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Alive!
The 16th Sunday after Trinity – 9/15/2024
1 Kings 17:17-24
Rev. Christopher W. Brademeyer
That portion of God’s holy Word for consideration this morning is our Old Testament lesson from the First Book of Kings in the seventeenth chapter with special emphasis on verses twenty through twenty-three which read as follows:
“ And he cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child's life[come into him again.” And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived.”[1]
Thus far the Scriptures.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
One of the persistent things that plagues us is the matter of death. And there are certainly a large number of questions that come around these things. Why this person and not that person? Why at this time and not that time? Why in this way and not that way? And so on and so forth. And, even more, there are a number of answers, right or wrong, that lay all the problems of suffering and death at the feet of God Himself. It would be something of a cliché to hear these things if they were not so serious. After all, death is a great and evil thing that robs us of friends and enemies alike, that tears apart families, and that drives the great and miserable stake of grief into otherwise contented hearts.
Again, these questions are normal in this life of woe, this vale of tears that we find ourselves in. We cannot fault people for thinking this way, especially due to the great hardship and suffering that is caused by death. Parents lose children. Husbands lose wives. Friends have their friendships cut short. The list is as long as there are people in the world. If you have been around for more than a few years, you have met this great specter, this great evil thing called death and, for its part, it has robbed you of someone dear to you. And if you cannot think of how death has taken from you, you will in time know how horrible it is.
Death is dealt with according to the wisdom of our age, according to the supposedly wise among us in two general ways. On the one hand there are those who try their best to deny its existence, either by ignoring it by pretending to be happy or just refusing to discuss or acknowledge it in any way. On the other hand there are those who succumb to great anguish, sorrow, and grief, who cannot receive any measure of consolation or comfort. This first group is common enough. And though the means are different, the goal is the same: to pretend that death is not a big deal. So we see at funerals those who try and cover over the event with euphemism such as “celebration of life” rather than calling the thing what it is: a funeral or memorial service. Others will joke and laugh, taking the whole thing with an artificial and cultivated nonchalance in order to convince themselves that it is not that big of a deal that someone has died. We see this mindset in those who have foolish bumper stickers and social media shares about living it up or accumulating toys until death. We see it in those who make a joke out of going to hell rather than heaven. We see it in the universalism, that is, the assumption that everyone gets to go to heaven no matter what, that permeates secular religious thought.
Others, who have the smokescreen dispelled, are struck with the stark reality that is death. And they realize that they have no power to do anything to change it. So they are left in turmoil, completely ruled by grief and sorrow, without any hope or possibility. Such people collapse in on themselves and no matter how much we might try, it is impossible to lift them up out of the pit of despair. Therapy and counselling may help, but at the core is a hopelessness that comes from seeing that death is inevitable and unable to be overcome.
Something else comes when death is on the table: we often see God take the blame for death. And while we must admit, with holy Scripture, that God is able to overcome all evil and all hardship, including death. But, we must also admit, and this is hard, that death is not God’s fault. It is ours. We sin and we human beings brought sin into this world. This is why we die. And we cannot escape it.[2] While I would not point this out to someone who is actively grieving, the question of why God does not do anything is not the right question. Let us just say that God would raise our loved ones like He raised the son of the widow at Zarephath. What then? This poor person would be left to die again. Again he would have to go through death and the suffering around it again. I do not wish this for anyone, especially those I care about.
More still, since Scripture says we all deserve death because of our sins, perhaps we should not start thinking through this from the assumption that we have a right or entitlement to a certain length of life. Instead, we should acknowledge each day for what it is: a precious gift from our Father and Creator given to us in spite of our sins.
God, of course, cares very much about the fact that we die. And this passage, among others, serves to remind us that God not only opposes death but that He can and will do something about it. But what He desires is not a mere restoration of life into this world of sin, but a resurrection to life everlasting in the blessed righteousness of paradise forever. This is ours not by what we do or how much we have done but is so because of the death of Christ. Death now is captive, enslaved to the will of God. And though it remains a punishment for sin, it is also the means by which God brings us to the full measure of every blessing that Christ our Lord died for us to have.
But people will get mad at God. And if you find yourself in that situation due to death or any other thing, the Old Testament also gives us advice on how to approach this. When we are mad at God, we must not give into the temptation to run away from Him like a spoiled child trying to hurt his or her parents. Instead, we should approach Him, we should go to Him in prayer like so many of the Psalms, voicing our concerns and calling to mind all the promises that He has made to us. In other words, it is perfectly OK to bring your anger and frustration to God. He will listen as a good and patient Father does. After all, it is easy for us to get frustrated and angry given that we do not know all things and cannot see what God’s plan is in every circumstance. And He will hear your prayers and grant you comfort from His Word, as His mercy is great.
So, dear friends, we must live in this world of death not as pagans who through games and lies try to deny death or who will fall into terrible anguish over it. Instead, we must as St. Paul says, grieve as those with hope.[3] Death is not the final thing. It does not win at the end of the day. And even though death seldom comes when or how we want it to, it serves God now and is the means that we move from this life to heaven to await the Resurrection. Jesus Christ is greater than death, and by death He unmade its terrible rule over us.
In holy Name of + Jesus. Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
[1] 1 Kings 17:20-22 English Standard Version
[2] Romans 6:23
[3] 1 Thessalonians 4:13
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