Introduction
The first funeral I presided over was for Mitch Mitchell. He died in his seventies of cancer. He died with his loving wife and family around him. The sanctuary was full for his funeral, even though he had not held important jobs and positions. He was simply a well-loved man. Soon afterwards I participated in the funeral of James Mitchell (not related) who died in his sixties from a heart attack. That was a sadder funeral, but his widow and only son (in his early twenties) held up reasonably well. But the funeral a few months later was the saddest. It was for Randy, the only son, who died in a car accident.
His funeral was the hardest to do because of the suddenness of his death and the overwhelming grief of his mother who had lost her husband and son. But he was not the youngest. This past January, Anni Jordan died at two and a half from a long illness she had had near birth. There was Alli Large, who died at the age of 26 after years of battling cancer.
Which is worse, by the way, to die suddenly or through illness that gives time to settle one’s affairs and say goodbye? With the former, you experience little pain and don’t have time to fear death. But then, you don’t get to say goodbye to your loved ones, which they regret, not to mention their having to weather the shock of an unexpected loss. But with the latter, there is time to think about death and to fear it. Then there is the pain and discouragement of growing sicker and feebler, and the burden put on loved ones to care for you.
Which is better, to die young before “one’s time,” or old beyond “one’s time.” Is it better to be mourned by many who, though they bemoan your early death, will remember you in the prime of life; or is it better to live to old age when you have outlived most of your peers? No one mourns your early passing, but then few recall you in your younger years, and you have had time to regret lost relationships and lost strength.
When we were in seminary, Ginger had a job as a home care assistant helping the elderly. I remember being in one house and looking at a picture of a beautiful woman, probably in her 20s. It was a picture of the woman Ginger was helping. We did not know that young woman. We did not know her as a young woman newly married, like we were. How many times have I heard the phrase, “If you had only known her/him when she/he was younger.” But that fate awaits us all if we live long, because we have bodies that age and weaken.
But it seems sadder to die young, such as Annie who barely began life, or Alli who died at the age when her friends were getting married. There is my friend and spiritual mentor, Rich Scheer, who died of leukemia as he was preparing for the ministry, and James Boice, who died in the prime of his ministry. Such deaths seem more tragic, more wasteful.
Is there ever a “right time” to die? I’ve never heard someone who lost a dearly loved one say, “Glad to see him or go. Good timing.” The only times in which we welcome death for ourselves or our loved ones is when death brings an end to suffering. But it is the end of suffering, not the end of life, certainly not the departure of the person we loved, that we welcome. Even then, the grief is great. We all know – perhaps we have been the ones – husbands and wives who for months, even years, wore themselves out taking care of spouses who died of debilitating illnesses. We would think that when death came, they would be relieved, but instead, their grief is doubled.
And what of "good" deaths and "bad" deaths? We talk about wanting to die a good death or hoping not to have a bad death. We mean, of course, the circumstances. To die young is a bad death; so is to die in pain or violently; or to die by accident ("he shouldn't have died"). To die in old age is a good death if there is no pain and loved ones are around. It is okay to die suddenly after a certain age (what age?) and if one's health had begun to decline (thus avoiding a drawn out death). We dread the death of debilitating illness. Listen to John Donne's first essay that he wrote during a time of serious illness:
Variable, and therefore miserable condition of Man; this minute I was well, and am ill, this minute. I am surprised with a sudden change, and alteration to worse, and can impute it to no cause, nor call it by any name. We study health, and we deliberate upon our food, and drink, and exercises; and we hew and polish every stone that goes to that building, our body; and so our health is a long and regular work. But in a minute a canon batters all, overthrows all, demolishes all; a sickness unprevented for all our diligence, unsuspected for all our curiosity; nay, undeserved, if we consider only disorder, summons us, seizes us, possesses us, destroys us in an instant. O miserable condition of Man, which was not imprinted by God, who as he is immortal himself, had put a beam of immortality into us, which we might have blown into a flame, but blew it out by our first sin… So that now, we do not only die, but die upon the rack, die by the torment of sickness; nor that only, but are pre-afflicted, super-afflicted with these jealousies and suspicions and apprehensions of Sickness, before we can call it a sickness; we are not sure we are ill; one hand asks the other by the pulse, and our eye asks our urine, how we do. O multiplied misery! we die, and cannot enjoy death, because we die in this torment of sickness…
Is this the honor which Man hath by being a little world: that he has these earthquakes in himself, sudden shakings; these lightnings, sudden flashes; these thunders, sudden noises; these Eclipses, sudden darkenings of his senses; these blazing stars, sudden fiery exhalations; these rivers of blood, sudden red waters? Is he a world to himself only therefore, that he has enough in himself, not only to destroy, and execute himself, but to presage that execution upon himself; to assist the sickness, to make the sickness the more irremediable by sad apprehensions, and as if he would make a fire the more vehement, by sprinkling water upon the coals, so to wrap a hot fever in cold Melancholy… O miserable condition of Man!
This is discussion is depressing, isn't it? It is difficult to discuss the subject for long without sounding morbid. The reason boils down to this: death is a curse. Death and decay were not intended for man's body, but eternal life. Death is the result of man's fall. It is natural now only because sin is natural. But is should never have come.
