of all of our genuine needs.  

There is something (or someone) beyond this world...  

God's presence is our most profound need because unlike us, he has no limitations.   He is the one who is not bound by space, time, laws of physics, or conventions.  He is the only one who can free us from the bondages that we face.  John of Patmos writes again: Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.  (Revelation 21:6 NRSV)  The letters Alpha and Omega are the first and last  letters of the Greek alphabet.   So Revelation is saying that God is A-Z,  all that is in between, and even more. The God of Jesus Christ is more than we can fathom. The God who works salvation through history is the God who is beyond anything history can describe.  This power is necessary because Scripture tells us that the Lord will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away."  (Revelation 21:4 NRSV)  Death, pain, grief and loss may ensnare us, but they have no power over the Alpha and Omega who is at the head of all things. 

 A Communion of Saints...


The most moving aspect of the scene between the two cancer patients in Battlestar Gallactica is how it shows Emily having a vision of being in a reunited communion with her loved ones.  Her parents, children and all who had died before her are re-united in a new community.  This same hope is made explicit by Jesus as he prepares to go to the cross on the night in which he was betrayed.  In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. (John 14:2 NRSV) The vision of the resurrected life is not just one of you in relation to God it is you with others in relation to God.  We become part of the resurrected community of God.

The other component of this is one of the chief images of an afterlife given in the Bible.   It is the idea of the great heavenly feast.   We first learn of it in Isaiah, and Jesus uses it as his primary teaching image of the coming Reign of God. Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God.  (Luke 13:29 NRSV)  The redeemed gather for fellowship around God's table.  This image is one the reasons I advocate regular celebration of the Lord's supper, it as as said a "foretaste of the feast to come."

An Invitation... 

I have always found it comforting that the Bible uses images like those discussed above.   I find that images are often more inclusive than definitions or a list of requirements.  I can relate my common life experiences to images,  they give me touch points with God's Word.  When the Bible says God camped out, I think of my own camping trips.  When heaven is described as a feast or party, I have wonderful images in my mind of fellowship with friends and loved ones.   I believe the Bible uses images to make coming to God more inviting.

The answer to the question of what happens when die is clear according to the Bible.  The answer is resurrection.   However, I do believe we need to be open it.  In this week's scene we saw two people one with an experience of life after death who was clearly open to the possibility, and one who was struggling to understand.  The saddest for me are those who close themselves off to the possibility, not only those who reject God, but perhaps those of us who nominally acknowledge God, but become absorbed in our own stuff to the point where we are unable to see the images that God provides us.  They miss out on the hope to come closer to him to live the abundant life in this world and the next. However, all we need to do is look up out of our junk and see the vision of God that is revealed through his Word of Jesus calling us back to God and himself.   The invitation to life eternal is there, we just need to respond, and to me that is indeed a comforting thought.

This is the final installment of this series:   This summer we will be working with two themes:  "Thriving in a mixed up world"  based on readings from the Gospel of Mark, and "A life rebuilt by Jesus," which uses texts from Ephesians.   Please be in prayer that we can come closer to our Lord through the proclamation and study of his Word. 


Keep the Faith, 
Pastor Knecht