A few thoughts on resurrection today as I have a funeral to take tomorrow and I’ve been asked to preach. One of the readings chosen is the final section of the 15^th chapter in 1 Corinthians – it’s the chapter on resurrection and includes these powerful words, ‘O death, where is your victory’. I once challenged an atheist to say what hope he could provide a family in bereavement apart from the fact that the deceased had lived a good life. The answer, of course, was ‘none’. Without resurrection there is no hope which is why the resurrection of Jesus is such a central aspect of the Christian faith.

Here are three things I’d like to share on this subject.

1. The resurrection of Jesus speaks of the fullness of hope we have in the gospel. Many Christians cling onto the very unbiblical idea that salvation is merely the disembodied soul flying off to heaven for eternity. But that has more to do with Greek philosophy than it does with Christian theology. Physical resurrection lies at the heart of God’s promises and it includes more than just spiritual salvation for humanity but also restoration for the whole creation. The resurrection of Jesus is the first step in God’s Kingdom being restored to a new heaven and a new earth.

2. There is real hope in the face of death. Hope is a vital element of life. Without it there is only despair. And in life we manage to hold onto hope in many different ways. Even in the face of death, people manage to cling onto something, even if it is only the fact that their life has been full. But in the resurrection we have the promise that death does not have the final word and cannot be victorious. It looses its grip and power over us as we realise that an eternal, transformed life is ours in Jesus.

3. The resurrection gives worth to this life. While the Greek philosophy referred to does give hope of a spiritual eternity in heaven, it also devalues physical life on earth. The material world is something that is to be escaped for it is corrupt and decaying. And of course there is truth in that view for our world is corrupt and is decaying, but in the resurrection we see God, rather than abandoning this world, actually transforming it into something new and beautiful. However bad things get, therefore, we see in the resurrection of Jesus an affirmation of the world by God. It is good and it is worth renewing.

Paul’s last words in chapter 15 are therefore very relevant – ‘your toil is not in vain in the Lord’. So often in the past we have interpreted our ‘toil in the Lord’ as some spiritual tasks we have done in church. But if the whole of created life is good and is affirmed in the life and resurrection of Jesus, then we must define our work in God in much broader terms. The old sacred/secular divide has to go. Everything we do that adds to the life of others, that adds to the beauty of this earth, that adds to justice and fairness – all this and more is our work in God. And because of the resurrection – because of a new heaven and a new earth – the work we do in God is not in vain, not because it means we have lived a full life, but because it lasts with us to eternity.

Resurrection is not just an affirmation of the life of Jesus, therefore, but an affirmation of all our lives in him.

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