Deo gratias qui dedit nobis victoriam...
This passage pricks me somewhere every time:
I Cor. 15--
35 But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?”
36 Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies.
37 And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain.
38 But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.
39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds.
40 There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
41 There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.
43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.
44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.
47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.
48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly.
49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.
51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—
52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “ O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
(Sixty or more people stood under the sunshine on the green cemetery hill, shaded by the funeral canopy, listening to these hopeful words of resurrection as an aged saint was laid to rest. We sang together the opening hymn, and it rose over the hillside. The wind swallowed the sounds of our lonely voices. The Lutheran minister's long white robes fluttered as he read with confidence the liturgies and Scriptures. We murmured together, "Praise be to God!" Husband, sisters, children and grandchildren crumpled in tears. The service ended, and the beautiful people turned slowly away. Hushed voices gathered in clumps. I led my brother up the hillside to the places where the Grandpapa's body, and Great-Grandma Niekamp lay awaiting resurrection. We laid our flowers there. Saying our good-byes, we returned to our cars with eternity heavy in our hearts.)
((last week, while sick with a cold, I started reading the second half of Pilgrim's Progress. The most memorable line is at The Interpreter's House, when Prudence is catechising the children...
Prudence: Why wouldst thou go to Heaven?
Matthew: That I may see God, and serve Him without weariness; that I may see Christ, and love Him everlastingly; that I may have that fulness of the Holy Spirit in me, that I can by no means here enjoy.
--John Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress: Part the Second))
I Cor. 15--
35 But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?”
36 Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies.
37 And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain.
38 But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.
39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds.
40 There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
41 There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.
43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.
44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.
47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.
48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly.
49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.
51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—
52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “ O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
(Sixty or more people stood under the sunshine on the green cemetery hill, shaded by the funeral canopy, listening to these hopeful words of resurrection as an aged saint was laid to rest. We sang together the opening hymn, and it rose over the hillside. The wind swallowed the sounds of our lonely voices. The Lutheran minister's long white robes fluttered as he read with confidence the liturgies and Scriptures. We murmured together, "Praise be to God!" Husband, sisters, children and grandchildren crumpled in tears. The service ended, and the beautiful people turned slowly away. Hushed voices gathered in clumps. I led my brother up the hillside to the places where the Grandpapa's body, and Great-Grandma Niekamp lay awaiting resurrection. We laid our flowers there. Saying our good-byes, we returned to our cars with eternity heavy in our hearts.)
((last week, while sick with a cold, I started reading the second half of Pilgrim's Progress. The most memorable line is at The Interpreter's House, when Prudence is catechising the children...
Prudence: Why wouldst thou go to Heaven?
Matthew: That I may see God, and serve Him without weariness; that I may see Christ, and love Him everlastingly; that I may have that fulness of the Holy Spirit in me, that I can by no means here enjoy.
--John Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress: Part the Second))
posted by Unknown at 8:28 AM
7 Comments:
Thanks for the account.
Tears in my eyes, too.
"It couldn't be anymore beautiful...." He has a way of writing His story so that everything is fitting, to the point of heartbreaking joy.
What a beautiful post. Thank you, too, for the personal addition at the end; it captured the bittersweet nature of leavetaking. Praise God for the true hope of reunion!
Funerals are one of the rare opportunities to recall the real hope we have in Christ--His main work was the conquest of death! Nowhere can this be proclaimed more powerfully than at a funeral.
In a real way, I thank God for the opportunity to grieve over Christian loved ones. The pain ultimately increases the intensity of His merciful and faithful presence.
(and, more on the family story---
since we've moved a ten hour's drive away from our fatherland of Illinois (where all my relatives live, on both sides of the family), family funerals are much harder to attend. When we lived in IL, Papa made all of us little kids go to every single funeral. Not only did we attend both our grandfathers' funerals (only one of which I remember), we also saw the burial of great-uncles and aunts and cousins--some of whom we didn't even know! So, this time, when he was discussing the possibility of flying up and back by himself for Aunt Jean's funeral, I protested--"Papa, you made (my sister and I) go to every single funeral when we were little!" (the only difference: this time, we'd be driving twenty hours in two days, and the little ones could very easily burn out.) Well, in the end, we did all make the drive. We had known Aunt Jean, and visited her almost every time we saw Mutti--this was a personal happening for us, and Papa did want Fric and Frac to see a funeral. In the end, it was a really good visit. Before the wake, Mama explained the relation of the deceased to Fric and Frac: "She was Mutti's sister." This concept was not lost on the little ones. Fric, as soon as she saw Mutti (fifteen minutes later), put on her sincerest sad face and said "I'm sorry your sister died" as she wiped away a few tears. It was precious--Mutti (and I) had to choke back the tears.)
20 hours driving . . . wow. Glad you own a vehicle that can drive that far. :)
O, how we misseth thee! Our tears are spenteth for thee alone, and for thine bloggeth. We resteth in sackcloth and asheth thinkingeth only of thee.
Thine Secreteth Lurkers (Withe Reale Olde Englishe Spellinge)
What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou false Tung?
Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper!
:P
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