1 Corinthians 15:51-57
English
Standard Version
51 Behold! I
tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in
a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will
sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53
For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body
must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and
the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is
written:
“Death is
swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O death,
where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
56 The sting
of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who
gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
_____________________________________________________________________________
One of the things I spoke with Tina about in the last few
weeks was the promise of the resurrection.
I visited her, and of course we prayed for healing, knowing that God
does sometimes answer with a miracle.
But we also knew, and Tina was at ease saying, that this disease had no
cure, and she knew that in all likelihood her time was limited. She spoke as one who had faith in Christ, and
believed in the promise of the resurrection.
And we talked about how if God doesn’t answer her with healing here and
now, he will certainly free her (and all believers) from all troubles in the
resurrection.
And so today, we gather because God has called Tina from
this earthly life to himself. Her spirit
rests secure in paradise the blest, in the presence of her Savior. And there she will rest, in peace, until that
day when God fulfills the promise of the resurrection to glory.
We read about this promise, especially, in 1 Corinthians
15. It is often called the “Great
Resurrection Chapter” of the Bible. We
heard a part of that chapter already – a few moments ago. Let us look closer at what St. Paul teaches
us about the resurrection, and find comfort in this promise even amidst our
grief.
Paul begins, “Behold!”
Anytime scripture invites us to “behold!” it means, “look here!”, “pay
attention!” what follows is something very important.
“I tell you a mystery”.
The promise of the resurrection is a mystery. For Christians, a mystery isn’t something we
have to figure out. It’s not a whodunit
murder mystery with plot twists and you find out in the end that the butler did
it. A mystery is a truth of God that we
can’t know about on our own. It has to
be revealed. It is inaccessible to our
human powers, apart from God showing us.
The Holy Trinity is a mystery.
The Real Presence of Christ in the Sacrament of the Altar is
mystery. Holy Baptism is a mystery. Even the way scripture speaks of us
Christians as both sinners and saints – it is a mystery. Tina believed and confessed all these
mysteries. She did so, not because she
understood them, but she did so in faith, and that faith itself, a mystery – a
gift of God – a work of the Holy Spirit through the Word.
She was baptized at the Lutheran Church of the Good
Shepherd, in Hazelwood, MO March 26,
1961. At 13, she was confirmed at Peace
Lutheran Church in Hurst. And she
remained a faithful Lutheran throughout her life, including her 30 years here
at Messiah. How many times in her life
did she confess these mysteries, reciting the creeds, One baptism for the
remission of sins, The communion of Saints, and also – “I believe in the
resurrection of the body and the life of the world to come.”
You see, for the Christian, death means something
different. For us who are in Christ,
death is swallowed up in victory. It is
swallowed up, by Jesus.
Jesus faced death, and boy did he. He suffered greatly and died a terrible death
by any human standard. He was a man of
sorrows well acquainted with grief. Even
in our Christmas hymns we remember Christ’s suffering for us, “nails, spears,
shall pierce him through, the cross be borne for me, for you”. More than that, he bore the sins of the world
on that cross – Tina’s sins, yours, mine.
And that’s why his death was so important and so critical to us – this
is the mystery – by his death he destroyed death. He took the sting of death away. Death has no teeth, no terror anymore, for us
who are in Christ.
For us, death has no sting.
Because our sins are forgiven in Christ.
Therefore death is no longer a punishment for Christians. It isn’t a sign of God’s displeasure. We do not fear death because we do not fear
his judgment. Our breaking of the law is
put away in Christ. Our sins are as far
from us as the east is from the west.
Death is therefore harmless.
Tina’s sins were forgiven in her baptism, both on the day
she was washed by the rebirth and renewal of the Spirit, and every day of her
Christian life as she drew on that baptismal promise. She heard, regularly, the words of Christ’s
absolution. She received, often, the
very body and blood of Jesus – for the forgiveness of her sins. There is therefore no sting, no poison left
in death for her either.
For us Christians, death becomes instead the gate to eternal
life. And Tina knew this well. I know she didn’t relish the idea of
departing from her family and loved ones.
She wasn’t in a hurry to go.
Indeed, she endured her own share of suffering as she fought this
disease for the past year. Life is a
gift, and we treasure the time we have.
But she also had a peace about her - knowing that greater gifts would be
revealed, and that her future was secure in her Lord.
Death wasn’t the end of Jesus, and it isn’t the end of Tina,
either. On the third day, Christ rose
from the dead, and demonstrated his victory to the women at the tomb, to the
bewildered disciples, and eventually even to a crowd of over 500 at one
time. He gave “many convincing proofs”
that he was no ghost, but that his body, his flesh and blood, rose from the
grave. “Here, Thomas, stick out your
hand – touch the wounds – put your fingers here – stop doubting, and believe!” He spoke with them, he ate with them, he
opened their minds to understand the scriptures – and the mystery – that the
Messiah had to suffer, and die, and rise on the third day.
But the resurrection of Christ isn’t just his victory – it
is ours, too. God gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
You see, Christ’s resurrection is just the beginning. He is the first born of the dead, the first
fruits of the dead. That means that others
will follow. One day – on the last day –
Christ will return. He will come again
in glory, to judge both the living and the dead. And the dead in Christ will rise first. And all of us who are in Christ – alive at
that time and freshly risen from death – all believers who share in his victory
– will be glorified.
It may be hard, from where we are today, to see that
victory. To stand in the valley of the
shadow of death and know that just across the way are green pastures and still
waters. To believe and know that one day
we will stand, after we have died and risen from death to glory. To know that we will see our savior with our
own eyes, and not another. To look
forward to that day, when all who are in Christ have a blessed reunion also
with those we love who have died in the faith.
And that we will see Tina again.
Behold, I tell you a mystery! At the last trumpet Tina will be raised
incorruptible, and all the saints at rest along with her. And then the mortal will put on immortality.
In other words, we will live forever. What a thought. Not just as a disembodied spirit, but a whole
person – body and soul – together again and better than ever. Never to face death again. This is our promise and hope in Jesus Christ,
crucified and risen for us.
And so today we say farewell to dear Tina. We commend her to the loving arms of the Lord
– there to rest and wait with all the faithful who have gone before us. We know she is with Christ, and she is at
peace. But that’s not the end of the
story. I tell you a mystery. There is a resurrection coming. Tina will rise again. And we who are in Christ the same. We will see her again, with our Lord, face to
face.
(Obituary)
No comments:
Post a Comment