Mark 9:38-50
Do you believe in
Hell? That is a question that would never have been asked fifty years ago. When
I was fifteen everyone I knew believed in Hell. It was the final destination of
the wicked. Hell was an eternal exile from God where sinners were subjected to
fire, worms and darkness. Many a soul has been frightened into confessing belief
in Jesus solely because they desired to escape from the eternal damnation so
dramatically described in the writings of Dante and the sermons of Jonathan
Edwards.
But that was fifty
years ago. One of the amazing things about the Bible is we all know what it
says but we seldom take the time to actually read it. We allow other people to
do the leg work and then we base our acceptance or rejection of their arguments
on conclusions we have already reached. Maybe it is time to take a closer look
at the idea of hell.
In Mark 9 Jesus is
reported to have said, “If you put a stumbling block before a little one,
better you be thrown in the sea or go to hell, a place where worms never die and the fire is never
quenched.” That would seem to wrap up any doubts about the existence of such a
horrid place. Yet a careful reading of the New Testament reveals 99% is about
salvation and the passages referring to hell are actually quite difficult to
find. The Apostle Paul, who is chiefly responsible for explaining the
significance of Christ, fails to mention hell at all. The Gospel of John makes
an astounding argument for universal salvation. So what gives?
In his book The Formation of Hell, Alan Bernstein
makes a compelling argument that Hell was a Greek/Persian concept that filtered
into Jewish thought three centuries before the birth of Christ. The concept of
hell was not universally accepted. Orthodox Judaism during the time of Jesus
and Paul did not believe in an afterlife so punishment after death made no
sense. But some radical Jews had begun to consider the idea of an afterlife, a
concept prevalent in other cultures.
With the believers of Jesus embracing the idea eternal life, naturally
it followed that if there is a heaven, there must be a hell. The early church theologians
grappled with the idea of hell for the better part of three centuries. Many
early church fathers argued that God’s forgiving nature would not allow a soul
to be separated from God for eternity. But Augustine ended the discussion when
he ridiculed those who thought eternal punishment was too long. He claimed they
were too tender hearted to fully appreciate the wrath of God. Ironically, Augustine,
the greatest defender of Paul ignores Paul’s greatest contribution to the
Christian faith, “Nothing can separate us from the love of God”.
So how does one
reconcile the division between Paul and Augustine or between Mark and John? Are
some folks so evil they deserve eternal damnation, or is God’s grace greater
than any sin? If it is written in the Gospels, do you believe Jesus must have
said it, or do you if wonder the writers of gospels might have occasionally editorialized
those sayings? The writers of Matthew and Mark lived in a time of horrible
persecution. If their gospels reflected the promise that God was going to get
even with their tormentors, don’t you think this would have given First Century
Christians a brief moment of joy? These are questions over which the church has
argued since the death of Jesus and I suspect they will never be resolved. So
let me add to your confusion by making a statement I am sure some of you will
be find to be a contradiction.
I believe in hell, but
not necessarily eternal damnation.
Let’s go back to the
text. Jesus said, “If you are a stumbling block for another, or if your hand,
or foot, or eye causes you to sin, change directions, or you will be thrown
into hell.”
Friday a week ago I
made the decision that eight o’clock in the morning would be the proper time to
head for New Haven, Connecticut. We traveled up Interstate 81, avoiding
Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia but discovered unless one goes to New
England by way of Canada, New York City cannot be avoided. We hit the Tappan
Zee Bridge at 5:00. Do I need to describe hell for you? Monday, after
conversations with the local folk, we got back in the car at ten in the morning
for our return. We had an uneventful trip all the way back to Nellysford. The
decisions we make often determines the hell we create.
Do not think for one
moment I am making light of the concept of hell. My “go to” definition for hell
has always been “The absence of God”. Sometimes this is voluntary, sometimes it
is thrust upon us, and sometimes it is caused by the hand of another. Most of
us have seen the photo of Aylan Kurdi, a three year old child lying lifeless on
a Turkish beach after the boat carrying his family capsized as they were
attempting to escape the war in Syria. In a family of four only the father
managed to survive. Can you even begin to imagine his personal hell?
We are besieged by
events, both personal and international, that can send us into an overwhelming darkness.
