“I Believe in… the Resurrection of the Body and the Life Everlasting” 1 Corinthians 15: 20-58, sel. Sermon Preached by the Reverend Dr. Howard W. Boswell, Jr. Seventh Sunday of Easter, June 1, 2014 Kenmore Presbyterian Church Kenmore, New York I do not include a sermon when I do funerals, but, so far, I’ve had no complaints. Since the first step in grief is shock, I don’t think most people will hear, let alone remember a sermon. Instead, I tend to let the scriptures speak for themselves and the life of the departed proclaim the good news. You see, since the first funeral I did during my internship, I follow this philosophy: If God creates us in God’s image, then, no matter how marred or cloudy it may be, we reflect that image. I believe we are partners with God in life. In our own way, here and there, now and then, we do God’s work. Besides, some preachers seem to abuse the privilege of preaching at funerals. While I haven’t heard many funeral sermons, I gather from what people tell me they fall into one of two camps. First, some preachers use the occasion to manipulate mourners into making a decision for Jesus Christ. Second, other preachers attempt to offer comfort to people, saying things like, “God needed another angel in heaven.” Or “I guess it was his/her time.” Or “You shouldn’t cry, because s/he is in a better place.” Or “This shell of a body may remain, but the soul lives on!” Now, that last statement may surprise you and I will explain later, but all of us know these and other pious platitudes offered by well meaning people, who want to comfort us. For me, I stick with those things I know are true, “Your loved one dwells with God, now.” “God is with you.” “It’s OK to be sad, to cry, and even to be angry.” Most often, however, I just listen and let someone grieve, because it’s a natural reaction to any loss. Where there was once a person, there is now a voice we only hear in echoes, a face we only see in photographs or in our mind’s eye, a hand we will never hold again until we join them in heaven. Yes, “I believe… in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.” I cannot recall a moment when I had a doubt about this affirmation of our faith. It would seem I’m not alone in this confession. According to the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, nearly three quarters of all Americans believe in life after death. However, not all of them agree what the afterlife looks like, because the survey includes Hindus and Buddhists who believe in nirvana, a state of total consciousness. Hindus believe we attain nirvana through a series of reincarnations. Buddhists disagree about how we achieve this state according to which school they belong. The survey shows most Jews do not believe in an afterlife, while the vast majority of Christians of every stripe do. Yet, about three out of four Americans affirm heaven exists “as a place where people who have led good lives are eternally rewarded.” If you go to Barnes and Noble or check out amazon, you will see this affirmation verified. A search on amazon for “life after death” yielded over 78,000 titles. This number included such popular books as Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife; and To Heaven and Back: A Doctor’s Extraordinary Account of Her Death, Heaven, Angels, and Life Again: A True Story. I received and read two books from you, Ninety Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Life and Death and Heaven is for Real: a Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back, which Hollywood made into a movie. Yet, the research and the books about life after death reveal something I always say, “I don’t know what happens after we die nor am I willing to do original research on the topic.” Now, by “original research,” I mean there’s only one way to say for absolute certainty what occurs—to die and return. However, based on my understanding of Scripture and our confessions, here’s what I mean when I affirm, “I believe in… the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.” I believe in the resurrection of the body and not the immortality of the soul. The immortality of the soul suggests we are souls, trapped in these bodies. While this view comes from Greek philosophy, it made its way into Judaism and, later, Christianity. However, we associate the immortality of the soul with the Gnostics, a sect that said they had special knowledge, or gnosis, about how things worked. Also, they believed the material world was evil, so we should seek to escape into the spiritual realm. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul addresses members of the church at Corinth who had Gnostic tendencies. They believed when one dies one’s soul went to heaven and there was no resurrection of the body. He also speaks to those who thought when you’re dead, you’re dead. As he does throughout 1 Corinthians, Paul returns to the core of the gospel: Jesus Christ, crucified and raised. When God raised Jesus from the dead, he was the first fruits. He began a new pattern for humanity. Before his resurrection, we died because we are sons of Adam and daughters of Eve. After his resurrection, God makes us alive in Christ. However, God has more in mind than what happens to us when we die. God desires to restore all creation, this material world, because this stuff, this flesh matters to God, because when God made it, God called it good. God seeks to conquer every enemy that opposes God’s desire, including the final beast, death. Yet, Paul anticipates his opponents asking, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” He calls them fools, because death and resurrection go hand in hand. Death is real, Paul proposes, as real as a seed planted in the ground. It goes into the ground, appearing one way; it emerges, looking altogether different. So, it is with us when we die. We go into the ground, perishable; we rise, imperishable. We are weak in death; the resurrection gives us power. As we have a physical body, so we have a spiritual body; not a soul taken from this fleshy shell, but a body transformed from this flesh. With this hope firmly in his heart, Paul shouts, “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” Paul says the sting of death is sin, our separation from God. Yet, we may give thanks to God, “who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” When we affirm, “I believe in… the resurrection of the body,” we announce God will restore all that is, because all that is, including our bodies, matter to God. Christians hold different opinions about when all of this happens. Some Christians think the resurrection of the body will happen only when Jesus Christ comes in all of his glory. I believe this transformation occurs immediately. When we breathe our last breath on earth, we take our first in heaven. Some Christians consider the resurrection of the body means we should not practice cremation, because it destroys the body. I believe we can practice cremation, because God can create our spiritual bodies from any elements. Yet, what do we mean when we confess our faith in “the life everlasting?” Well, I think it may be another way to say the same thing as “the resurrection of the body,” in other words, as Paul says elsewhere in 1 Corinthians 15, “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.” Yet, this change does not need to wait until the day we die. Here and now, we can live transformed lives, lives of courage and confidence. Earlier, in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul tells his readers that hope in the resurrection means we should act differently from those who say, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” Instead, like a line from the movie Gladiator, we should know what we do echoes in eternity. We need to live with Paul’s final words about the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting ringing in our ears, “Therefore, 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.” ©2014 Kenmore Presbyterian Church
Posted on: Thu, 29 May 2014 16:52:55 +0000
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