"What Happens When We Die?"Dr.
James Mayfield
May 9, 2004 Text: I Corinthians 15:33-57 (read verses 35-37, 42-44, 54-57) What about life after death? Sooner or later each of us has to face the reality of the mystery of death. What happens to those we love when they die? What will happen to us? No one knows with scientific certainty exactly what happens. Each of us at some point must take a leap of faith in answering that question. The Bible gives us some clues, although the details in one part of the Bible are often at odds with details elsewhere. Today I want to focus on a couple of points on which there appears to be some general agreement in the New Testament. One is the resurrection of the dead. And one has to do with final judgment. Regarding resurrection of the dead, the most complete statement about what happens when we die is the 15th chapter of I Corinthians, from which we read this morning. Paul tells us that when we are raised up, we will be a new creation, at least as different from what we now are as the stalk of wheat is from the seed. "What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a physical body; it is raised a spiritual body." This belief of being raised up a new creation was very comforting to me when my grandfather died after suffering several years with what we now know was Alzheimers. I am grateful the Gospel proclaims he will be raised up a new creation rather just experience a continuation of his personality and mental state at the time of his death. Part of the good news in the Gospel is that we who have lived as physical beings will be raised up spiritual beings. We will be some sort of new creation in resurrection. No one really knows just what happens when we die. I certainly do not claim any such knowledge. But this much I confidently believe. I believe God is more loving than we can imagine and that God is more wise than we are able to comprehend; therefore, I believe whatever is most loving and most wise is what will happen when we die. Exactly what that resurrection will look like, I really do not know, but that is okay because I trust God's wisdom and love with the details. The Bible also talks about some sort of day of judgment. Most of us mainline Christians, especially us United Methodists, tend to ignore the passages in the Bible that point toward God holding each of us accountable for what we have done with the gift of life. We even want to reject the idea; after all, what about those who do not know about the grace of God revealed in Jesus? What about those whose life experiences among people who call themselves Christians has been so full of pain, injustice and cruelty that their perception of Jesus has been distorted by their bad experience? Is it fair to hold people accountable for what they were never aware? God is more wise and more loving than we are, and so if we can imagine a situation that is clearly unfair, I think it is safe to assume God's wisdom, justice and love will also recognize it as unfair and will take care of them. We need not worry about them. Our concern is more wisely invested in ourselves as we look toward that time when God holds each of us accountable. According to the Bible, the standard of evaluation at the last judgment will not be the same as the one we all often use on one another and on ourselves. In our society, we tend to evaluate one another and ourselves in terms of financial worth. This is why we work so hard to acquire more than we need, and worry so about keeping all we possess. Little wonder we so often resent being asked to share generously for the sake of others and in the service of God. I suspect this is why Jesus told us, it will be easier of a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a person of affluence to enter the kingdom of God. In our society we tend to confuse popularity with significance and celebrity with purpose, as though being well known and applauded is what makes life meaningful. But Jesus told us that many who are first in the eyes of the world will be last in the eyes of God and many whom the world views as being last will be first in God's sight. According to what Jesus said in the Sermon On The Mount, it is going to take more than merely being outwardly religious, saying prayers, reading the Bible and going to church for us to get a passing grade. He told us that not everyone who says "Lord, Lord" to Jesus will enter the kingdom of heaven -- only those who do the will of God. In fact, when Jesus was talking about the last judgment, he told us that what finally separates the sheep from the goats is whether or not we have ministered to the needs of those around us. Have we fed the hungry? Have we clothed the naked? Have we given drink to the thirsty? Have we welcomed the stranger? Have we visited the sick and those in prison? Because God is wise and just, I am confident the grading that is done in the ultimate final exam will be fair and just. But, of course, that is the problem, and why many of us prefer to believe, or at least live as if, we will not really be held accountable for what we do or fail to do with the gift of life. So, we ignore God's judgment, and focus only on our perception of God's mercy. Too much of the time we live in the illusion that God is like an indulgent parent who seldom tells his children no, and never holds them accountable. We try to hide the reality of divine justice behind the smoke screen of human sentimentality. But what about mercy? What about John 3:16's declaration that God loved the world so much he gave his only begotten Son? What about the mercy and forgiveness proclaimed in the Gospel? God's mercy is very real. It is God's mercy that overcomes the gap, the bottomless canyon, our sin has created between us and God. Christ is the bridge. Christ is God's gift that enables us to move from where we are, separated from God, to where we are meant to be, living in harmony with God. Regardless of all we humans have done that is in conflict with the will of God, God continues reaches out to us in love. God, in Christ, has come among us not to tell us the mess we have made does not matter, but rather God, in Christ, has come among us showing us how to live in the midst of the mess and even using us in the work of redeeming the mess. The good news of the Gospel is that we are saved by grace through faith so that we are able to live as God intends. This is the Church's way of saying, it is God's love at work in our lives that enables us to trust God -- to trust God so completely we commit ourselves to loving others as God in Christ has loved us. The good news is that God is able to use us regardless of our yesterdays as vessels of grace. In all this, God is not primarily focused on the concepts to which we give intellectual assent but rather on the deep beliefs that shape the way we actually live. As Jesus told us, it is not our calling him "Lord, Lord," that is the key, but rather whether or not all we say and do reflects our commitment to living as God intends. The good news of the Gospel is, God's grace, God's amazing love, enables us to make this commitment, so that we are able to grow in our ability to love others as God in Christ has loved us. Another part of the good news is, it is never too late in life, to make this commitment. It is never too late in life to place our trust in God, and to so trust the love of God revealed in Jesus that his love shapes us. And so, for us who have made this commitment, our being held accountable when we die, is not something we dread, but rather it is like the final exam for which we know we are prepared, and we look forward to the graduation that is to follow. The New Testament affirms it does not all end when we die. There is something more. Although the details in one part of the Bible often appear to be at odds with details elsewhere in the Bible, there are at least a couple of realities on which there appears to be some general agreement in the New Testament: the resurrection of the dead. and final judgment. For those who trust God and God's love so completely they commit themselves to striving to love others as God in Christ has loved us, this proclamation about our resurrection and judgment is not as much a cause for fear as it is for celebration. God, help us be so aware of your grace at work in our lives, that we live each day confidently trusting you and committed to loving others as you in Christ have loved us. Amen. Pastoral prayer:
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