Last Monday, the family and I went to a funeral. It was the funeral of a young mum. 37 years old, 4 small children, cancer claims another victim. Death truly is the last great enemy. But that night I noticed that I was supposed to preach on Resurrection this sunday, and the bringing of the two things together made a point that I simply must not miss. So I’ll write it down here.
If there is no resurrection death wins. Perhaps in some constructions a soul escapes, in which case Deaths’ victory is only partial, but if there is no resurrection, ultimately death has won. If there is no resurrection, then our beautiful yet fractured world is doomed, either to annihiliation, or abandonment, and then what becomes of the eyes we’ve met, the voices we’ve heard, the hands we’ve held, the life we’ve loved?
When Jesus rose from the dead, he achieved the only victory that could restore hope in such dark days: he achieved victory over death for all its victims. Those who die in the Lord will be restored, and this fragile creation, so bloodied by death and its sidekick decay, will be restored with us, and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
This is the only truly good news for funerals. Or for any other day for that matter.
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