Recently a survey was taken at the University of Texas in which 26,000 students
participated. 55% had thoughts of suicide, 18% had seriously considered it, and
8% had made an unsuccessful attempt. To more than half of those young people,
hell is real. So the question becomes, can the church of Jesus Christ move our theological
conversations from speculation on an eternal destination to a more pertinent
dialogue concerning how our words and actions might address the darkness
residing within the hearts of more folks than we might imagine?
I am convinced that we
live in an age of agitation and isolation. In so much of my ministry I have
discovered folks who feel utterly lost in their search for purpose, community,
love, and self. They indulge in diversions such as alcohol, sex, recreation and
entertainment as a futile attempt to distract from the emptiness of their
lives. Once their motivation was a search for meaning, but disappointment and
failure has turned a pursuit for excellence into the quicksand of
hopelessness. What they desperately
desire is a way out of hell.
Tennessee Williams in
his play, The Night of the Iguana,
creates a conversation intersecting hell with hope.
Hannah begins. “I can
help you because I’ve been through what you are going through. I had something
like your spook only I had a different name for him. I called him the blue
devil, and we had quite a contest between us.
Shannon interrupts,
“Which you obviously won.”
Hannah responds, “I
couldn’t afford to lose.”
“So how did you beat
your blue devil?”
“I showed him I could
endure him and I made him respect my endurance.” (stop)
So many folks who
believe they have hit rock bottom are looking for a quick fix and the greatest
failure of the church is we are more than happy to offer them one. Our magic
elixir is, “Believe in Jesus and your life will be good.” Then when people come
back complaining nothing has changed, we assure them heaven will be better than
earth. What we have done is put a millstone around their neck. We have given
them permission to opt out of this “evil world” and dream of a paradise where
all the residents will look and be just like us. Why not invite them to hear an
earthly story of endurance and hope? Why not invite them to hear the story of the love of God?
The Old Testament
centers around two trips to hell. The first is the exile in Egypt and the
second is the exile in Babylon. According to the text, the Israelites were
invited to visit Egypt and they overstayed their welcome. Their dependence on
Pharaoh resulted in their loss of freedom. In the case of the Babylonian exile,
Judah was dragged to Babylon kicking and screaming. The downfall of Jerusalem
began when they forgot how to love God and their neighbors.
From this hell emerged
stories of endurance, hope and finally salvation. It was not an easy road and
it did not happen overnight. The wilderness between Egypt and the Promised Land
was filled with anger, panic and fear. The road through the desert from Babylon
to Jerusalem did not seem feasible until the songs of the prophet promised the
road less traveled would lead to a place they could once again call their own.
The story of salvation
continues in the New Testament, only it is not the saga of a nation but a
person. Jesus met people exactly where
he found them. Be they rich or poor,
fisherman or intellectuals, Biblical scholars or altogether ignorant of the
Torah, Jesus said, “Follow me.” He
didn’t say the road would be easy because it wasn’t. He didn’t promise riches
or fame and he was correct. But he did say, “Stay with me and you will discover
a peace that is beyond your understanding.” The road Jesus walked was filled
with wilderness and mountain tops. The
disciples were often disoriented, confused and even disheartened. What kept
them on the road to Jerusalem was not a promise of eternal salvation but the
assurance that every single day Jesus would be with them. No truer words have ever
been spoken.
Paul summed up the
promise of Jesus in one sentence. “Neither life, nor death, nor rulers, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor heights, nor depths, nor
anything in all creation, will separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus
our Lord.”
In The Divine Comedy, Dante saw written
over the gates of Hell the words, “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.” I
believe Dante was wrong. God goes where there is suffering because God has
suffered. God goes where there is pain because God has felt pain. God goes to
those abandoned because God has been abandoned. God goes where there is no hope
because that is what God has always done.
Hell is a lonely
place. The question is will you join someone in their darkness? Will you listen
to their story? Will you promise not to offer simple or even complex answers?
Will you wait until they finally ask, “Why are you here with me?” And then will
you gently sing to them a song of the One who has never left us. Will you sing
to them a song of endurance amidst the pain, hurt, and loneliness of this
world? Will you sing to them a song of hope and peace? Will you sing them a
song of a God who will never let us go, no matter what? Will you sing to them
God’s song of salvation, a song for today and a song for all our tomorrows.
Amen.
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