I preached a sermon this past Sunday, that would have been April 10, 2011, on John chapter eleven, the raising of Lazarus. I that sermon I said that in the Resurrection, his on Easter Sunday and ours at the end of time, Jesus does not delay death he defeats death. That got me to thinking about some other D's about death. I came up with four: death defied, death denied, death delayed, and death defeated.
Death Defied We have all seen or heard of what are called "death defying stunts." Think about Evel Knievel, Harry Houdini, or David Blane. Think about sky diving or bungee jumping. Extreme sports, as they are called, are gaining in popularity. I must confess that I also engage in what is considered an extreme sport in the form of mountain biking, but I must also confess that I am a coward and what I do is really pretty tame! These things are exiting to watch and to do, especially for the young, and perhaps not to smart, males among us. Danger is fun, but we all know it comes with a price.
Death Denied We don not like to think about death and we do not like to talk about death. We don't like to use the word "death," we use euphemisms like, "passed away," "or bought the farm," "or kicked the bucket." We we do confront death, like when we go to a funeral, we want the body to be all made up nice in a nice casket surrounded by flowers. Few of us, except for those of us who work on the dark side, pastors, emergency and medical personnel, and funeral directors, have ever seen a dead body before it has been prepared unless it is someone we were very close to. We like to keep death and the dead at a safe distance.
Death Delayed As I said in the sermon I preached, medical science can do many things to delay death. Of course now many are beginning to ask if delaying death always a good thing, especially in the case of the seriously ill and injured when delaying death will only mean more pain and suffering. I am thankful for the Hospice movement and all those who work in for helping to show us a different way, for showing us how death can be accepted and embraced. The Christian should not be morbid and certainly should not be in any particular hurry to die, but the Christian should not be afraid of death. The Apostle Paul says that to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)
Death Defeated Jesus defeated death by dying on the cross and rising again. Jesus will also defeat death for all of us who believe in him and who have accepted him as our Lord and Savior. Jesus said I am the resurrection and the life, everyone who believes in me, even though they die, will live. (John 11:25) We will all experience physical death, whether we live to a ripe old age or whether our deaths are tragic and untimely, we are all going to die. The good news is that our dying is only the first step in Christ defeating our death. Like Christ, in order to defeat death, we have to die. The second step in Christ defeating our death is heaven. When our spirit is separated from our body, our spirit goes to heaven. But heaven, as wonderful as it is, is not even the end of the story. The final step in Christ defeating our death is the resurrection of our bodies. One day Jesus is coming back to establish his new and perfect kingdom on earth once and for all. On that day our spirits will be rejoined to out resurrected, perfected, glorified, and immortal bodies, bodies that will be in the likeness of our current bodies but will also be very different (see 1 Corinthians 15:35-58). In our new bodies we will live with Jesus and with one another in his perfect kingdom forever. Death will be completely defeated once and for all.
In a world that tries to defy death, deny death, and delay death. We can joyfully proclaim the good news of Easter, that Jesus Christ has defeated death! Christ is risen! Christ risen indeed! Alleluia!
