Pastor’s Message
Few people have had a greater impact on history than the 18th Century economist, social theorist, and political commentator named Karl Marx. Today Marx is infamous for the darker sides of his communist vision that came to play in the former Soviet Union under the leadership of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. But it’s easy to forget that Marx actually, in a strange way, was sort of a long-term optimist. Karl Marx grew up and lived in the ugliness of the industrial age of England in the 1800's. In his time he observed first-hand the crowded cities, the tenement living, and the sicknesses, injuries and deaths associated with this kind of impoverishment. Most of the people around him worked in hard labor jobs for very low wages, and had little to no chance of improvement. In the midst of all this turmoil, Marx believed that history was on the side of the people. He believed that over time things would turn around and evolve into a communist utopia where the government would ensure that everyone’s needs would be met.
As a part of this, Marx had his famous critique of religion. He described religion as the “opiate of the peoples”… meaning that religion lulled the populace into compliance with brutal, slave-like oppression by feeding them vain hopes of an eternal paradise, leaving them content in the present world so that they could be exploited.
Today there are two things that are amazing about Karl Marx’s legacy…
- Rather than leading to an improvement in the social order (much less a utopian reality), it led to a widespread, brutal communist tyranny that exploited the people for decades (and continues to exploit people in North Korea up to this very day). This was the exact opposite of Marx’s original vision.
- Marx’s critique of religion impacted both the religious and the non-religious sectors. It’s not surprising that many non-religious and anti-religious folks bought into Marx’s critique of religion… and indeed there is some truth to it. (I think it’s good for all of us, Christian and otherwise, to be sensitive to the different ways people can be exploited.) The problem comes with the common over-reaction to the Marxist critique…
As a result, over the course of the last century the focus has evolved into an obsession with life in this present world. For hundreds of years, the common assumption in most parts of the world was that the whole of life was preparation for death, and (in most cases) for afterlife as well. People grew up and lived their whole lives with this in mind. But for the last century now, and even more so, in the last several decades the focus has been almost exclusively on the here-and-now.
Keep in mind that this is not entirely bad. I believe the Church is well-equipped to handle this challenge. Jesus said in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full”. When He said that Jesus meant that gospel is good for this life, not just the afterlife. I believe that God has a plan for all our lives. I believe He keeps us around for a reason. And I believe that we can find the fullness of His plan in following for Him. I also believe that otherwise we’re short-changing ourselves. And I also believe that Christianity is not just fire insurance. It’s not just suffering through the present so we can live in eternal life. I believe that God is interested in fulfilling His plan in our lives now. This is why we pray every Sunday, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
But the downside to all this is that sometimes the church has jettisoned any and all emphasis on eternal life. This is tragic because I believe that it is the best message of hope the church has to offer. An area hospital chaplain once told me about the people and the families he encounters who are facing death, and they’re completely unprepared for it. This is so different from previous generations and previous centuries where focus of life was on living in preparation for death. I’ve also heard descriptions of people dying who are from religious communities where there’s no belief in afterlife… such as orthodox Jews. There’s often a very deep sense of despair. And now this despair has become a problem in the whole of our society.
It reminds me of what Paul wrote in I Thessalonians 4:13. He says, “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.”
Paul writes this because he believes there’s an alternative to these kinds of despair that can be found in a different worldview that offers eternal hope. And so he writes next in verse 14, “We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.”
Paul writes to a Thessalonian congregation that is discouraged about death for several different reasons. These early Christians had a high emphasis on Jesus’ return. They had been taught about Jesus’ return for several years, and in that time a number of highly beloved Christians in that church had died. This made them grieve (which is normal. All people grieve when they face death in some way or another). But their grief was turning into despair. And so there was a need for more teaching on what happened to people when they die. Paul writes, then, to make it clear that those who have died are at no disadvantage when it comes to Jesus’ return. Hence he says in verse 15, “According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.”
