Death has passed to all people. Even Christians die to shed the mortal flesh in favor of the glorious flesh and blood like Jesus now wears. It is not the fearful death of those who die outside of Christ and the grace of His blood shed but it is not nothing. Death is still filled with tears, sorrow, and grief. Death is the final enemy to be overcome. This is true even for Jesus so it is true for us as well.
Though we are tempted to say that some die before their time, it is more a reflection of the suddenness of death and how it has caught us unawares. That happens to me when I hear of those who are my age or thereabouts and they have died. Just a few months ago it was a very dear friend of many years. Some of those I have buried over the course of this past year were not old so it did not seem to be their time either. Death is not about a particular time or season of life. Death is the shadow that is cast over all our lives.
We can try to make death happier by consoling ourselves with a long life or a life well lived but this does make death less threatening. Sure, sometimes we see our loved ones suffering and death seems to be merciful. The truth is that we do not want death, we want to see the suffering ended. Death is the cost of the suffering ended even though we would rather have kept the life without the pain. Death is also uncertainty. Though we know we will die in Christ and the dead in Christ live in Him, how that looks practically is not given us to know. We accept it by faith without seeing it with our eyes or reasoning it all out into some nice, neat little explanation. For those who have rejected Christ, death is even more uncertain. It is, as they used to say, a body all dressed up with no place to go.
The worst thing we can do with death is to trivialize it. That is what it has become in the funeral industry and modern parlance. Instead of grieving the loss of those whom we love, we look at some photos and tell a funny story about the dead, and go home thinking it is all better. It is not. I knew when my son asked me if I was dying because I was taking more pills than he did, he was not making light of it. He was genuinely concerned. Love is that concern. He did not want to contemplate my death anymore than I wanted to contemplate the death of my parents. He was not brushing off the reality of death but looking for confirmation that the inevitable was not expected sooner rather than later. I get it. But treating death as if it were a joke will not help the grieving.
Our lives are not our own. They belong to our families, to be sure, but for the Christian there is another dimension to it all. We belong to the Lord. Even our death belongs to our Lord. He has claimed our sins and even our death. He has borne their burdens upon His own shoulders. He did this for us so that our death would not be the end. One of the most hopeful things on earth is a funeral, a real Christian funeral. Imagine that, we gather not merely to remember the dead but because we expect to see them again -- living never to die anymore. It is the great and grand surprise of God. Resting in the silence of the earth is a seed which will rise again. Christ is the first seed and His resurrection the first fruit of the many that will follow.
Yes, I am dying. I am nearer to my death than I am to my birth. Most of us are. I do not say that flippantly. It is an acknowledgement of God's abundant goodness. I will die but death will not hold me anymore than it held Jesus. I will not rise to start this living process all over again but to begin the new and everlasting life which can never be known fully in this mortal life. I am dying and one day it will all catch up to me but the fearful death that threatens I have already suffered. Joined with Christ's death and resurrection in baptism, I died that death already. Thanks be to God!
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