The Defeat Of Death
Stories
Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit
Series V, Cycle C
Object:
For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (vv. 21-26)
A father and his seven-year-old daughter were driving around in their car on a fresh spring day. A great big yellow bee flew into the car. The little seven-year-old girl was very much afraid -- and so was the father.
They tried desperately to get the bee out of the car. But they couldn't. It just kept buzzing from the front of the car to the back -- scaring them both as it flew past their heads. The little girl was starting to get hysterical and the father was shouting at her not to be afraid -- which only made her more hysterical.
About that time, that great big yellow bee landed on the father's neck and stung him. And now the little girl became absolutely petrified and hysterical and began to cry and cry and cry. The father tried to calm her down and finally said to her: "You don't need to be afraid anymore. The bee has lost its sting; its stinger is right here in my neck; the bee has lost its sting. It is nothing without the sting!"
On that first Easter, Jesus essentially said, "Where, O death is your victory? Where, O death is your sting?" On Easter, the sting of death was removed. The stinger is located in the neck of Jesus the Christ.
In today's scripture, Paul asserts, "For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ ... The last enemy to be destroyed is death."
And yet, we often ride in our cars throughout life, still afraid of death -- like a little child still afraid of a bee without a stinger.
The message of Easter is so clear: there is no need to be afraid of death -- Christ has destroyed that enemy. It has lost its sting. Death looks and sounds so ferocious but it is really harmless.
Thanks be to God who gives us the victory in our Lord Christ Jesus! The cross is not the sign of despair, but a victory sign of God's love over the forces of darkness -- a sign that sin is no longer a death sentence.
This belief is shared in the classic Charles Wesley's Easter hymn, "Christ The Lord Is Risen Today." Remember the words?
Lives again our glorious King,
Where, O death is now your sting?
Once he died our souls to save,
Where's thy victory boasting grave?
Soar we now where Christ has led,
Following our exalted Head,
Made like him like him we rise,
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies!
Death has been defeated. We are made alive in Christ. There is no need to fear death for we are made alive in Christ. Alleluia! Amen.
A father and his seven-year-old daughter were driving around in their car on a fresh spring day. A great big yellow bee flew into the car. The little seven-year-old girl was very much afraid -- and so was the father.
They tried desperately to get the bee out of the car. But they couldn't. It just kept buzzing from the front of the car to the back -- scaring them both as it flew past their heads. The little girl was starting to get hysterical and the father was shouting at her not to be afraid -- which only made her more hysterical.
About that time, that great big yellow bee landed on the father's neck and stung him. And now the little girl became absolutely petrified and hysterical and began to cry and cry and cry. The father tried to calm her down and finally said to her: "You don't need to be afraid anymore. The bee has lost its sting; its stinger is right here in my neck; the bee has lost its sting. It is nothing without the sting!"
On that first Easter, Jesus essentially said, "Where, O death is your victory? Where, O death is your sting?" On Easter, the sting of death was removed. The stinger is located in the neck of Jesus the Christ.
In today's scripture, Paul asserts, "For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ ... The last enemy to be destroyed is death."
And yet, we often ride in our cars throughout life, still afraid of death -- like a little child still afraid of a bee without a stinger.
The message of Easter is so clear: there is no need to be afraid of death -- Christ has destroyed that enemy. It has lost its sting. Death looks and sounds so ferocious but it is really harmless.
Thanks be to God who gives us the victory in our Lord Christ Jesus! The cross is not the sign of despair, but a victory sign of God's love over the forces of darkness -- a sign that sin is no longer a death sentence.
This belief is shared in the classic Charles Wesley's Easter hymn, "Christ The Lord Is Risen Today." Remember the words?
Lives again our glorious King,
Where, O death is now your sting?
Once he died our souls to save,
Where's thy victory boasting grave?
Soar we now where Christ has led,
Following our exalted Head,
Made like him like him we rise,
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies!
Death has been defeated. We are made alive in Christ. There is no need to fear death for we are made alive in Christ. Alleluia! Amen.
