In The Twinkling Of An Eye - Sept. 15, 2013

In the Twinkling of an Eye

Psalm 23; 1 Corinthians 15:51-58

Rev. Dr. Richard E. Miller

Grace Presbyterian Church

September 15, 2013

In the Twinkling of an Eye  As you all know, last Wednesday was the 12th anniversary of 9/11. All over the country observances were held remembering the nearly 3,000 men, women and children who died in four terrorist attacks. As a result of these attacks, in the Twinkling of an Eye, the world of thousands of families was turned upside down. Sorrow swept the land. Tears were shed in abundance. Full, vibrant, innocent lives had been snuffed out.

This great tragedy made me realize more than ever before how fragile life really is. And so this morning seemed like an opportune time to refresh our minds as to what our Christian faith has to say about death. At this point, you might be saying to yourself, “I don’t want to hear anyone talking about death.” I understand and can appreciate your feelings. After all, death is not a popular subject for conversation and we try to avoid thinking about death as much as possible. Yet at the same time, most everyone here this morning has grieved over the death of a loved one. It doesn’t matter if the death was sudden and unexpected, or came after a prolonged illness. The result is the same. In the twinkling of an eye, our loved one was gone and life was forever different. Why?  That means that when loved ones die, plans, dreams, and companionship are gone as well. We can no longer see, hear, or hug them. That loss remains as a hole in the fabric of our being the rest of our lives. And we are left to try to find joy and laughter once again. To dream new dreams and create new hopes.

What Happens When We Die?  So what happens when we die? This morning, I’d like Holy Scriptures to answer that question so that we can receive a fuller picture of the glorious gift of eternal life which God has given us. Before we start, let us remember that our entire Christian faith is based on the great promise of Jesus, “Because I live, you will live also.” [John 14:19] Keep that promise in mind as we listen to the scriptures.

There is a Place for Us  Let’s start with John 14 where Jesus says, "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” 

With these thoughts Jesus is recognizing the fact that when death intrudes upon our lives, our hearts become terribly troubled - that is to say, we are plunged into grief and sorrow with tears flowing freely. This is normal and is as it should be. But in the midst of our tears, Jesus says to us, “Let not your hearts be troubled.” Why does he mean by this? He means that in heaven there are many rooms waiting for us. And that he went on ahead to prepare a place for us. In other words, he’s made our room reservation in advance so that we will be together. Because of this, Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth, give I unto you.” He is saying that in the midst of our times of troubled hearts, an inner peace will be ours to experience. It is a peace that comes from being one with God.

A Different Kind of Grief  So far we have a room awaiting us in heaven and the gift of inner peace. Next we find that because of Christ, our grief at death will be a different kind of grief. Paul explains this when he says: “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died.” [1 Thessalonians 4:13-14] This means that although we will grieve at the death of a loved one, we do so with hope. Hope makes all the difference in the world. We can put up with most anything if there is hope that things will get better and we can see a light at the end of our tunnel of darkness. That light comes from Jesus, the Light of the World who said, “Because I live, you too shall live.”

The Glory that Awaits Us  So far we have a room awaiting us when we die, a peace that comes from being with God, and a hope that is ours when we grieve the death of a loved one. Now we might ask, “What awaits us when we die?” Paul answered that question to a certain degree in his letter to the Corinthians when he wrote, "We do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” [2 Corinthians 4:16-18]  I’m not exactly sure what an “eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” means, but I surely like the sound of it, don’t you? In another scripture, Paul echoes that same thought by saying, "No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him." (I Corinthians 2:9)  For me, this means that no matter what wonderful sights we have seen in our travels, no matter what beautiful and stirring music we have heard, and no matter what beautiful dreams and visions we’ve had in our hearts, none of those can compare to what God has prepared for us in heaven. In other words, awe and wonder await us all.

Tears are Gone. No more death, Sorrow or Crying  And now listen to this! While on the Island of Patmos, John wrote, “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying. Neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away.” [Revelation 21:1-4]

Can you imagine this? When we are resurrected, God will tabernacle with us. That means that he will dwell with us. And no matter how much pain and tribulation we endured here on earth, we now know that in the life to come, there will be no more pain, no more tears, no more sorrow. This will enable us to enjoy the awe and wonder that will surround us.

Nothing Can Separate us from the Love of Christ   Next we have these great words of assurance from Paul. He says in Romans, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” [Romans 8:35ff] To understand this even more fully, we must remember that separation from God is the definition of Hell, and that many powers try to separate us including sin and death. But because of Christ, there is absolutely nothing than can come between us and God.

We Shall Be Changed  In our morning scripture from Corinthians, Paul said, “Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed,in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.” Paul explains this even more when he writes, “If there is a physical body, here is also a spiritual body.” [1 Corinthians 15:44] For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. [2 Corinthians 5:1] If you look around at one another this morning, you see each other’s earthly tent or body. At our resurrection, we receive a spiritual body.

Final Thoughts  So there we have it. Holy Scripture, God’s written Word, has told us beyond any doubt that nothing in all creation, including sin and death, can ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. We are assured that there is life for us beyond the grave. And in that life we will be free of all sorrow, sadness and tears of any kind. Indeed we will behold beauty beyond compare and hear music that stirs our souls. We will greet loved ones who have gone before us. Instead of this earthly body which we leave behind, we will have a spiritual body.

All of this is ours because of Jesus Christ, the Word become flesh. As William Jennings Bryan wrote: "Christ has made of death a narrow strip between the companionships of yesterday and the reunions of tomorrow." What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us forever. As it has been said, “To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.” [Thomas Campbell]

With all the assurances of scripture surrounding us, how will we respond the next time a loved one dies? Allow the tears of healing to flow and hug one another for as long as it takes. Then smile because he was a part of your life. Celebrate the great love you shared and cherish her memory. Rejoice that he is with God and that one day you will again meet. And then, when enough time passes, laugh and dream new dreams. And through it all, give thanks that Jesus said, “Because I live, you too shall live.”  Amen.

Psalm 23 NRSV

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,  and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.

1 Corinthians 15:51-58 NRSV

Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed,in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.