For if we believe that Jesus died and rose,
so too will God, through Jesus,
bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord….
In this oldest document of the New Testament, Saint Paul tries to imagine the unimaginable. He describes a vision of living disciples of Jesus caught up in the air and reunited with those few Christians who have died; and then the restored congregation will meet the Lord in the air. We can suppose that this first century Pharisee used a scenario popular to his Jewish brethren of that time.
In our time we often hear stories of afflicted persons who are turned back from heaven’s gate to resume their life on earth. These fortunate persons had a powerful near-death experience and search for words and images to describe it. They resort to a popular trope, used often in movies and television dramas. There was a dark tunnel and a light; a voice and a bright but indistinct vision; a feeling of happiness and relief. And then a wrenching, disappointing return to this world.
Whether things actually happen that way is not very important but their significance is. Saint Paul insisted that the resurrection of Jesus is a sure and certain sign of hope for everyone who believes in Jesus. The facticity of his resurrection was beyond dispute.
I met a woman who had recently quit attending a microchurch in Minnesota. The group believed that no one of them would die before the second coming of Christ.
“What happens when they do die?” I asked.
“We don’t talk about them.” she said.
Apparently Saint Paul had told his Thessalonian church to expect the Lord’s return “any day now, perhaps before I finish this sentence – or paragraph – or blog post!” When devout people died, the grieving Thessalonians worried that they had not been saved. Saint Paul reassured them, “...the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.”
He had to stretch his original scenario to include this new development but his intent remained intact, “Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord….” And “Thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, console one another with these words.”
We still struggle to imagine how the “resurrection of the body” is supposed to occur, especially for those who were eaten by sharks and suffered similar awful catastrophes. It’s one thing to imagine the opening of graves and crypts but what about those who were incinerated and ascended through a smokestack?
Never mind. I can’t explain quantum theory either. We hope in the Lord. It doesn't matter how we imagine the resurrection of the body and life everlasting; it doesn't matter how those things might actually happen, when they happen. What matters is that we never surrender our hope in the Lord.
Personally, I like to imagine the Lord remembering and calling my name, as he called Lazarus out of the tomb. I was given this name in baptism. I’ll remember it, and so will the Lord. What a great day that will be. “Here I am, LORD!” I shall say, “I come to do your will!”
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.