And though death has, in a sense been redeemed, so that for those who die in Christ, it is but the door leading to eternal life, it nevertheless remains a curse to endure. The one dying must endure the process of death. Many, no doubt, face death bravely and gladly, but for many, we approach it trembling with fear. For that life beyond is something we believe in by faith, not by sight. And we must go it alone with no loved one to join us. And for those who remain behind, we see only a departure, only lifelessness.
But…there is more to tell!
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Recall the discussion: it is about the resurrection of the dead. Someday, our bodies will be raised from the dead. How do we know? Christ was raised from the dead, that's how! And if he were raised, we will be raised as well. Just as seeds from dead plants rise to new life, so will our bodies. And just as those seeds rise with new bodies, so will we. Just as there are different bodies to suit different needs, so will we take on new bodies to suit our new lives. And just as we have borne the image of the man of dust (Adam), so will rise to bear the image of the man of heaven (Jesus).
I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
I tell you that the bodies you will wear in the new kingdom that arrives when Christ returns will not bleed, will not break. For what is perishable cannot inherit the imperishable kingdom of heaven. God will, therefore, change our bodies.
51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. I will reveal to you fully what has been intimated in Scripture. You've known about salvation, about eternal life, but I will tell you more; you've known about being with Jesus, but I will tell you about additional blessing; you've heard about a new age, but I will tell you of such an age to come that is beyond your wildest dreams.
We shall not all sleep – We shall not all die. Death will not get us all. …but we shall all be changed – We all, who are in Christ, will experience a wonderful change.
52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye – This change will not be a gradual evolution, but instantaneous.
at the last trumpet. It will come when Christ returns. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. All of us, the living and the dead. It is the destiny of all who are in Christ.
53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. Our bodies must put on the imperishable, immortal bodies. There is no maybe. There is no question to this. It is not reserved for some saints and not others. It is for us all and it will take place.
And then…Here is the greatest news.
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.
Brothers and sisters, death will die! It will be swallowed up in the complete victory of Jesus Christ, a victory that he gives to us over death but death's companions. Why does death exist? Because of sin that brought death. And sin is empowered through the law. The law in itself is not evil; but it exposes our failure and even inflames temptation to sin because of our weak flesh, the lures of the world, and attacks of Satan. What ought to be life to us – the holy law of God – becomes our condemnation.
57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God for our Lord who died for our sins, who bore the guilt and the punishment for our sins, so that now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). And there is now a hope of an inheritance of eternal life that cannot be taken away because we are protected in Christ Jesus, so that he who began a good work in us will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6). Then we will be changed; then our bodies – whether living or dead – will be transformed to what is imperishable, immortal, to what will bear purely the image of the man of heaven. That is our victory, and what greater victory can there be?
58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Therefore, keep the faith. Keep serving the Lord. Keep steadfast because of this hope. It is the same hope that kept Paul steady in a ministry that continually brought suffering and threatened his life. Listen to what he says in his next letter:
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. 17For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
1For we know that if the tent, which is our earthly home, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3if indeed by putting it on[1] we may not be found naked. 4For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened--not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
This is such an important lesson. How many times have we said to God, I did this for you and you did not…? I did not cheat on the test like others, but I got a worse grade. What's the point? I gave up a good career, a good home, a good relationship for you God, and I've only gotten troubles in return. That's not fair.
Brothers and sisters, eternal glory awaits us! Eternal joy will be ours. Eternal health, eternal vitality is our inheritance. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye we will be changed. And death…death! will be no more. Someday, our God will dwell with us. "He will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore…" (Revelation 21:4). There will be no discussion of death. Death? What was that?
Is our service for the Lord worth the obstacles and frustrations we face? Is a life devoted to Christ worth the troubles it brings? Is living a godly life worth the belittlement and even loneliness that may come with it? How worthwhile is eternal glory and happiness? How worthwhile is receiving from our Lord victory over death?
I read earlier the essay by John Donne about death. He actually wrote twenty-three of these essays mediating about sickness and death. The famous lines, "[Ask not] for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee" and "no man is an island" come from the seventeenth essay. Many of Donne's poems are taken up with the subject of death and worry about sin. Even so, as a Christian, he knew the final outcome. Here is his most famous poem.
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those, whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy picture[s] be,
Much pleasure, then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou'rt slave to Fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well,
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then ?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And Death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.
What you do not know is when you will die. The older you get the more you think about it; the younger you are the less. Regardless of how much you think about it, regardless of your health and the attention you give to being healthy – you will die. Here is the only real definition of a good death: it is to die in Christ. Whether you die young or old; whether you die suddenly or through long illness; whether you die peacefully or violently – if you die in Christ, you die well, for you die inheriting the victory of Jesus Christ. But without him, no manner of death is good, for you die in poverty.
For those of you without true faith, now is the day of salvation, now is the time to call upon the name of the Lord for your salvation. For our Lord will come suddenly as a thief in the night, in a moment, with no time to repent. For those of you with faith in Jesus Christ, be steadfast in your faith, immovable in living for him, for great is the reward that awaits you at the sound of the last trumpet when death is swallowed up in victory.
