Resurrection Now and Later

Revelation 21:1-6

Easter 5, May 18, 2025

Holy Trinity Cathedral

“Resurrection Now and Later”

Some people don’t believe in a life after death.  Some don’t believe in resurrection- either of Jesus or anyone else.  Others feel that there will be a sorting out, but not until the end of time. The good will go to heaven and the bad will go to hell.  What if I told you that resurrection is both now and later?  But don’t take my word for it.  The witness of scripture, the tradition of our faith, and the experience of Christians today all attest to the truth.  Christ is making all things new!

Often, this passage from the end of the Book of Revelation is read at funerals.  There is a great comfort and assurance of what will be.  The image is of a new heaven and a new earth coming to us from heaven.  The presence of God is promised with all who dwell in this holy city.  There will be no more death or mourning or pain.  All our mortal suffering will be over.  This idea of a happy-ever-after place gets linked in our minds to what happens after death.  When we think of our loved ones entering into a reality that puts their illness and frailty behind them, we find comfort.  We hope their courage and compassion will be recognized by our Lord, their weaknesses forgiven, and their questions answered.  After their trials on earth, there is a new earth for them.

But what about for us, still here?  Heaven is not just for later.  In fact, it is dangerous to buy into the idea that heaven is a reward only after we have served out our term on this planet.  That dogma leads people into accepting their lot in life.  It can embolden others in power of not caring for others.  If you make the argument that certain minorities are destined to poverty or lower status or infirmity or fewer rights, you don’t have to do anything to change it.  Let them wait for heaven.  Except that this vision from Revelation is a promise of something already happening- not a distant prediction.

The writer of this letter to the Church is encouraging people who are living under difficult conditions to not just hold on, but to be active in faith in the present.  The old heaven and earth have already passed away because the barrier between the two has been broken down through the death and resurrection of Jesus.  As the Son of God come to earth to be among mortals, he proclaimed “the kingdom of heaven is near to you”.  He suffered and died on the cross willingly to erase the line of sin that had separated earth and heaven.  Having conquered death, he appeared to his followers at Easter with a resurrection body.  Witnesses experienced his real presence.  And all who believed in him became a new people together, God’s people.  We call the Church the Body of Christ because together believers receive a new life here and now to realize the kingdom.  Each of us has a role in making the future, when all things will be reconciled, more present. 

That is why what we do on earth matters.  We are not commanded to sit on our hands and look holy til Christ comes with the final trumpet.  We have work to do now to make heaven a reality for more and more of the world.  This is why we feed the hungry.  Not just our family or our friends or our neighbours, but those we see in need.  This is why we tend to the sick.  It’s why we advocate for justice and practice good stewardship to sustain the earth.  Above all, it is why we proclaim good news, because it is for now as much as it is for later. 

We are part of Christ’s work to make all things new.  It’s a group effort.  Our faith community is a school for resurrection.  Everything we practice as Christians helps draw us together and the life of the world to the life of the kingdom.  The hardest part is accomplished: in the glory of Easter, Jesus affirms “It is done!”  Not, “I’ll get around to it someday”.   For those we have loved and known who have entered into the next life, there is still a role.  The communion of saints is our cheering section.  They pray and watch and encourage all of us here on earth, and they will not cease until we are reunited.  It is only right and human to miss their physical presence with us, but in faith we stay connected.  Life in Jesus Christ means no limits. 

We each have known loved ones who have died.  And we are not untouched by the deaths of people we do not know, but have died in the disasters and tragedies of our world.  Tonight there is a vigil service at All Saints Burnaby for all who are affected by the Lapu-Lapu festival tragedy in Vancouver.  In it we remember those who have died, we grieve with those who are left. Yet above all, we affirm our faith that resurrection is real.  For now and later.  Amen.