Death and Victory

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul writes,

"Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, beasue you know that in the Lord your labor in not in vain." (54b-58)

Eugene Peterson words the above passage this way:

"Death swallowed by triumphant Life! Who got the last word, oh, Death? Oh, Death, who's afraid of you now? It was sin that made death so frightening and law-code guilt that gave sin its leverage, its destructive power. But now in a single victorious stroke of Life, all three--sin, guilt, death--are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank God! With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don't hold back. Throw youselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort."


The last few months have been deadly. I've had an older family member die after battling health problems. A family friend shot himself in the head. Another family of a friend killed himself too. A classmate of mine drowned in a river. Another died serving his country while abroad. A friend's great-grandmother lost her fight with cancer.

Life is deadly. There's no escape from death. Death can come accidentally, expectedly, unfortunately, and tragically. Death stems from broken bodies, broken relationships, broken foreign policies. Death stems, essentially from life. Because in life there is sin. Our world is a sinful and broken place, made even more frightening by the idea that death is bad. Death can be a beautiful gift, when it occurs in the natural, peaceful setting it was designed for. How else are we to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but through our death and the resurrection of the body?! Mere mortals cannot enter into Heaven; the perishable cannot enter into the imperishable.

So why are we afraid and upset by death? We mourn the loss of friends, family, loved ones. Certainly this is true, however, we also must rejoice in the life that was lived, however short it seems to have been. But for God, the Giver of Life, our mortal existance is all but a blink in God's eye, yet a near eternity as well. God is with us in every moment of life and at the moment of death.

And though I know God is with me and those whom I know and love in death, it is still a terrifying, saddening, and mournful event. The sin in the world that leads to premature and unnatural death, through war, accidents, cancer, illness, lonliness, it is a frightening and painful thing. But with a return to Christ, we can overcome the terrifying sin that we see as death, for Christ is victorious over death and brings His followers into communion with God the Life Giver. Eternal Life, life without sin and estrangement and brokenness, comes with our death.

So I fear death not. Yes, I fear the pain and sin that comes with my mortal, temporal, earthly death. But as long as my life is lived in Christ, I am convicted that my death will not be my Death, but rather my Life. By living my life in Christ, I hope and trust in my Life with God.

And really, selfishly, I hope my last words on this earth will echo the words of Rich Mullins, "What a ride. What a ride."

Worship is a Foretaste of the Feast to Come

One of the catch phases often used in church is how worship is a “foretaste of the feast to come”. This phrase is talking about more than just the sacrament of the Eucharist, but the whole worship experience. I think it is an interesting metaphor. And I know that this phrase is more than just a metaphor for Heaven. It is an example of how we can gain another glimpse of God and (eternal) life with God. Today I want to look more into this phrase as a metaphor. So here we go.

If worship is a “foretaste of the feast to come”, then let’s examine some of the roles of this feast. God is the cook, the head chef, if you will. And we as Christians are more than just the guests at the banquet. I don’t want to set any limitations on God and what God can or cannot do, but I think God wants us to help in this heavenly feast. Here as some roles that might need to be filled but the faithful followers of God. For example, God might want someone to knead bread, make sauces, stir soups, sauté, bake, clean the kitchen, wash the dishes, set the table, and help serve the meal. There are some people out there that serve God here on earth by serving, cooking, hosting, teaching, cleaning, working, etc.

Imagine your favorite foods, meals, restaurants, friends to eat with, places to eat, and ways to eat. Roll all these things up and multiply it by infinity. I would imagine that is what the Feast might look like. What a sweet deal! And it’s also a sweet deal that we get a foretaste, a glimpse of this feast. It is a chance to dip our spoons in the Heavenly stew/soup/_____. Worship with our Christian community is an opportunity and a promise that the joy within worship is only a small portion of what Heaven is like.

I guess what I’m beginning to realize is that God offers a glimpse of God’s self in all sorts of ways. God promises to give a glimpse of the Eternal Perfection of Heaven in worship, through the sacraments. What a gracious, merciful gift!

Trying Something New (aka God is the Whole)

The last few weeks I've begun "coaching" a group of middle schoolers as they work their way through their confirmation program. This is my third time through confirmation; I learn new things every time. I suppose that's one reason I wanted to pursue a degree in Religion with the main focus of my academic study on the Lutheran heritage, theology, and practical application.

This isn't a place for ultra-deep theological questioning, preaching, or academic study. This blog may contain bits and pieces of those things, but its purpose is to be a place for me to write on a subject that is interesting and important to me: Christian and Lutheran theology and practice. I'm trying to get back into the practice of writing, and I want as many outlets as possible. This is the next step in that process.

Feel free to read around, to question, and to work through some of these ideas yourself. Here goes.



God as masculine, feminine, neither, or both? I heard recently the pronoun "He" is used when referring to God because it is used in the Bible, and is the most comfortable pronoun to use to describe something indescribable. However, God is more than just masculine. God is more than just feminine. God is not an "it". God is not male nor female; God encompasses male and female.

If men and women are not complete without each other, then they are not a whole, yes? If that is the case, let us assume that they are each a half. Men need women and women need men. That is how it fundamentally works, right? True, there are people that find more wholeness in members of their own gender or sexuality, but in order for procreation to occur, from my understanding, men and women are both essentially equally needed. Therefore, they are each a half. So by calling God "He" or "She", we are not doing justice to the complexity that is God's apparent lack of gender.

However, God does not lack. God is whole, perfect, complete. To use the name of a half is to say that there is lack, part, something missing. Holes in the Whole, if you will. Rather than lacking gender, God takes all genders and sexualities into God's self. From there it is simple mathematics:

If male = 1/2, and
female = 1/2, then
male + female = 1

It is not possible for a man and a woman to merge, combine, or collide into one perfect whole. Regardless of how intimate they are, how perfect their marriage (not just the institution but the committment to be of one union), they are still one couple. One set of two. Two individuals trying to be one. It doesn't work like that for us humans. Rather, it seems to be as such:

If male = 1/2, and
female = 1/2, then
male + female = 2(1/2)

Essentially one, but fundamentally two. God is not like this. Whereas humans can only achieve a mere two halves, God is the whole.

God wants us to be in relationships because they allow us to perhaps catch a glimpse of God. God can be seen in the puppy love of a newly married couple. Or in the trusting glances between a couple celebrating 30 years together. Or the elderly couple that walks around the block, one shuffling step at a time, their hands held together for balance, for support, for love. The wholeness of God is seen through relationships because though we, as humans, are halves at best, God is the whole.

To use the math example above, humanity is an unfinished equation. God is the answer, the solution, the One.

All of this to say that I am incomplete, insufficient, and un-whole. But by God's grace I can glimpse what the wholeness of God looks like. How lucky I am. I hope you are just as fortunate.

Peace.