Luke 15:11-32
One of the hardest questions I have ever been asked as a minister is, “Are there dogs in heaven?” It is a question that I am asked frequently although sometimes the query is phrased differently – like, “Will my cat be with God when it dies?” “Does God allow gerbils and fish in heaven?”
Because those asking the question often have varying reasons for raising the issue, and don’t assume the only ones who ask are children, I’m never exactly sure what is the best way to respond. Often my questioners want to know if there is a place in God’s world for their beloved pet and they wonder if God will be as tender about four legged creatures and other species as we are. But sometimes what they are really asking has more to do with a loved one who is near death, and they want me to reassure them about what will happen when that person dies. Will their loved one be ok? Will they be able to live without that person?
Now, before I tell you how I answer the question of whether there are dogs and cats in heaven, let me first ask you, “Who or what is in your idea of heaven?” Whether you define heaven as a specific place somewhere beyond our imagining or simply that which exists in the mind of God – whatever heaven is for you, who and what do you find there? Are there people you love, famous people from throughout history you are dying to meet (pun intended)? And what about your enemies; are they there? Can you imagine that you will find persons there that are absolutely the last people you want to see?
I don’t know how you might respond to those questions, but there are many people for whom heaven is perceived as the ultimate vacation where only good people receive rest and reward. And it certainly isn’t heaven unless their enemies are elsewhere in some kind of hell. They can’t imagine that people who are dishonest, illegal, sinful; people who have hurt them or others in any way, people who have committed horrible crimes would be anywhere near a place like heaven. And if those sinful people are in heaven, well, it certainly wouldn’t be heaven!
However, while it never actually mentions the word ‘heaven’, our morning’s gospel story invites us to reconsider what we believe about who belongs where. Think back to the account we heard of the prodigal son. A younger sibling insists on his share of the inheritance now, which is in essence to wish the father dead. Then he takes that money and runs as far away as possible in order to experience a whole new life, only to realize too late how much better it was at home and so returns in great shame and confession. The older sibling, who we don’t know what his reaction was when his brother left, clearly isn’t happy when his brother returns, no matter how repentant the younger brother may be. His brother’s coming home only makes worse what the older brother perceives as major, unfair inequity. In the older brother’s mind, “Dad” clearly loves the younger one best.
Sound familiar? Who among us has never heard or uttered a complaint about one child being loved more than the other?
Yet all the poor parent in our story wants is for each sibling to know they are both loved deeply and equally, because they are both loved without limit or measure. It makes no difference to the father what one has always done or what one has grievously done wrong. Love is beyond that kind of accounting. Yet such love comes at a terrible cost – both siblings test it with their defiance and their rejection even though only one of them actually left town.
Both brothers refuse to believe that their father can care about them each as different as they are. And so the story poignantly ends with one child stubbornly and resolutely outside in the yard refusing to go in, and the other child with chair pulled up to the feast, while the father stands between them, his arms stretched nearly to the breaking point yet wide enough to embrace them both.
We know, of course, that this is not just a story about sibling rivalry or about how parents’ love and lives can be torn apart. While Jesus was trying to make a point about the incredible joy that spills over when what was lost is found, he also was seeking to have his hearers understand just how open and welcoming God’s love is. Like the father who was going to make room at the table for both his sons, so God is always going to make room in the kingdom for everybody! For the ne’er do wells and squanderers of life and livelihood as well as for the conscientious, never do anything wrong in their life type people.
Furthermore, according to Jesus, the only way you and I can work out our relationship with God is to first work on our relationship with each other. The party that the father was throwing for the younger son who had returned would never really begin until the older brother who had never left finally comes to the table. Like them, at some point you and I have to give up the idea that we can love God but still keep on despising someone else. And we certainly have to get used to the idea that God can love more than one at a time and isn’t going to love us best!
No matter whether we see ourselves as the older sibling who has been as good as gold all our lives and never did so much as tell a white lie, or whether we are the younger sibling, the one who forever seems to be charging off recklessly, insensitive to others’ needs, possessions or feelings, or whether we see ourselves as that parent whose heart is torn in two by children who refuse to get along, – the point is that each one of us has a place at the table. We all belong, no matter how much we despise or mistrust one another. It isn’t up to us to keep someone else out, no matter how much we think they have no business being there.
So, “yes,” I tell all those who ask me, “there are dogs in heaven, and cats and fish and gerbils and any other creature you can imagine.” Finding a place for animals in heaven is never a problem for God because God’s kingdom is very roomy. And just as God can always find room for dogs and cats, so God just as easily makes room for our worst enemy. We can bring our beloved pets to heaven as long as we also bring the person we hate most. Even if we don’t have pets, God still makes room for our worst enemy.
But you know what, it’s not just that heaven has room enough for all and that we will surely be surprised about who is there. The same is true for life here on earth. And that was an integral part of Jesus’ mission, to help us understand that heaven is meant to be among us in this life now and not just in the life to come. The time for getting along at the table and making room is this present moment, not some distant future when we die.
So, bring your dogs and cats as well as the ones you despise more than anything, and come to the table. Let God’s party finally begin!
Amen.