"The Best is Yet to Come"

Sermon 05.02.10
“The Best is Yet to Come”

A woman was diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. As she was getting her things in order, she contacted her pastor and asked him to come to her house to discuss some of her final wishes.

She told him which hymns she wanted sung at her funeral, what scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in. She also asked that her favorite bible be placed in the casket.

As the pastor prepared to leave, the woman suddenly remembered something else. “There’s one more thing,” she said excitedly.

“What’s that?” asked the pastor.
“This is important,” the woman said. “I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand.”
The pastor stood looking at the woman, not quite knowing what to say.

The woman explained. “In all my years of attending church socials and potluck suppers, when the dished of the main course were being cleared away, someone would inevitably lean over and say, “Keep your fork.” “It was my favorite part of the meal because I knew that something even better was coming – a velvety rich chocolate cake or a deep-dish peach pie.”

“So when people see me in the casket with a fork in my hand, and they ask, ‘What’s with the fork?’, I want you to tell them: Keep the fork – the best is yet to come.”

Having recently conducted two memorial services in which this passage from Revelation was read, I decided to preach on it this morning, rather than the gospel passage, because I feel that it offers more than just comfort to the bereaved. Indeed, it is a glorious story of life, and how the Creator of life itself is now present, and coming to earth to be with mortals.

For most of the folks that are familiar with this passage, it has come to them as a vision of what heaven must be like; after death our souls ascending to a perfect place where there is no sadness, no unhappiness, streets that are paved with gold and angels standing around like a spiritual welcoming committee.

But this really isn’t what the passage says. It tells us that the new Jerusalem, the holy city of God will come down, like a bride adorned for her husband. The city is coming down – we’re not moving up. Verse 3 reassures us that we don’t need to go anywhere, but to stay put. The author John records it in this way. “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them.”

God is not some ephemeral figure hanging around in the clouds, but comes into our midst, creating newness, and giving to the thirsty the water of life. This affirmation of the Almighty coming to us, his peoples, is a significant part of the good news of the text. And the words that we are given are trustworthy and true – we have God’s promise on that.

We all have our own imagination about what heaven will be like. God assures us in this passage that mourning and crying and pain will be no more. Some of us picture heaven as a great garden of Paradise before the fall, while still others imagine pearly gates and the faces of loved ones. Life will be complete and fulfilling and joyful, with harp strumming cherubs. I myself think that when I get to heaven, I’ll be perfectly transformed into a size 8, and pepperoni pizzas will have zero calories.

Another important point of the passage is that God identifies as the Alpha and Omega – the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, the beginning and the end. But God isn’t just there at the beginning and the end of our lives; God is there for all of the in-betweens that we have. God is A through Z, not A and Z.

God is there when we are overwhelmed by the demands of working and raising a family; God is there when we celebrate milestone birthdays and anniversaries; God is there when our children disappoint us, and when our parents can no longer care for themselves. God is in the midst of all of our beginnings and endings. God is not sitting in heaven and watching a play, but moving around with us through all of life’s inner workings. Even though we realize that we do not truly have heaven here on earth, it’s comforting to know that when it is time for all of the old world order to cease, God will come down to mortals and live among them.

And, indeed, there is no city or town anywhere in the world called Heaven. I think that humankind is rather bright in this respect of not even attempting to duplicate what is only too wonderful to dream about or doubt about. How could you put a name on something that is the best thing to come?

John Newton, the author of Amazing Grace, offers his view of heaven: “When I get to heaven, I shall see three wonders there: The first wonder will be to see many there that I did not expect to see; the second wonder will be to miss the many people whom I did expect to see; the third and greatest of all will be to find myself there.”

John’s passage in Revelation is not about death, but about abundant life that is promised to us. Our God has seen fit to dwell among us, mere humans that we are. Our God has seen fit to make all things new. And our God has assured us that the first things have passed away. How wonderful to be told that we will no longer be deceitful, self-centered, unethical spoiled brats, but will dwell be able to be with God in glory. We just need to have our forks ready for dessert.

Let us remember that God is coming to us, and this promise is trustworthy and true. Let us praise God for the gift of eternity. Let us honor God whose home is among us. And let all God’s people say: The best is yet to come. Amen.