Death displays the Victory of Christ

1 Corinthians 15:50-58 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. ⁵⁴ When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." ⁵⁵ "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" ⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁵⁸ Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

A church youth group was being used as "guinea pigs" in a test of emergency systems. A mock earthquake was staged, and the teens impersonated wounded persons who were to be picked up and cared for by the emergency units. One teen was supposed to lie on the ground and await his rescuers, but the first-aid people got behind schedule, and the teen lay "wounded" for several hours.

When the first-aid squad arrived where the casualty was supposed to be, they found nothing but a brief note: "Have bled to death and gone home..."

What happens when we die? Are we reincarnated like the Hindus believe and so come back as a cockroach or a cow or something else? Are we taken to be with Allah and surrounded by beautiful women, as the Muslims believe? Are our corpses left in the ground to rot and become dust and that’s it, as the atheists believe? Or do we die and just go home – home to heaven, as Christians believe?

Eventually, every one of us is going to be confronted with death, as we are today. When we face the reality of death, we want answers. Woody Allen once said: “It’s not that I am afraid to die. I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” Death is not comfortable. It jars us. It wakes us up from our complacent life. The sight of death alerts us to what is real because death happens to everyone 100% of the time.

It is important to realize that death does not come from God. Death is the result of man’s own choosing. The Bible plainly tells us: “And the LORD God commanded the man, ... ‘you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die’” (Gen 2:16,17). It is our decision to live apart from God that set death into motion. It is sin that has earned each of us death. It is sin that has earned death for Don.

Don knew his sin. He is the only homebound member I’ve ever had who purchased a hymnal specifically to use for our monthly devotions and celebrations of the Lord’s Supper together. Don would sit in his chair and use his hymnal. Joyce would come sit next to me on the sofa so we could share my hymnal. Together, the three of us confessed, “Holy and merciful Father, I confess that I am by nature sinful and that I have disobeyed you in my thoughts, words and actions. I have done what is evil and failed to do what is good. For this I deserve your punishment both now and in eternity. But I am truly sorry for my sins, and trusting in my Savior Jesus Christ, I pray: Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Don knew that he was a sinner. He also knew that his sins were taken away by his Savior. I assured him of forgiveness through Christ.

Don appreciated this forgiveness. He knew that death comes through humanity. But life eternal comes from God through His Son Jesus. Sin earns us death, but God chose to forgive us with Jesus’ death. Sin earns us eternal death in hell, but God chose to forgive us with Jesus’ resurrection. Instead of death and hell, we are given eternal life and heaven.

Those who don’t know Jesus will never experience eternal life. They will never know the freedom of death and the wonders of heaven. Instead they will forever experience the horror, pain, and defeat of death and sin. For those who do know Jesus, they will experience eternal victory through Christ.

Notice how Paul taunts death: "Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory?” Of course, there is no answer from death, so he asks again: “Where, O death, is your sting?" Again, no reply. Why is there no reply? Because God raised Jesus from the dead, proving once and for all that he is ultimately and officially in control of what’s going on with life and death.

Paul continues to explain: “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Sin is the “sting” of death – it’s the main reason why death is painful and poisonous. Sin causes death and it also brings judgment. We’ve all sinned, so no wonder we fear death! But Christ suffered death’s sting in order that we would have to suffer none of it.

Death left its sting in Jesus, just like a bee leaves its stinger in its victim. A bumblebee without its stinger still looks fierce, but it can’t really do you any harm. My 5-year-old daughter still screams and runs away any time she sees a bee. The same is true of death – it looks ferocious, as humans we are terrified of it, but because Jesus defeated it, death has no sting, and now death is but a pinprick to us. Don felt that pinprick, fell asleep in Jesus’ arms and was carried to his own room in heaven. There he is praising God and waiting for his beloved bride.

Death looked ferocious for Don, also. But in the end, it had no sting. Because Christ was victorious in death, so also was Don victorious in death. You can find evidence of Don’s faith in the victory of Christ. With the myriad of health problems Don had I never heard him complain. I don’t know if he complained to you, but he never complained to me. Oh, the last time I was in the hospital with him Don talked about being tired and dieing, but it was not a sad resignation, but a hopeful, peaceful conclusion to his life of faith.

You can also see the evidence of Don’s faith in how he and Joyce faithfully watched the recordings of our worship services; in the devotional books near his chair; and in the hymns he chose for his Christian funeral. Don had his faith built upon the Rock of Ages for when he drew his fleeting breath and closed his eyelids in death. (CW: 389) Though Don felt like a wanderer stationed far away in Japan during the Korean War, moving to various homes over the years, then the condo, the hospital and the nursing home, he prayed, “Nearer my God to Thee.” Don trusted in his Good Shepherd whom he thanked for leading him through death to true life. (CW: 608)

God the Father made Don a child of faith through baptism at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Baileys Harbor, WI. He was confirmed in that faith at St Peter’s Lutheran Church in Sturgeon Bay. He was married in God’s house at St Peter’s to Joyce in 1954. And he was fed in his resurrection faith through Word and Sacrament both at church and at home.

Don lived his victorious Christian faith as a soldier in the U.S. Army, being married to Joyce for 57 years (their anniversary was last Sunday), raising his children in a Christian home, being a member at Epiphany Lutheran Church since 1976 and serving for a time as our treasurer. Sure, Don enjoyed his crossword puzzles, his cat, charter fishing and talking politics with me, but that’s not who he was. Who he was was a baptized, blood-bought, confirmed, communed, child of God. And now he is a white-robed saint standing before the throne of the victorious Lamb of God. That means no more dialysis, no more wheelchair, no more hospital visits. He is in heaven where he is receiving the fulfillment of the apostle’ John’s vision of glory: Therefore, "they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. ¹⁶ Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. ¹⁷ For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." (Rev 7:15-17)

A Muslim in Africa became a Christian. Some of his friends asked him, “Why have you become a Christian?” He answered, “Well, it’s like this. Suppose you were going down the road and suddenly the road forked in two directions, and you didn’t know which way to go, and there at the fork in the road were two men, one dead and one alive – which one would you ask which way to go?”

Mohammed lived and died, and is still dead. Hare Krishna lived and died and is still dead. Joseph Smith lived and died, and he is still dead. They are losers. There is no point in following a loser. Jesus Christ is the winner. He is the victor. Jesus Christ lived and died and lives again. Jesus has conquered death. He has taken away its pain, its fear, its dread. Because of Jesus, we are no longer destined to die, but live. We are instantly changed into a glorious and spiritual body. We are clothed with the imperishable. We inherit the kingdom of God. Because Christ was victorious over death, now we, too, will be victorious over death.

There was no way Don was going to follow a loser. Throughout his whole life he demonstrated that he was going to be following a winner. He was going to follow his Lord and Savior and Victor, Jesus. He has followed Him all the way into death and into life eternal.

Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Funeral Sermon for Donald E. Petersen on June 12, 2011