Life Sunday; 1 Cor. 15:20

A few years ago Rachel and I went on a trip with her family to this lake out in Eastern Washington called Palmer Lake. Originally, we were supposed to go on a Cruise, but this was during the summer of 2020… so I’m sure you all know why that didn’t happen. The lake we went to was very, very pretty. It was in a small town of WA that I had never heard of, and the lake was secluded by these really tall hills (dare is say mountains?) which made it feel very private, and quiet. There was also a lot of wildlife. At the house there would be an occasional deer that walked onto our property. It was an awesome place to stay. The weather was fantastic too, and it made swimming and floating on the lake even more relaxing. We were living the life, and quite frankly one of my dreams, which is to live at a house on the water.

But on one of the days we stayed there, it was towards the end of our trip, I got a phone call from my Mom. I thought, “this is weird, she knows I’m on this trip and that I’ll be back soon so there’s no reason for her to call me.” So, I picked up the phone anyways only to hear my Mom’s voice somberly tell me that my Nana was brought to the hospital and didn’t have much time left. This was sudden. This was devastating. It was a drastic change in mood for me – from one moment being happy, content, and relaxed, to sadness, confusion, worry. And to make things worse, Rachel and I were over 4 hours away from the hospital in Seattle. There was no telling if she would even last till then, but Rachel and I threw our stuff in our bags and rushed to the hospital as quickly as we could, and thankfully, we did make it in time to say our goodbyes.

I’m sure some of you have similar stories like this, or have experienced the sudden death of a friend or loved one. I’ve got quite a bit more I could share myself. It’s hard. And no matter how many times you experience it, it never gets easier. But that’s the reality of life. Each and every one of us is going to experience the same thing: death.

Paul talks about this in 1 Cor 15:21, and even more fully in Romans 5. He writes that “by a man came death… and, in Adam, all die.” In Romans 5 Paul expands on this thought. It’s not just that Adam sinned, but through his act of disobedience, sin and death spread to all humanity and every generation. This is not natural, and it’s not what God had intended for humanity. God’s original plan was for man to have life, to be fruitful and multiply, to have dominion over the earth, and in all things bring glory to God. But through Adam, and because of his sin, and because of our continuation of that sin, death reigns over everyone.

Death is a reality of life. And at one point we all must face it because of the sin that was brought into the world through one man, and because of our own sin. But even after the thousands of years after Adam and Eve fell into sin, people – all of us – are still scared of death in one way or another. No one’s figured out a way around it, and no one has figured out a way to make it any easier. Why is that? Why is death still so hard for us even though it’s been around for thousands and thousands of years?

I think there’s three reasons for this (there might be more, and probably are, but I’ve come up with 3). First, is the pain that one endures through it. Not just the pain from the one dying, but also the pain of family, or the friends who are losing their loved one. When my Nana died, it was one of the hardest experiences that I’ve faced. Because death takes away. Death leaves us alone, and we are helpless against it. The second reason, I think, is because it can be sudden, unexpected, and by forces that we can’t control. Sickness, car accidents, miscarriages. Do I even need to say anything about the past 2 years of the pandemic? On average, around 38,000 people die in car accidents each year in the United States. About 1 of every 10 pregnant women miscarry and lose their child. Those are sudden and bring out true brokenness and pain in this world. And third, is because it’s not natural. Humans were not supposed to experience death in God’s original plan. It is completely contradictory to our nature, and I think that’s why it hasn’t gotten any easier, and never will.

But just as by a man came death and sin, by a man also has come the resurrection of the dead. Verses 21, and 22 are very powerful. Paul writes, “21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” The sin and death that was brought into the world by the first Adam was undone by the second Adam – Jesus Christ, who on the cross once and for all defeated our worst enemy of death. So, all those who are in Christ receive this promise of life. This promise of the resurrection. This promise of being restored to the creation that God had always intended for humanity. In John 5, Jesus says that those who believe in him have passed from death to life. Because at the resurrection, life overcame death. Death no longer has any grip on us.

And in the resurrection – in the new life – that perishable body that was put in the grave becomes imperishable. What was sown in dishonor and sin, becomes raised in glory. What is sown in weakness becomes raised in power. On the last day when the trumpets sound “Death will be swallowed in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

This is our reality because Christ did rise from the dead. He was the first to do it and paved the way so that we could follow him and be raised as he was. But until that final day, we do still have to live with the consequences of sin. We’re in this “now but not yet” reality where, we have received the promise of life, but we still have to face the reality of death. But because we are in Christ and have been baptized into death with him, death does not have any grip on us. We have already received the victory of life.

But until then, all we can do is wait patiently for Christ to return, and hold onto this promise of the resurrection, and this promise of life. When all saints from all time will be raised again. When we live in a time where there is no more pain, no more suffering, and no more death. Where the thought or fear of losing a loved one won’t even cross our mind. Where there will be no more sickness – finally no more COVID-19. Where there will be no more unexpected deaths, no more accidents, no more miscarriages. Because death will no longer exist. It will once and for all be defeated. I look forward to that day, and I hope you do as well. Because we’ll be able to worship with those loved ones that we have lost. I’ll be able to worship God with my Nana, and Papa, and other loved ones that I have lost. And we will be able to do that in our own bodies. So on this life Sunday remember that Christ overcame death for us, and gives us the promise to live as God had originally intended for us. “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

In Jesus name, Amen.