Posts tagged ‘Death’
A Christian Response to the Death of Osama bin Laden
Concordia’s Senior Pastor, Bill Tucker, has written a letter to the congregation concerning the death of Osama bin Laden and how the Christian should respond to such an event. My prayer is that it is helpful to you as you ponder what this event means not only in the life of our nation, but in your life as a Christian.
My Beloved Concordia Family,
The death of Osama bin Laden was reported on Sunday evening, May 1, 2011. As news of his demise spread, people responded in different ways. Some responded with jubilation, happy to see an enemy of our country destroyed. Others felt sorrow: Bin Laden’s death reopened painful scars from the events of 9/11 and losses suffered in our War on Terror. Still others responded with concern: For the evil in this world, ultimately, will not be defeated by human action, but by Christ alone. Perhaps you, like me, have experienced some of each.
As I have been sorting through my own personal response, there have been many from our beloved family of faith doing the same. How should a Christian respond to the death of Osama bin Laden? Hopefully this brief note, with some guidance from God’s Word, will be helpful in your contemplation of that same question.
From the Bible we learn that death, even the death of the wicked, is not pleasing to God, nor is it part of His design. The prophet Ezekiel states it well: “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?” (Ezekiel 18:23) God’s preference is always that the wicked – even Osama bin Laden – repent and be forgiven. This does not mean, however, that God won’t execute His judgment on those who refuse to repent. In the very next verse, Ezekiel continues, “But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live? None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness he is guilty of and because of the sins he has committed, he will die.” (Ezekiel 18:24) The apostle Paul affirms, “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) God punishes evil.
We also know that God uses earthly governments to execute His judgment. Paul writes, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established…He is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He [the governmental authority] is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.” (Romans 13:1, 4) We can conclude, in circumstances like this, God uses governments and militaries to bring judgment on criminals. We remain thankful for our troops and their service on behalf of our nation and respect their God-given vocation as governmental officials.
Finally, as Christians, our response to the death of the wicked should mirror God’s Word. The wise man of Proverbs wrote: “Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice.” (Proverbs 24:17) These words lead us to respond to this news without reckless jubilation, but with measured sobriety. We thank God for His judgment on wickedness. At the same time, we keep our hearts and minds humble, so we do not slip into arrogance and sin.
In these times, it seems certain there will be more terrorist plots. We must pray for these evil efforts to be confounded, for evil men to be brought to justice, and for peace and security to be reestablished. However, when we pray for peace, it is with the knowledge that our hope comes from the Lord.
Abraham Lincoln, in his second inaugural address, describes the Christian’s hope for peace, even in the midst of war, like this: “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.” May this be the prayer of us all.
God Bless You!
Bill Tucker
Senior Pastor
Weekend Extra – “Departing ____ Peace”
As a pastor, I have had the weighty responsibility, but also the profound privilege, of counseling with many people who are near death. Over the course of these conversations, I have noticed some themes have emerged. Many of the terminally ill are scared of death, which, at least in my opinion, is completely understandable. Others are worried about organizing their affairs before they pass away. One theme that always emerges from these conversations is a wish for a peaceful death. “I hope I die in my sleep,” some say. “I hope I have friends and family with me,” others say. No one wants to die in fear or alone. People want to die peacefully.
This desire to die peacefully is nothing new. Indeed, in our reading from this past weekend from Luke 2, we are introduced to an old man named Simeon who himself is near death. Knowing this, Simeon gives thanks to the Lord that He is “letting His servant depart in peace” (Luke 2:29). Simeon believes, even as his prayer indicates, that his death will be a peaceful one. But why does Simeon believe such a thing? How does Simeon know whether his death will peaceful or agonizing?
Luke explains why Simeon believes he will die peacefully:
Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation.” (Luke 2:25-30)
Simeon believes he will die peacefully because he has seen and held the One who is “the consolation of Israel” (verse 25) and “the Lord’s Christ” (verse 26). Because he has held the One who is peace (cf. Ephesians 2:14), Simeon believes that he will depart in peace.
Notably, when Simeon thanks the Lord for allowing him to depart “in peace,” the Greek word for the preposition “in” is en. This preposition is one of the most versatile in the Greek language. One Greek-English lexicon translates this single preposition as “in,” “at,” “near,” “before,” “for,” “with,” and “among,” among many others. In other words, this preposition is a catchall preposition. Indeed, Simeon’s words could nearly be translated, “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart *INSERT PREPOSITION HERE* peace!”
