First Fruits of Resurrection - Sermon for Epiphany 6C (1 Corinthians 15:12-20)
The spirit of Easter has arrived early in three sets of lectionary readings from 1 Corinthians 15. Paul already revealed to us the core Christian message contained in the church’s confession “that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3). That’s Paul’s message, but if this is true, why are some members of the Corinthian church questioning the truth of this message? Why cast doubt on Paul’s message about the resurrection?
Paul’s question is as relevant today as it was in the first century. People are still asking questions about the resurrection. Some people have trouble imagining the idea of bodily resurrection, especially since scientific proof is difficult to come by. Paul did offer up witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus, but even that doesn’t suffice for many. It’s possible this was nothing more than a mass hallucination.
Back in Paul’s day, many Greeks and Romans looked forward to the moment their immortal soul could be liberated from their body. Then they could enjoy a truly heavenly experience unencumbered by their bodies. That was the Greek view but Paul offered a Jewish perspective rooted in the Genesis declaration that God’s creation is good. That includes our human bodies. So from this perspective resurrection is good news.
I confess that I’m fully on board with Paul’s message about Jesus’ bodily resurrection and ours. I think it makes the most sense of the biblical witness, and it reaffirms the Hebrew belief that the body and the soul are one.
Paul answers these objections by reminding the Corinthians that “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Cor. 15:17-19). In essence, Paul tells the Corinthian church that if you drop out the resurrection then you drop out the center of the Christian faith. What you’re left with is a failed messiah who died on a cross and whose body dissolved into the elements. If that’s true for Jesus, then it’s true for us. So, wouldn’t it be better to join the church of the Greek philosopher Epicurus, who declared: “Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” Isn’t that a message that resonates with Super Bowl Sunday?
Paul responded to these questions with a “But.” This word, “But,” might be one of the most important words in the New Testament. According to Charles Campbell: “It is the word through which the gospel breaks into the wisdom of the world and interrupts the powers of this age; it is where the new age breaks into the old and something new becomes possible.” [Campbell, 1 Corinthians: Belief, pp. 250-251].
Since the old age is marked by death, Paul tells us that if Jesus wasn’t resurrected the old age of death continues to reign. When we die, we die, and that’s it. “But,“ Paul declares, “in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died” (1 Cor. 15:20). Yes, Jesus is the first fruits of the coming harvest, and his resurrection guarantees the resurrection of all who belong to him.
Jesus’ resurrection inaugurates the day of new beginnings. And as a verse from a Brian Wren hymn declares: “For by the life and death of Jesus, God’s mighty Spirit, now as then, can make for us a world of difference, as faith and hope are born again.” [“This Is a Day of New Beginnings,” Chalice Hymnal, 518].
When we embrace the resurrection message we affirm the goodness of God’s creation. That includes the goodness of human life. Even if things aren’t going well in the world, God remains committed to the welfare of God’s creation.
Now, at some point in the future, we will all die. Death is, in one sense, part of the natural order of things. But, according to Paul death doesn’t have the last word. In words that found their way into Handel’s Messiah, Paul declared:
“For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1Cor. 15:21-22 KJV).
I chose the reading from the King James Version because it seems to catch Paul’s resurrection message better than other translations. That phrase— “even so in Christ” —is the key point in this declaration. While we share in Adam’s mortality, “even so in Christ” we gain immortality. Or, as Paul writes later in 1 Corinthians 15, the perishable puts on the imperishable (1 Cor. 15:42).
I’ve always believed in the bodily resurrection of Jesus, but that belief has been reinforced during my years as a pastor. Having sat with families at the time of death, I’ve seen the power that death has over us. The moments I’ve spent with families and friends of those who have died has reinforced my appreciation for the fragility and preciousness of life. This is why “end of life” decisions are so hard to make. It’s difficult to know when to resist death and when to accept the inevitability of death. Here’s Paul’s good news, his word of hope for us: To be in Christ is to share in his resurrection. To share in his resurrection is to share in his immortality. Then, on that day of transformation, we will see God face to face.
While Paul doesn’t answer all our questions about what resurrection life looks like, he does offer a few insights that we’ll encounter in next week’s sermon. Until then, we can take comfort in the news that in Christ’s death and resurrection, death has lost its sting (1 Cor. 15:55). Yes, Jesus’ resurrection is the first fruits of our resurrection.
So, even though Easter Sunday is still two months away, as the sign says out front, “every Sunday is Easter Sunday.” So, as we gather together each Sunday in the name of Jesus to lift up praise and thanksgiving to God, we boldly proclaim the resurrection message. When we do this, we hold tight to the promise that life ultimately triumphs over death. When we take hold of this promise, we can begin the journey that leads to that moment when we can see God face-to-face. When we take this journey toward union with God in Christ through the Spirit, we participate in God’s offer of abundant life. This life is marked by righteousness, peace, joy, and most of all by love.
As we embrace this promise of resurrection life, we can join with St. John of Damascus singing:
Now let the heavens by joyful!
Let earth its song begin!
The world resound in triumph,
and all that is therein;
let all things seen and unseen
their notes of gladness blend;
for Christ the Lord has risen,
our joy that has no end.
(“The Day of Resurrection!” Glory to God, 233, vs. 3.)
Preached by:
Dr. Robert D. Cornwall
Pulpit Supply
First Presbyterian Church
Troy, Michigan
Epiphany 6C
February 13, 2022
Image Attribution: Alonzo, Jorge. Soon for the harvest..., from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55325 [retrieved February 12, 2022]. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/forsersa/3059469099/.
Comments