DEATH AND MOURNING
I Thessalonians 4: 13-14
Proper 27

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for this mornings meditation is recorded in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, chapter 4, verses 13 and 14: “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, 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 fallen asleep.” This is our text.

In the name of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, dear Christian friends. About 30 years ago, in a small town in Arkansas, a small group of about 40 people locked themselves in a house, and they refused to talk to anyone outside the house. For over a month, they closed themselves off from the rest of the world, just sitting there. Why? They were waiting for the end of the world, they were waiting for Jesus to come. But they had a problem. There were 6 children in the group who were under 16 and had not finished the eighth grade yet, so a judge issued a warrant for their arrest because they were in violation of the truancy laws. So the bottom line for this group was finally NOT — here comes Jesus — but here comes the judge.

Paul had a similar problem on a small scale in Thessalonica. There were some people who had quit their jobs and were just sitting around the house waiting for the end of the world to come. Paul must have really impressed them with the fact that Jesus Christ was going to return soon, and they were looking for him right away — if not today — then tomorrow!

But now, several months later, Paul has to write a letter to the Thessalonians explaining to them that they are not supposed to just sit around and wait. That is why in Chapter five Paul tells the Thessalonians, “We exhort you, brethren, admonish the idle.” But quite obviously the first letter Paul wrote to the congregation did very little good, because in his second letter he gets even more explicit and stronger. He says, “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is living in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work in quietness and to earn their own living.”

So it is quite clear that the Thessalonians were having some problems relating to the end of the world, judgment day, the coming of Christ and all those things which are tied together in what theologians call the “parasia” – the end times.

Another problem which tied in with this was the concern of some of the Christians about their parents, or their wives, or their brothers and sisters, — any of those people who had already died. They were concerned because they were afraid that death was the very end of everything and that only those who were alive at the coming of Christ would be accepted into eternal life in heaven. They wanted their loved ones in heaven with them, but they were afraid that once life was lost, it could not be restored. This was the way Greeks looked at death. When one died they crossed the River Stix into the Land of the Dead, and no one ever returned from the Land of the Dead. Paul was doing fine with Greeks when talking about Jesus life, his teachings, and his death — but when he mentioned resurrection from the dead, he lost the true Greeks, because they did not believe that resurrection was possible. Once someone was dead, they were gone, forever. So the Thessalonians were afraid that death was something that separated them from their loved ones for all eternity. They thought that death was the end of hope, the end of faith, the end of everything.

That is why Paul begins our text with the words, “We would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep.” Paul wanted to give those worried Thessalonians some hope concerning their loved ones, and by doing so, he also gave them hope for their own lives. But Paul’s words also speak of hope for you and me as well, in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Paul told the Thessalonians, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, 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 fallen asleep.”

Quite obviously this text would make a wonderful text for Easter Sunday morning. For it speaks strongly to the hope which is ours in the risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is the foundation for all our hopes and our dreams, not only in the future, but also right here on earth. We know that because of his death and his resurrection there is no doubt within our own minds where we will spend eternity. Jesus Christ himself told his disciples, “I go to prepare a place for you, that where I am there you may be also.” What comfort that should be for you and for me as we face our own death. With faith in Jesus Christ we can boldly say with Paul, “For me to live is Christ, for me to die is gain.” We know where our future lies. We know in whom we trust. Jesus Christ has cut out the pathway before us. He has cleared away the road so that we can follow him through the gates of death into the heaven of everlasting life in the presence of God. We are definitely heaven bound..

So, we should definitely not sorrow over our own death, for indeed, our death will be for us that moment where we join Christ in heaven.

But that same joy which comforts each of us on our own death is also the comfort which we have over the death of our loved ones.

There is the loneliness of separation which we have to face, there is the change in habits and procedures around the house when a loved one dies, and indeed we do grieve the loss of company and companionship which death brings with it. But still, Paul says, “Do not grieve like those who have no hope.”

The worst thing in the world, I believe, would be to have a doubt in your mind concerning a husband, or a father, or a mother. Were they really Christians? Are they now in heaven, or in hell? Where are they and where will they spend eternity? Those kinds of doubts and fears can rob loved ones of hope, and joy, and confidence. But Paul in our text is talking about believers who have departed this life. That is why he says we should not grieve as those who have no hope.

For the Christian who has been baptized into Christ, the one who has professed his faith through word and dead, and then dies in the Lord, we have no real need for mourning. Instead, we should be singing the joyful Easter Hymns, such as “I know that my redeemer lives.” For death for a Christian is release from all the pains and sorrow of this world, and an entrance into eternal joy in the Lord. “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth, that they may rest from their labors and their works do follow them.”

So then, do not mourn at death, and do not fear your own death. For through our Lord Jesus Christ we are victors even over death itself. The power of death is sin, but thanks be to Jesus Christ who has given us the victory over sin and death. We have hope. We have the SURE hope of life eternal. Jesus Christ has a placed prepared for us in heaven.

The Christian has nothing to fear in death for himself or his loved ones. For Jesus Christ has taken the sting out of death. Jesus Christ has turned death into life, and life eternal. We have God’s own promise that he will bring into heaven with Jesus Christ, those who hall asleep in Him. That is our sure hope. That is our confidence. Grieve not brethren as those who have no hope, for in Jesus Christ we can have sure confidence — eternal confidence — this is most certainly true. Amen.

May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.