It is no secret I like what Richard Rohr brings to readers. The Franciscan spirituality writer combines a solid Christian perspective with an inclusive spirit and informed by contemporary psychological insights. Like myself---or shall I say like him---we both write a daily inspirational piece. He is both an example and an encouragement for me. The daily writing is a good discipline for me and, I suspect, he might say the same thing.
Recently I read one of his pieces which talked about heaven. Students often ask about heaven. I am never quite sure what to tell them. It is either very simple or incredibly complex. Atheists have it easy. For them heaven is simply nonsense. You live; you die; and that’s it. Maybe they are correct; but I don’t think so. This is where it gets complex. So it was that I welcomed Rohr’s insights and want to share that with you.
He begins by telling us that “We don’t go to heaven; we learn how to live in heaven now.” Immediately, I wanted to say “yes” to this affirmation. I say yes, although I also realize it doesn’t get detailed in any sense. But it does address one major issue when we talk about heaven. One thing always asked by students is what happens after death? The normal assumption is death becomes the time to talk about heaven. We ask the question: did the deceased person go to heaven? The question is not inappropriate, but it is too late.
Rohr says that heaven is not something attained at death. In his estimation, we might already be in heaven by the time we die! I like that. Why wait? In the words that follow from Rohr, we won’t get a specific definition of heaven. So let me say that I consider heaven to mean being in the presence of God. Whoever or whatever God is, heaven is being with and within that presence. That is enough for me. And of course, it does not mean I am there with God all by myself
This is where Rohr chimes in to offer his insight. He adds this thought: “And no one lives in heaven alone.” With this affirmation, Rohr moves into a discussion about community. Whatever heaven is, it is a community of people. With this idea he anticipates the classical idea of a communion of saints, to which we will return. I appreciate the fact that heaven is not for solitary individuals. That would make heaven boring! To borrow one of the images Jesus uses, we can declare that heaven is a banquet---it is a party. Why not!
Rohr continues, “Either we learn how to live in communion with other people and with all that God has created, or, quite simply, we’re not ready for heaven.” I love this idea; maybe the point of life is to learn how to live with other people---to include them and value them. Seen correctly, other people make our lives better and more interesting. And so should heaven. Rohr quips, “If we want to live an isolated life, trying to prove that we’re better than everybody else or believing we’re worse than everybody else, we are already in hell.” Effectively, I believe he is saying if heaven is only for winners, then it cannot be heaven. Winning tends to be exclusive. It determines losers and they are out of it.
Then Rohr picks up the notion of communion of saints. He declares that “We have been invited—even now, even today, even this moment—to live consciously in the communion of saints, in the Presence, in the Body, in the Life of the eternal and eternally Risen Christ. This must be an almost perfect way to describe salvation itself.” What a cool idea that heaven is by invitation. And I am confident all are invited. Some may decline the invitation, but all will be invited.
And the invitation comes today---this very day. It comes momentarily. Likely, it is not delivered by the person bringing the mail. It won’t even come via email. It comes directly through other people. Every other person in your life becomes your invitation to heaven. It only depends on how you receive him or her. As Rohr indicates, it comes with consciously figuring out how to live with other people. I have a clue it has to do with love. Love is the we include and incorporate others. And the good news is, that is precisely how we will be brought into the kingdom---into heaven itself.
I want to be able to welcome each day as an invite into heaven and the possibility of heavenly living. I want to see it as my privilege, not my right. I have no basis to claim heaven as my right. It seems more appropriate to see it as gift---as grace from God and from others. And this is good. It keeps me grounded and appropriately humble. I doubt there is much room in heaven---now or later---for arrogant folks. Arrogance is usually a loner thing anyway!
I am sure for myself it is a learning experience. It takes day to day practice---just like writing these inspirational pieces. Learning to live in heaven is a discipline by which we grow and make it more real. As we learn how to make it real, it becomes our reality.
Let’s get with it. We have this day to learn how to live in heaven.
Those of us who have read theology or, perhaps, those who are people of faith and are old enough might well recognize this title as a reminder of the late Jewish philosopher and theologian, Martin Buber. I remember reading Buber’s book, I and Thou , when I was in college in the 1960s. It was already a famous book by then. I am not sure I fully understood it, but that would not be the last time I read it. It has been a while since I looked at the book. Buber came up in a conversation with a friend who asked if I had seen the recent article by David Brooks? I had not seen it, but when I was told about it, I knew I would quickly locate and read that piece. I very much like what Brooks decides to write about and what he contributes to societal conversation. I wish more people read him and took him seriously. Brooks’ article focused on the 2016 contentious election. He provocatively suggests, “Read Buber, Not the Polls!” I think Brooks puts
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