1 Corinthians 15:51-58
Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, 52in 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 will be changed. 53For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:
“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.58Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:51-58)
When I was a freshman at Kent State, one of my hallmates barged into my room (the door was open), shirtless, and proclaimed, “I’m going on an adventure. Who’s coming with me?” I decided then, as a life-policy, to always follow any such person. First, to make sure they don’t get hurt. But, second, because who can turn down such an offer in such crazy packaging?!
Anyway, I remembered that story as I read Paul’s first words in our lectionary reading today: “Listen, I will tell you a mystery!” Okay, I’m in. Let’s do this! He’s hooked me and I’m ready to follow! From there, Paul goes on to describe the deep mystery of what happens to life after death. What we discover is that there will be a time – when “the trumpet will sound” – where we’ll all put off these crummy, old bodies of ours and be clothed in God’s glory. What is perishable – and “perishable” is why your knees hurt when you wake up each morning – will be replaced with the imperishable. What is mortal will become immortal. Apparently, for those who are alive when this happens, they will experience this great transformation without dying. Yet even for those who have died, they will be raised and their (quite obviously mortal and perishable) bodies will get some heavenly plastic surgery. But what about the in-between times for the dead? Honestly, we don’t know. Paul didn’t tell us that part of the mystery. There are different schools of theological thought, but each are – at best – probing the mystery of our God and should be regarded lightly. But this news – the news that we will be transformed to be like God – this is trustworthy and due our faith.
This is a great passage for any funeral. I’m always glad when families choose it. It’s even one that I would like for myself one day. It’s great because it gets the heart of our faith – namely that God gave us life, sin gave us death, and that God gives us new life in Him. You can’t get any clearer than that in the faith. It, quite rightly, names death as the enemy, while simultaneously celebrating that this enemy has been vanquished by God. (Side note: Ethically-speaking, if death is the enemy, then any agent of death – disease, famine, political discord, etc. – is equally vanquished in the Lord. Moreover, the Church today can learn how to organize its ethical actions by identifying death, and all its agents, and standing boldly against them. In the conflict between Life and death, there is no neutral ground on which to stand).
I know that most folks would prefer to avoid thinking about death. I also know that death benefits when we do so. And so, with the renewed faith that comes from Paul sharing this mystery with us, we do well to think rightly about death and, more importantly, about the God of Life who conquers it. Amen.
