The mystery remains

13Apr
Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, 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 will be changed…When 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.
Where, O death, is your victory? 
Where , O death, is your sting?"

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
-1 Corinthians 15:51-57 


I am a woman well into my seventies, and I do not usually shrink from talking about death. At least, not any more. When I was younger, I would do anything to avoid talking about it! The great figures of the Bible talk about death. Jesus our Savior did, and Paul did. It seems to be a central topic of spirituality, and not just in Christianity. 


I have heard it said that all our fears can be traced back to the fear of death–our own death, and the death of our loved ones. I can admit that. 


I go as often as I can to a Thursday afternoon meeting of women at Trinity. We study various books on Christianity, and the books lead us to fascinating discussions. One of the things I like about this group is that most of the women are somewhere near my age. And thus we are experienced with death, and we talk about death. 


I’m not being morbid here. But our American culture avoids facing and talking about death. I remember my late husband’s tongue-in-cheek remark about Oregon, his native state, known for mountain bikers and skiers and runners and athletes of all kinds. “Oregonians seem to think if they eat enough yogurt and do enough skiing and whitewater rafting etc, they will never die!” 


Paul tells us of a mystery and a victory. Neither he nor even Jesus gave us a detailed account of exactly what would happen when we die. The mystery remains mysterious–but there seems to be change involved (some people refer to death as the transition). There is a message to Christians (that’s whom Paul was addressing) that immortality was a promise. 


Paul, as he often does, refers to sin and the law. For Christians, that is our former condition–the way it used to be. I sin, and the law decrees that I therefore die, with no promise of immortality or joy or anything else. But here Paul reminds us that God gave us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. I didn’t earn that victory. It’s not a reward for my good deeds. It’s only because of Jesus–His death on the cross for me, and His rising again. 


Jesus told the disciples that after death they would be with Him. That’s a mystery, a victory, and a living hope.


Musical Reflection - "Behold, I tell you a mystery...The trumpet shall sound", Philippe Sly and the Trinity Wall Street Baroque Orchestra


Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery has established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ's Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

-Collect for the 2nd week of Easter, BCP 172

Death

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