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Death - One More Great Surprise
(A sermon preached January 31, 2010 at University United Methodist Church,
East Lansing, by John Ross Thompson)
Psalm 23
If any of you are visitors today, or have been coming for only a few Sundays,
you might wonder about the sermons this month. We are in the midst of a sermon
series on topics about which we don’t usually preach. Some of them have been
quite heavy, but we have heard from lots of you that they have been meaningful
to you.
I started the series preaching on money. Pastor Kennetha preached on power.
Then I preached on divorce and Kennetha preached on secrets. Today’s topic is
another one that is often perceived as a negative, one that many of us don’t
like to discuss – it’s death.
To begin, please turn with me in The Faith We Sing song book to page 2051.
This is one of the most meaningful recent songs that has come into our worship
experience. “I Was There to Hear Your Borning Cry” is God talking to each of
us, sharing how God has been with us every step of the way as we live our
lives. Please remain seated as we sing all the verses.
“I Was There To Hear Your Borning Cry”
My thesis this morning is that the “one great surprise” in the sixth verse of
this song is something we can count on. Although we don’t know for sure what
eternity will be, we can count on God’s promise that what has been good in this
life will be even better in the life to come.
Listen to these words from I Corinthians, in which Paul compares our earthly
bodies to the “bodies” we will have in eternity. Look for God’s promise in
these words:
1 Corinthians 15:35-58 ( a paraphrase from The Message)
35Some skeptic is sure to ask, "Show me
how resurrection works. Give me a diagram; draw me a picture. What does this
'resurrection body' look like?"
36If you look at this question closely,
you realize how absurd it is. There are no diagrams for this kind of thing.
37We do have a parallel experience in
gardening. You plant a "dead" seed; soon there is a flourishing plant. There is
no visual likeness between seed and plant.
38You could never guess what a tomato
would look like by looking at a tomato seed. What we plant in the soil and what
grows out of it don't look anything alike. The dead body that we bury in the
ground and the resurrection body that comes from it will be dramatically
different.
39You will notice that the variety of
bodies is stunning. Just as there are different kinds of seeds, there are
different kinds of bodies - humans, animals, birds, fish - each unprecedented in
its form.
40You get a hint at the diversity of
resurrection glory by looking at the diversity of bodies not only on earth but
in the skies - sun, moon, stars - all these varieties of beauty and brightness.
And we're only looking at pre-resurrection "seeds" - who can imagine what the
resurrection "plants" will be like!
42This image of planting a dead seed and
raising a live plant is a mere sketch at best, but perhaps it will help in
approaching the mystery of the resurrection body - but only if you keep in mind
that when we're raised, we're raised for good, alive forever!
43The corpse that's planted is no beauty,
but when it's raised, it's glorious. Put in the ground weak, it comes up
powerful.
44The seed sown is natural; the seed grown
is supernatural - same seed, same body, but what a difference from when it goes
down in physical mortality to when it is raised up in spiritual immortality!
45We follow this sequence in Scripture:
The First Adam received life, the Last Adam is a life-giving Spirit.
46Physical life comes first, then
spiritual –
47a firm base shaped from the earth, a
final completion coming out of heaven.
48The First human was made out of earth,
and people since then are earthy; the Second human was made out of heaven, and
people now can be heavenly.
49In the same way that we've worked from
our earthy origins, let's embrace our heavenly ends.
50I need to emphasize, friends, that our
natural, earthy lives don't in themselves lead us by their very nature into the
kingdom of God. Their very "nature" is to die, so how could they "naturally" end
up in the Life kingdom?
51But let me tell you something wonderful,
a mystery I'll probably never fully understand. We're not all going to die - but
we are all going to be changed.
52You hear a blast to end all blasts from
a trumpet, and in the time that you look up and blink your eyes - it's over. On
signal from that trumpet from heaven, the dead will be up and out of their
graves, beyond the reach of death, never to die again. At the same moment and in
the same way, we'll all be changed.
