Several years ago I helped to organize an unusual collaborative forum. There were three of us: a pastor, a poet, and a philosopher. Each of us had our niche in that little college town we were in. Each of us could approach any number of topics from our respective disciplines. And we all brought something to the discussion. It wasn’t hard for us to come up with the first topic for our forum: death.
Sometimes in jest we called our group a “death panel” but our starting point was something of common recognition: For centuries an underlying assumption was that all of life is preparation for death. Today that’s no longer the case; often people don’t give it much thought. Sometimes they avoid thinking about death until they’re forced to face it – and then they’re completely unprepared. But sooner or later every one of us is going to have to face our mortality – and this is relevant to each of our disciplines: Lots of poetry has been written about death. Philosophers have penned volumes about it, and we pastors have done our share of funerals. So this led to a very interesting discussion. The second beatitude in Revelation (in 14:13) says this: “’Blessed are the dead who from now on die in the Lord.’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘they will rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them.’ As with all scripture, it’s helpful to understand the context for this one. Revelation 14:1-5 describes a worship scene that derives from a previous description of the throne room of God (back in 4:1-11). Here the heavenly saints are singing a new song (14:3). This is followed by three angelic visions…
This can be scary too: “What does it mean if God knows the awful truth about me?” But even there we find hope – because that points to our need for grace. God knows our deepest faults. He sent Jesus into this world, with all of its beastly evil, out of love for all of us. He conquered death in His cross and resurrection, so death is not a defeat. The endurance of the saints (in Revelation 14:12) is not a reference to the New Orleans football team. Rather, it’s the sustaining perseverance of the faithful when the going gets tough. God bless you as you persevere, Andrew McHenry, Pastor First Congregational Church
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Andrew McHenryI am a husband, a Congregational pastor, and a native Kansan currently living in Thermalito, California. In the past I have also been a prison chaplain and a youth pastor. Interests include reading, railroads, prog rock, KU, and the KC Royals. Archives
March 2024
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