Then Paul describes an apocalyptic sequence of events, with descriptive terms of Christ emerging in triumphant glory. Listen to verse 16: “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.”
This makes me think of “martial law”… in a way. Now I know that’s ironic. Martial law is usually not a good thing. But think of it this way: Think of martial law with Jesus at the helm and God in control. This sounds really good if you consider how chaotic the world is today with moral decay, earthquakes, violence, poverty, disease, anxiety and distress, etc. When you think of these things, it’s good to know that Jesus is going to come and He’s going to assume command, and it will happen with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the sound of God’s trumpet.
This is where the rapture comes in. The word “rapture” comes from a Latin word, “rapio” which means to be seized or taken away. Listen to how the original word was used in the Greek in verse 17: “After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”
The rapture has been pictured in a number of different ways. I can remember years ago watching a movie that the TV preacher Jack Van Impe put out, back in the 1990s… The people were raptured away and their clothes left neatly behind in folded little stacks. This is interesting speculation, but of course it’s off from the main point of this body of teaching.
There are two great hopes that come from this teaching of the rapture:
- There will be a reunion with those we love, who have died in the Lord. Paul says (in verse 17) that we will be “together with them”. Close your eyes for a minute and think of the people you miss, who’ve gone home to be with the Lord. And then think of those three words: “together with them.”
Personally, there are a lot of family members and friends that I look forward to seeing. And there are some people that I’ve never met that I also look forward to seeing, including some of my predecessors here at First Congregational Church. - We can look forward to being with the Lord forever. I believe that if someone really loves the Lord with every bit of heart, soul, strength, and mind - then this is the greatest comfort of all. But as we’re maturing in the Lord we have our limitations. It’s more natural (at least at first) to focus on our loved ones who have departed. But I also believe that as our grasp of the nature and character of God grows, and as we develop in spiritual maturity, we can go from seeing God as a distant figure to being a friend of God. And that’s when we know that this the greatest hope of all… Togetherness with the one who created those we love ultimately supersedes the togetherness with those we love.
These are two powerful sources of hope. But of course it’s not like they make it so that we don’t have to grieve. Sometimes the rapture passage is misquoted in this regard. I Thessalonians 4:13 is where Paul says: “We do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.” And then they jump to one of the worst things a Christian can do, and they take this verse and throw it at someone who is grieving the loss of a loved one. And they’ll say things like “There, there, don’t cry. Stop that bawling. Your loved one is in heaven.”
Of course they’re in heaven, but that doesn’t mean that loved ones who survive don’t feel pain. It’s important to note that the Bible never says not to grieve. Rather it says not to grieve like those who have no hope. The key difference is that the world’s grief has ignorance of eternal hope. Christians may have equally intense and emotional grief, but we also have the eternal hope of reunion with our loved ones and the hope of being with the Lord forever. And this is the truth that needs to be brought up again and again for encouragement, which is why Paul concludes the chapter by saying (in verse 18), “Therefore encourage each other with these words.”
One of the most encouraging ways to think of all this comes from a pastor in Topeka, Rev. Cecil Washington. Several years ago I attended a funeral that he officiated. This is how he described it:
Think of an airport. In an airport you’ll often find two groups of people: Arrivals and departures. With the departures it’s often a sad scene. There are hugs. There are goodbyes. Sometimes there are tears. And there are sentiments too: “We love you,” people say. “We’ll miss you.” There are both hard and sad moments that come with goodbyes.
But remember, on the other side there are also arrivals. And with them it’s usually a happier scene. If there are tears, they are tears of joy. If there are hugs, they’re not sad hugs; they’re hugs of enthusiasm and welcome. And the sentiments glow: “We love you. It’s so good to see you again.”
On this side of eternity, we experience the departures. But remember, someday we’ll experience the arrivals as well. And then we’ll be with those who have died in the Lord. And we’ll be with the Lord forever.
God bless you,
Andrew McHenry – Pastor
First Congregational Church