53In the resurrection scheme of things,
this has to happen: everything perishable taken off the shelves and replaced by
the imperishable, this mortal replaced by the immortal.
54Then the saying will come true: Death
swallowed by triumphant Life!
55Who got the last word, oh, Death? Oh,
Death, who's afraid of you now?
56It was sin that made death so
frightening and law-code guilt that gave sin its leverage, its destructive
power.
57But now in a single victorious stroke of
Life, all three - sin, guilt, death - are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus
Christ. Thank God!
58With all this going for us, my dear,
dear friends, stand your ground. And don't hold back. Throw yourselves into the
work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or
effort.
One of the reasons the topic of death is in this sermon series is because it
affects so many of us often. Even putting aside the reality that all of us will
physically die some day, we are touched by death regularly. It’s hard for me to
think of a week when we don’t have on our prayer list someone from our church
family who has lost by death a loved one. We are also aware that we do not know
about all of the deaths that members and friends experience among their
families, friends and work colleagues.
Even in a relatively young 53-year-old church like UUMC, we are beginning to
experience more deaths of our members. There are now several deaths in a
typical year among our 500 members.
Why are we so reluctant at times to talk about death? Death is all around
us. The unknown is tough to talk about, and the thought of eternity to many
people is uncertain or vague.
One clear suggestion is to talk openly about death, as we should every
important human emotion and event. Expressing our feelings is healing. One
advantage of modern health care is that we often know clearly that death is
coming, and have a better estimate of how long someone might live. Hospice
care, and the fact that we are talking openly about it, means that we have time
with loved ones to be prepared for what is coming.
In our church for many years, we have encouraged each other to fill out
emergency information forms related to illness and death. They are kept
confidentially in the pastor’s office for use when needed, and are very helpful
at times of loss. These forms are always available from our church office. We
also have several times offered the study and support class called “Living
Fully, Dying Well” and hope to offer it again in the near future. Getting ready
for the inevitable always makes sense, even if we don’t know when it will be
needed.
Since all of us lose loved ones by death, and since all of us one day will
die, it’s important that our faith speak to death. And it does! In the dying
process, when others know it is happening, each of us will be surrounded by
loving, compassionate care. Those of you who have walked with loved ones
through the process know the deep felt joy of caring for them, even as you
experience the heartache of losing them.
But what about the other side of death? Most of us don’t literally believe
in pearly gates and golden streets, but we do trust that there is an eternity.
We believe that a loving Creator, who gave us life, does not abandon us when one
phase of living is over. In science, we know that energy lives on, even though
it takes other forms. We know that we will lose our physical bodies, but not
our spirits. Christianity is clear that a loving God, who walks with us through
every phase of life, walks with us forever in a realm that we cannot see from
this earth.
Jesus said that unless a seed falls into the ground and dies, it does not
come to life.
For those of us who doubt there is a heaven, please recognize that some of
the most real things in life are not the ones we can hold or touch. Love and
relationships are intangible, but in some ways more real that something
physical. As our doubts and questions surface, remember the phrase from the
hymn we just sang,
“When the evening gently closes in,
and you shut your weary eyes,
I'll be there as I have always been
with just one more surprise."
In our own lives, and in our sharing with others,
it is important to focus on what we know for sure. I know for sure that the God
who has been with me through all of my life will not abandon me at physical
death. I know the Creator keeps on creating and I’m counting on that “one more
surprise.”
Do you like the idea of a surprise? I don’t like
surprises when I don’t know someone, or if I don’t trust them. But if the
surprise, like a birthday gift or a Christmas gift, is from someone I know and
love, it’s a joy, no matter what it is. That’s the promise in this hymn – that
our loving Creator will top this wonderful world with an eternity that is even
better.
God is not finished with us, even when our physical
lives are over. A surprise is not a surprise if we know completely what it is.
However, if we know the one who is giving us the surprise, if we trust in God’s
love and presence, we can rest assured that in life, in death, in life beyond
death, God is with us. Thanks be to God!
Let’s sing together verses 6 and 7 of “I Was There
to Hear Your Borning Cry.”
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