“Alive In Christ”

“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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Therefore encourage each other with these words.” I Thessalonians 4:13-18

At St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Conover, North Carolina, the congregation gathers for the Easter Sunrise Service outdoors. That in itself is not unusual; many churches have outdoor services early on Easter morning. What may strike us as strange is that the church does not have a yard where this service takes place. The church, founded in the early 1800's, is surrounded by a graveyard. People with names like Sigmon and Isenhour need only look around to see headstones with those names engraved on them dating back from one generation to another for 200+ years. There may be no better place for Christians to celebrate their expectation of the resurrection on Easter morning!

St. Paul tells us why. In these words from First Thessalonians, we hear perhaps the clearest application of what Easter means to the believer in all of the Bible. Yes, Christ is risen, and this truth forms the very foundation of the Christian faith. As Paul also wrote that if Christ is not risen from the death, then our faith is worthless. But the importance here in First Thessalonians is to tell us why the resurrection of Jesus Christ is so important to you and me.

Because He is risen from the dead, when Christ comes again, it matters not whether we are physically alive or dead on that day, we will ALL rise to join Him. His resurrection is the proof that all who have gone before us in the faith will rise from the grave one day, physically, bodily, to be with the Lord forever. We will ALL appear with Christ at one and the same time. ALL of God's people will be united on that day – and for all of eternity to follow.

This is the comfort that God has given us. Death is not the end. The grave is not our eternal future. When I visit my father's grave in Bay City, Michigan, I do so with the knowledge that we will see one another again in the flesh on that great day. I suppose that this is why in the funeral committal service, the final words of the liturgy are these words of hope and of promise: “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Let us go forth in peace in the name of the Lord.”

May this peace be yours as well on this Eastertide!