Thomas Hollatz

1 Corinthians 15:12–22 (NIV84)

12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

I want to encourage you today with the hope that we have as Christians. Hope itself is not limited to Christians. It is something that anyone who contemplates the future can have.

What is hope? to cherish a desire with anticipation : to want something to happen or be true

Hope in regard to the weather is impacted by what our future plans are and whether the weather will enhance or prevent those plans.

Hope in regard to our financial situation — usually for improvement.

Hope in regard to relationships — that our interaction with others will improve.

Hope in regard to work outcomes or even something as mundane as how a person’s hunting or fishing will go.

Hope in regard to health.

I want to emphasize at this point the last one because several years ago Thomas received some sobering news. He was diagnosed with a serious health ailment that left unchecked would end his life. So he chose to receive a variety of treatments which although they had many complications and caused pain and suffering from those that he would not have experienced otherwise, he chose to do them because of hope. He hoped that those treatments would prolong his life and hopefully eradicate the cause of his poor health. With every new treatment, there was renewed hope. But we are here today because ultimately that was not to be. He succumbed to his illness.

He came to realize and accept this. In the last conversation I had with him last week in his hospital room he told me that the time for treatments had come to an end. He would receive palliative care to keep him comfortable but quite frankly that he would die.

For non Christians that statement marks the end of any real hope. There is nothing more than can be done. Life is over and who knows what if anything happens next. This proverb states the lack of hope in such a case.

Ecclesiastes 9:3–6 NIV84

3 This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead. 4 Anyone who is among the living has hope—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion! 5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun.

If this were true, I don’t know what I would say to you who knew Thomas well and who mourn his loss. Oh, you could share with me and each other fond memories of the past and what he had done and even hoped to do if he had lived longer, but in the end there would only be a sense of finality and despair.

This is what St. Paul means when he writes in 1 Corinthians If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

But our hope as Christians is not limited to this life, is it? Granted God does give us hope while we live based on his word and promises. Even more than hope — godly trust.

Even though we are sinners, God loved us so much that he gave Jesus to live for us and die for us and who was raised again and rules at God’s right hand from where he will come to judge and usher in a new heavens and a new earth.

Trust that our sins are paid for and forgiven by Jesus’ work and that we receive forgiveness by faith and not by our own efforts.

Trust that God hears and answers our prayers and that we are his dear children.

Trust that God works out all things for our good and that in the end he will bring those who trust in Jesus safely into his heavenly kingdom when our life here on earth is ended.

Trust that even though we die and our bodies decay, God himself will raise us from the dead in the resurrection on the Last Day.

This is the emphasis of 1 Corinthians 15. St. Paul wrote this because there were those who denied the resurrection of Jesus and therefore that hope that all Christians have that because he lives we will also live.

Explain briefly Paul’s argument.

This is the hope that Thomas had. I pray that it is the hope that you have as well.

I also pray that you will turn to God daily and let him encourage you with his Word so that you may have this hope of eternal life in a world that can seem so hopeless at times.

In our first lesson, we heard the hopeful words of Job. Job experienced loss and reason for despair more than any other biblical character. And yet, through his trust in God he remained hopeful and has given us words of hope that often and will be read today at the committal of the body of a Christian at his/her burial. May God’s Word give you the assurance of such hope for Thomas and also yourself through faith in Jesus — the reason for the hope that we have.