This catchall preposition en reveals a profound truth of the peace that Christ gives us. For Christ’s peace makes us at peace with God (2 Peter 2:14), near God in faith (Hebrews 10:22), before God as His justified people (Luke 18:14), for God in love (1 John 5:3), with God unto eternity (Revelation 21:3), and among God as we serve His people (Matthew 25:40). There is no preposition that the peace of Christ cannot cover! And this makes Christ’s peace a profound peace.
What peace do you need? Do you need peace with your past? Do you need peace at work? Do you need peace for an upcoming decision? Then pray with Simeon, “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart *INSERT PREPOSITION HERE* peace!” For the peace of Christ covers whatever preposition you might have in this life – or even in the next. What a precious peace is the peace of Christ! As Augustine says, “Peace shall be your gold. Peace shall be your silver. Peace shall be you lands. Peace shall be your life, your God Peace” (Augustine NPNF1 8:94)!
Want to learn more on this passage? Go to
www.ConcordiaLutheranChurch.com
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An Atheist Confronts Death
I recently learned that Christopher Hitchens, noted atheist and author of God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, has been stricken by cancer. In an article for Vanity Fair, Hitchens makes what I consider to be some astonishing statements. First, he is so bold as to personify death: “I have been taunting the Reaper into taking a free scythe in my direction and have now succumbed to something so predictable and banal that it bores even me.” Death has a face in Hitchens’ mind – and a grim face at that. Death is a Reaper. Actually, death is the Reaper with a capital “R.” No longer is death merely a force of nature. It is a sinister character. I, hopefully not surprisingly, would agree. Death is sinister because death is sinful – the result of a fallen and broken creation. Of course, Hitchens continues by calling this character “predictable and banal,” which I suppose it is, for we all die, but it doesn’t make it any less grim.
Hitchens’ second astonishing statement comes at the end of his article:
I am quietly resolved to resist bodily as best I can, even if only passively, and to seek the most advanced advice. My heart and blood pressure and many other registers are now strong again: indeed, it occurs to me that if I didn’t have such a stout constitution I might have led a much healthier life thus far. Against me is the blind, emotionless alien, cheered on by some who have long wished me ill. But on the side of my continued life is a group of brilliant and selfless physicians plus an astonishing number of prayer groups.
This statement did more than astonished me, it blew me away. First, as far as I can tell, the “blind, emotionless alien” to which Hitchens refers is the cycle of life and death, standardized and ruled, according to many atheists, by evolutionary theory and natural selection. It is what another atheist luminary Richard Dawkins called, “the blind watchmaker.” And yes, if true, this cycle is blind and emotionless. Indeed, it is more than emotionless, it is merciless. It cares not about our lives and our fears and our hopes and our dreams. But curiously, Hitchens continues by noting that this “blind, emotionless alien” is “cheered on by some who have wished me ill.” How something “emotionless” can be moved by “cheers” of encouragement, I do not know. But I do know that it is morally base to cheer on the death of another. Theologically, death is a result of sin. To cheer on death, then, is to cheer on sin. Death may be inevitable and sometimes, as in cases of war or capital punishment, sanctioned and permitted according to the governing authorities and the concerns of justice, but it is not cheer-worthy. Blessedly, however, Hitchens continues by noting that on the side of his life “is a group of brilliant and selfless physicians plus an astonishing number of prayer groups.” It almost sounds as if Hitchens is admitting that “selfless physicians,” “selfless” being a moral designation foreign to committed evolutionary atheism, and “prayer groups” have some sort of power to cheat death. Is Hitchens admitting that prayer works? If so, how does he think it works? And why does he think it works?
I myself believe that prayer does work, but only because of the One to whom we pray. For the One to whom we pray has power over death. As the apostle Paul writes, “‘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! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57). Jesus conquers death and brings life. There’s an empty grave to prove it. And it is in that spirit that I pray that Christopher Hitchens’ grave stays empty for a good time longer in this present age – and on the Last Day. Christ has the power to make it so. I pray that Hitchens learns to trust that.
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