The most sensitive and critical moments of pastoral ministry are times of sorrow in death. This is especially true when the people we are seeking to comfort and encourage are members of our family. I have been here many times. I have presided or spoke at the funeral services of all four grandparents, my father, uncles, aunts, cousins, a nephew, and a niece. Most recently, I presided over the service for my brother, Randy. The past two weeks have been very tough. First, we lost two uncles. Then, two days after Uncle Mike died we received the news that Randy died suddenly and unexpectedly. Our grief has been profound.
Through the years I have taken notice of how various persons try to deal with their sorrow. I have learned that regardless of one’s religious background, everyone has an innate need to find hope in the midst of sorrow. In fact, throughout history humans have developed various myths and rites to explain the mystery of death. Some ancient cultures believed that the dead exist as shades, faded and listless forms of their former selves held captive in the underworld. Some cultures believe that the dead continue as spirits, or ghosts, that are free to roam the earth. The ancient Hebrew concept of Sheol was a place of darkness and silence into which the dead were gathered.
Some Christians have expressed beliefs about the dead that do not accurately reflect the Faith. Many times I have heard someone suggest that their deceased loved one was “now an angel in heaven.” In fact, the Christian faith does not teach that the dead become angels. Angels are of a different created order. Only humans are created in the image of God and to suggest that humans become angels after death is to relegate them to a lower status. Also, I’ve often heard someone say, “As long as we remember him, he’s alive in our heart.” This is little more than sentimental blather. It reduces a deceased loved one to nothing more than a memory, or a photograph.
The heart of the Christian Faith is that Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead and because he has defeated death, all who believe in him shall likewise be raised. The Psalmist declared, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me… (Psalm 23:4). Jesus most certainly was reflecting upon those words when he declared, “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11). As our divine-human savior, Jesus has suffered temptation common to humanity (Hebrews 4:15), including the abandonment of death. The divine-human good shepherd descended into the depths of Sheol; liberated all the faithful who were held captive by death; took possession of the keys of death, hell and the grave; and ascended to heaven (Ephesians 4:9-10; 1 Peter 3:18-19; Revelation 1:17-18). The despair of death has been overcome by the joy of life eternal. Christian hope looks beyond the sorrows of this present age to the day of Lord in which Christ will return to judge the living and the dead. Our blessed hope is that “when He appears, we will be like Him” (1 John 3:2). Life eternal is not to exist as a shade in a dark underworld; or as an angel dancing in the clouds; nor as a memory. When Christians speak of eternal life, we mean the resurrection of human body and spirit sharing in the glory of Christ. Eternal life is lived in a creation made new by the Spirit of God. Life eternal is to be fully human, living in the love, joy, and peace of God in the New Heavens and New Earth.
